Longford end long wait against Offaly

Longford 0-19 Offaly 0-15

The long-held Indian sign which Offaly have held over Longford was exorcised in this high-scoring Leinster senior football championship encounter at Pearse Park where the home side upped the ante in the second-half and turned a two point interval deficit into a four point win.

The win marked Longford's first win in the championship over Longford since 1965 and the wait was worth it in some ways for the quality of the second-half showing in which Sean McCormack and Brian Kavanagh played key scoring roles.

Niall McNamee - who had seven points in total - was the Offaly mainstay in attack, but he was forced to live on crumbs in the second-half as Longford dominated possession around midfield and McCormack found his scoring boots. McCormack finished with seven points of his own, five from frees, in turning the tide Longford’s way.

In that first half, referee Maurice Sheridan made a potentially huge call when, after consulting with his umpires, he disallowed a Longford goal in the 25th minute. Paul Barden connected poorly with his initial effort which was saved by Offaly goalkeeper Alan Mulhall. Barden fired to the net with his second attempt but was deemed to have kicked the ball whilst Mulhall retained possession. By the final whistle, that contentious call was long forgotten.

Longford: D Sheridan, D Brady, B O’Farrell, Fergal Battrim; C Smyth, E Williams, S Mulligan (0-1); J Keegan, S Doyle; M Quinn (0-1), F McGee (0-3), P Barden (0-2);. M Hughes (0-2), B Kavanagh (0-3), S McCormack (0-7, five frees). Subs: P Foy for Doyle (53 mins), M Brady for Keegan (57 mins), A Rowan for Hughes (60 mins)

Offaly: A Mulhall; D Brady, D Hanlon, Niall Darby; B Darby, J Moloney, M Brazil; R Allen (0-1), N Smith; E Carroll, G Guilfoyle (0-2), A Sullivan; J Maher (0-2), N McNamee (0-7, four frees), P Cunningham (0-2). Subs - N Geraghty for Allen (45mins), C Hurley (0-1) for Guilfoyle (59 mins), P McPadden for Maher (63 mins)

Referee: M Sheridan (Fermanagh)