Offaly will need to improve to progress

No Surprises here. Offaly spent most of the second half picking off points and blazing wides as a hopeful Antrim effort was gradually and unfussily extinguished. Like Offaly's last Croke Park encounter, against Kilkenny in the Leinster Final, this match was for the most part forgettable and lack-lustre and so they find themselves in the All-Ireland semi-final with precious few moments to savour as yet.

Offaly still look far from polished as a unit, although their concession of 2-9 to Antrim is slightly misleading; the Ulster champions' first goal had an element of the freakish about it while the second just about beat the final whistle.

Against that, Antrim did fire over nine first-half wides, at least four of which were immensely scoreable and they ought to have trailed by less than five points at the break. Offaly, in contrast, proved economical in possession throughout the first half but grew indulgent as the game drifted their way, pitching nine second-half wides.

Afterwards, all connected with the Offaly camp were adamant - and justifiably so - that such a performance would do little to trouble Clare. Michael Bond felt that the match had simply given his team time enough to perhaps cement over the troubling weaknesses which have made Offaly look vulnerable all year. While he has vowed to instil ground-hurling discipline on his charges since his short tenure began, Bond admitted that on this occasion, Antrim had given his team a lesson in direct hurling.

That said, there were bright elements to this Offaly performance. Joe Dooley epitomised a reasonably free-flowing Offaly attack, chipping three first-half points and sustaining an admirable work-rate. Brian Whelahan again made his presence felt, both in loose play and with his tremendous capacity for long-range point-taking while John Troy sparked occasionally at centre-half forward.

Although Offaly displayed a tendency towards unruly shooting, that all their forwards took scores is a platform for some optimism. As against Kilkenny, their defensive lines showed an admirable willingness to mix it, hunting in packs and ruthlessly cleaning up any spilled ball. Martin Hanamy, Hubert Rigney and Whelahan were in especially miserly form while Kevin Martin put in a gutsy hour after copping a few hefty tackles early on.

Antrim clung on bravely, building on an early fortuitous goal and competing fiercely in the loose. Malachy Molloy ran tirelessly from midfield while Greg O'Kane had another towering game at full-forward, hitting four frees in a six-point tally and keeping Kevin Kinahan occupied for most of the afternoon.

Gary O'Kane and John Carson also put themselves about but although they reduced the gap to four points early in the second half, Offaly always looked capable of easing away and so it transpired.

They highlighted their intentions early, with Brian Whelahan hammering over a lengthy point before Michael Duignan responded to a fine Shane Elliott save by burying the loose ball. 1-1 to no score after nine minutes and Croke Park looked set for an hour of slumber.

Interest was suddenly revived, however, two minutes later by a speculative strike from Alistair Elliott which Offaly 'keeper Stephen Byrne batted down with his hurl, only to see the sliotar bounce back towards him and behind the line. Heartened, Antrim stepped up a gear, with John McIntosh skipping onto a pass from Gary O'Kane and lobbing his team to within one point after 17 minutes.

Antrim repeatedly tested Stephen Byrne's generosity for the remainder of the half but the Kilcormac's man steadied himself under a few high balls to recover admirably.

Twenty minutes in and it became apparent that no upset was on the cards. Whelahan rifled a free from long range and Joe Dooley glided across field before stroking Offaly's fifth point and a pattern, of sorts, was established.

Gregory O'Kane kept Antrim in touch with a 26th minute free but a late flourish from John Ryan and Dooley left Offaly up by five at the break.

O'Kane briefly reduced that to four in the opening minutes but Offaly took the steam out of the match, John Ryan breaking free to angle two quick points and Whelahan adding a 65.

Antrim replied with periodic scores but never applied enough pressure to make Offaly question themselves and inevitably slipped out of contention, trailing by 10 points after 59 minutes.

Offaly introduced a brief and welcome cut of showtime to their game at the finish, with John Troy scooping a loose ball and shimmering past O'Kane before releasing Killian Farrell with a neatly palmed pass over his right shoulder. Goal. Offaly fans alone cheered. The neutrals had lost interest.

Antrim weren't done. Substitute Jarlath Elliott stroked a 40-metre point before the industrious John Carson snatched a dropping ball and pivoted on the edge of the parallelogram before blasting past Byrne.