Sum of Offaly's parts enough

There is no doubt that this was a very good performance by Offaly. They were never over-extended, clearly deserved to win and while Wexford may have been a little unfortunate in that they just seemed unable to click as a team, Offaly didn't exactly give them a whole lot of chances.

From the start, Offaly contained what they had to contain, using the breeze well and defending strongly enough to ensure Wexford were kept well out of touch. You can only pick out two of three players that performed particularly well, but it's the team as a whole that makes them so impressive.

Their first-half performance was especially significant. They got off to the perfect start, scoring their first goal within five minutes through a fantastic shot from John Troy and they proved their ability to take the goal chances whenever they developed. They had three by the end of the half and each one was superbly taken.

With the minimum of effort, they were suddenly 2-1 to 0-5 up and hadn't done anything special. They did have those injury problems and didn't seem to be motoring well but at the same time they were able to take the major scores when they came. I was a still a bit concerned about Offaly at half-time because they were playing with the strong wind and their two corner backs, Simon Whelahan and Martin Hanamy, were giving the two Wexford corner forwards a lot of space.

The fact that Wexford were playing against the breeze meant the forward balls were not going the full distance. The two corner forwards were coming out of position to claim them yet Whelahan and Hanamy weren't picking up on that quickly enough. That allowed Wexford to claim a few useful scores, and Paul Codd was especially effective, getting the best of his man for the entire first half and showing his capability of scoring from both frees and play.

Hanamy did manage to put the clampers on Tom Dempsey as the game progressed, but overall Offaly were slow to function as well as they normally do. Joe Dooley appeared to be going through the motions and then all of a sudden completes a great passing run to score a goal.

Still, it's very rare to see three goals go past Fitzhenry within such a short space of time, so you have to question the effectiveness of the Wexford full-back line. Offaly's first touch up front was always superior and when the ball came into the Wexford forwards, they just weren't moving as quickly. Offaly's game is still very simple, moving into space and displaying great anticipation so that they can gain that extra yard. They've been playing together for five or six years now and they really seem to be maturing with age. You could see in the second half that their confidence just grew.

If Wexford were ever going to win this game they needed a couple of goals, but they never looked like scoring. There was one chance early on when the ball came across from Gary Laffan to Larry Murphy, but his first touch let him down and he was closed in. Later on, Murphy had a shot hit the side netting and that was about it in terms of goal chances.

Assuming Offaly had their injury worries, they had to let the ball do the work and I was surprised that they did it so well. It was interesting to see Joe Errity taken off because I thought he did a good job with Liam Dunne, although all the replacements played a role in the overall performance.

It was good to see Joe Dooley sort of spring to life and begin taking a couple of points from different angles, although he had a lot of wides as well. Still, Wexford were chasing it all the time and as the clock ticked it became a losing battle. They never used the wind to their advantage either.

Martin Storey had a very quiet game with just the one point to his credit. Again there was talk of an injury and in a 70-minute game at this level you just can't afford to take chances with injured players. Mind you Offaly did have the benefit of being in the lead. Stephen Byrne was a bit shaky in goal and let a few balls slip. If he does that against Kilkenny, he'll be more heavily punished.

Overall, they are probably a stronger side than last year and there is every reason to expect a classic game against Kilkenny. They both love playing each other, and looking at Kilkenny yesterday, they are also a fabulous side.

They were perhaps lucky to get four goals so quickly and I think they were more to do with mistakes forced on the Laois backs. When you get four goals so early in the game then the heart goes out of the opposition and Laois were just decimated. Niall Rigney put in a tremendous display and at times played Kilkenny on his own, but it was very hard on Laois, although to their credit they kept playing to the finish.

One thing for sure is that Offaly will make it a totally different affair in the Leinster final. Both of them have been there many times before and know each other well.

Offaly were a bit lax around midfield at times yesterday and they can't afford that next time out. They have the confidence and while it can be dangerous to have a great display like that in the first round, they still have, at the very least, a championship quarterfinal to look forward to, and the chances are that they will get better. Still, they won't want to concede anything in the Leinster final and that's why it should be a game to relish.

In an interview with Ian O'Riordan