Inexperienced Offaly Continue To Show Fighting Spirit In Difficult Circumstances

Monday, 28 February 2022 08:22

They had a tough outing against Dublin this weekend.

Offaly 0-2

Dublin 1-12

For the second week in a row Susan Earner and her team had uncertainty about the venue of their Littlewoods Ireland League match on Saturday against Dublin, with the original venue being deemed as unplayable. On this occasion though Offaly did not concede home advantage and the match was moved to Moneygall.

She named an inexperienced side against Tipperary in the previous round and the Offaly manager must have been cursing her luck when she had to make a change to her named starting team with the experienced Mairead Teehan unavailable to play.

When play got underway Dublin quickly set about their business and with just 11 minutes on the clock they had a comfortable lead hitting 1-3 and Offaly failing to register a score, with Dublin’s goal coming from Aisling O’Neill. Offaly’s opening score came after 20 minutes when Sarah Harding converted a free, however that was their loan score of the half with Dublin going on to add a further 3 points.

While Offaly had the slight advantage of the wind in the second half it was difficult to see it having any meaningful impact on the scoreboard and while Dublin were not as free scoring after the break they did go on to extend their lead further and win comfortably.

It is proving to be a challenging campaign for Offaly and they will now have a two week break as they look towards their next fixture, away to Down where they will be hoping they can put in a performance that reaps a positive result before taking on All Ireland Champions Galway in their final group match.

Teams:

Offaly: Eleanor Clendennen, Sarah Guinan, Amy Byrne, Siobhan Killeen, Sarah Walsh, Aisling Brennan, Aisling Feeney, Jane Lowry, Sarah Harding, Orlagh Phelan, Kaitlyn Kennedy, Cayla Fletcher, Clodagh Leahy, Orla Gorman, Caitriona Doughan.

Subs: Leah Gallagher, Elaine Troy, Faye Mulrooney, Michelle Mann, Becky Bryant, Lauren Keenaghan, Christine Cleary, Sharon Shanahan

Dublin: Ciara Tierney, Christine Shanahaan, Eve O’Brien, Muireann Kelleher, Roisin Baker, Hannah Hegarty, Emma O’Byrne, Emma Flanagan, Gaby Couch, Elyse Jamieson Murphy, Aisling Maher, Jody Couch, Aisling O’Neill, Niamh Gannon, Sinead Nolan

Subs: Eabha Mooney, Aisling Gannon, Aoife Heffernan, Aoife Walsh, Ciara Buchannan, Claire Gannon, Cliodhna Nicoletti, Ellei Young, Leah Butler, Orla Gray, Robyn Buckley

Scorers:

Offaly: Sarah Harding, 0-2 (2 frees)

Dublin: Aisling Maher 0-7 (7 frees), Aisling O’Neill 1-3, Jody Couch 0-1, Niamh Gannon 0-1