Meath storm back in second half to overcome Offaly

A spectacular display of two-point shooting, aided by a strong breeze, powered Meath to a decisive victory over Offaly in Páirc Tailteann that looked unlikely when Offaly went into their dressing room at half-time with a ten-point lead.

The Faithful County came into the game with momentum on the back of their Division 3 Allianz League title and Keith O'Neill got them off to a flying start when he hit two doubles and another spectacular score off the outside of the right boot in the opening 12 minutes, by which time Offaly were 0-08 to 0-00 in front.

A very strong wind blew down the ground of Páirc Tailteann so a large lead was always going to be needed, but the movement and finishing of the Offaly forwards, who shot just one wide in the opening half, tore Meath apart. Jack Bryant, Shane Tierney, Kyle Higgins and Cormac Egan also chipped in with fine scores as the Faithful looked slick and impressive with ball in hand.

Even during the first quarter however, Meath weren’t short of primary possession. Conor Duke, Jack Flynn and Bryan Menton were all strong in the air and while Offaly fared well once the ball hit the deck and was there to be fought for, goalkeeper Paddy Dunican had to be incredibly accurate to give his side any platform.

Offaly also defended well, forcing Meath into tough shots that saw their wide count mount to eight by half-time, but a couple of needless fouls gave Mathew Costello and Eoghan Frayne easy chances that alleviated the rising pressure in front of 5,731 supporters.

0-15 to 0-05 at the interval gave Offaly something to defend, but Meath’s third quarter surge was irresistible, and broke the back of the Royal County’s task.

Offaly's Cormac Egan getting past Ciarán Caulfield

Robbie Brennan’s side finished with 15 wides but crucially, none were in that third quarter, with Mathew Costello catching fire from distance. Conor Duke also hoisted over a couple of doubles, Eoghan Frayne pointed a free from outside the arc, and while Offaly missed a couple of early chances – most notably a quick handpassing move where Shane Tierney tried to find Jordan Hayes in front of goal but Seán Coffey came up with an interception to prevent a tap-in finish – they soon found it almost impossible to retain their own kickout, and the pressure became inexorable.

Dunican landed a couple of kicks from distance to keep their score moving but by the midway point in the second half it was 0-19 to 0-18, and Meath were rampant. A brief flurry of wides at that point meant that it took a while for them to hit the front, but there was no spell in the game when Offaly had any sustained spell of possession, never mind a run of scores.

Meath manager Robbie Brennan celebrates his side's comeback win

Moreover, every time Robbie Brennan went to his bench he got a meaningful contribution, with Aaron Lynch and James Conlon both scoring off their opening possession. Offaly, for their part, didn’t use a sub until the 63rd minute, by which time Conlon had hit an equaliser and Jack Flynn followed it up with yet another orange flag.

Dunican’s third dead ball strike from range left Offaly just two adrift going into stoppage time but starved of ball, Offaly had to chase every lost cause and that left them vulnerable to turnover ball.

With Dunican out of his goal, one such breakaway led to Aaron Lynch dropping a high ball into the square and a 50/50 contest between Conlon and Rory Egan saw the Meath man get the decisive touch to flick in the game’s only goal, followed two minutes later by one last two-pointer – this time from Billy Hogan – to round off an incredible second half that will send Meath into their semi-final clash with Dublin in high spirits.

Meath: Billy Hogan (0-02, 1tpf); Brian O’Halloran, Seán Rafferty, Seamus Lavin; Donal Keogan, Seán Coffey (0-01), Ciarán Caulfield; Jack Flynn (0-02, 1tp), Bryan Menton (0-01); Conor Duke (0-04, 2tp), Ruairí Kinsella, Mathew Costello (0-09, 0-02 frees, 1tp, 1tpf); Eoghan Frayne (0-03, 0-01 free, 1tpf), Diarmuid Moriarty, Keith Curtis.

Subs: Aaron Lynch (0-01) for Moriarty (46 mins), Shane Walsh for Curtis (55), James Conlon (1-02) for Kinsella (60), Ronan Ryan for Rafferty (64), Adam O’Neill for Lavin (70), Cathal Hickey for Frayne (70+3)

Offaly: Paddy Dunican (0-05, 0-01 45, 2tpf); Lee Pearson, Rory Egan, Daire McDaid; Cormac Egan (0-01), John Furlong, Aidan Bracken; Jack McEvoy, Jordan Hayes; Kyle Higgins (0-02, 1tp), Cathal Flynn, Keith O’Neill (0-06, 2tp, 0-01 free); Dylan Hyland (0-04, 0-03 frees), Jack Bryant (0-01), Shane Tierney (0-02).

Subs: Aaron Leavy for Bracken (63), Eoin Sawyer for Tierney (64), David Dempsey for McDaid (65)

Referee: Seán Lonergan (Tipperary).

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