GAA: Waterford crush Offaly 1-35 to 0-14
By Kevin Egan
Last Updated: 01/07/17 5:58pm
Waterford got their championship campaign back on track with ease on Saturday at Bord na Móna O'Connor Park in Tullamore, as thirteen different players got on the scoresheet in their 1-35 to 0-14 win over Offaly.
The home side started moderately well but for the last 50 minutes of the contest they were utterly outclassed, and go out of the 2017 championship having conceded 2-88 in three games.
Offaly repeated their tactic from the Leinster semi-final of dropping two extra sweepers into their back line, while Waterford added to the imbalance at either end of the field by playing Tadhg de Búrca as a seventh defender, ensuring that the opening 20 minutes played out in a measured, tactical fashion.
The home side held their own with some short stick passing moving up through the lines, while Waterford played into their hands with some rash tackling close to goal. At a time when scoring from anything more than 40 metres out was all but impossible, at least from play, Shane Dooley was able to keep the scoreboard ticking over with a reasonable degree of regularity, allowing Offaly to take an equal share of the first dozen scores of the game.
Waterford's pass selection was also some way short of what Derek McGrath's side are known for, and when Seán Ryan burst through to win the free that allowed Dooley to level the game with 20 minutes gone, the Faithful county management and supporters would have been utterly delighted with how things had gone so far.
However, the final 15 minutes of the half saw Waterford move through the gears, aided by a series of Offaly errors in their short passing.
A close-range score from Michael 'Brick' Walsh was the first of eight points in a row for the Déise men in the space of just 10 minutes, and while the stiff breeze that blew down towards the Park Avenue end of the Tullamore venue was a key factor, the inaccuracy that plagued Waterford in the early stages was nowhere to be seen as Austin Gleeson, Maurice Shanahan and even De Búrca got on the scoresheet, hitting the target with a monster strike from inside his own '45.
The strength of the wind was even further in evidence in the 33rd minute when a puck-out from Stephen O'Keeffe dropped right into the Offaly penalty area and with a quick catch and strike, Shane Bennett was able to flash the ball underneath James Dempsey for a goal that pushed the lead out to double figures.
Gleeson, Jamie Barron, Darragh Fives and Shanahan all added further points for Waterford to make it 1-18 to 0-8 at the break and while Offaly would have hoped to have fared better with the wind in the second half, they never looked like making any inroads against a Waterford side that was growing increasingly dominant in every phase of the game.
Players spilled through from the midfield and half back to fire over points from all angles as Waterford piled on the misery on an Offaly side that was utterly unable to compete. Derek McGrath did not make life easier for the home side by emptying his bench and introducing an array of hungry young players eager to secure their place next week.
Colin Dunford, Jake Dillon and Tommy Ryan all scored with their first touch and while goalkeeper James Dempsey pulled off a few heroic saves in the Offaly goal, he could do nothing but watch as Waterford went on to secure a 24-point win.
Offaly: J Dempsey; B Conneely (0-1), D Shortt, P Camon; S Gardiner, A Treacy, D King; P Murphy, S Ryan; S Kinsella (0-1), J Bergin (0-3, 0-2f), J Mulrooney (0-1); O Kelly (0-1), S Dooley (0-5f), E Nolan (0-1).
Subs: E Grogan for Treacy (ht), S Cleary for Dooley (ht), M Cleary for Nolan (54), P Geraghty for Kinsella (54), P Guinan (0-1) for Murphy (58)
Waterford: S O'Keeffe; N Connors, B Coughlan, S Fives; D Fives (0-1), C Gleeson, Philip Mahony; J Barron (0-3), K Moran (0-2); M Walsh (0-1), A Gleeson (0-6), Pauric Mahony (0-11, 0-7f, 0-1 '65); T De Búrca (0-1), M Shanahan (0-2), S Bennett (1-0).
Subs: C Dunford (0-2) for Walsh (48), J Dillon (0-1) for Shanahan (48), S Daniels for Moran (52), T Ryan (0-1) for Bennett (55), P Curran (0-4, 0-2f, 0-1 '65) for Pauric Mahony (59)
Referee: Alan Kelly (Galway)
