FAITHFUL’S BACK IN THE BIG TIME
But Kelly warns that Offaly can’t take elite status for granted
JOHNNY Kelly says only time will tell if Offaly are back at hurling’s top table for good.
But the man who has guided the Faithful back to the Leinster SHC, having not competed there since 2018, reckons they deserve huge credit for getting this far.
The 1998 All-Ireland champions slipped to as low as 18th in the country at one stage following a Ring Cup semi-final loss in 2020.
Now in the space of just one glorious week they’ve managed to collect maiden All-Ireland Under-20 and Joe McDonagh Cup titles.
Boss Kelly said: “The Joe McDonagh came in a few years ago and unfortunately Offaly found themselves dropped down into that pretty quickly.
Players
“I won’t say that previous Offaly teams hadn’t got outstanding players who went down in history but maybe at times in the past, some of those Offaly teams would have been in the Joe McDonagh too if it had been in existence at that stage.
“So for these lads to plough that furrow for the last five or six years, and to come back again, it’s been really tough times.
“The guys that soldiered down through the years, that went to Ballycran, that went to Castlebar three or four years ago, to previous management teams that put the shoulder to the wheel even though it didn’t always work out, it’s been a long hard road but I hope the journey is only beginning.”
But Kelly stopped short of (inset) guaranteeing Leinster Championship hurling every year.
Asked if they’re back for good, he said: “Who knows? Look, the Joe McDonagh is a great competition. I agree with it, but I think there has to be a tiered structure. I’ve said it before, the GAA has to do more for the squeezed middle, it’s just not making sense as it is.
Battle
“I mean, Carlow, we had a tremendous battle with those guys last year but for them to go back down again, what good is that doing for Carlow? And if we go up next year and we don’t succeed and we’re back down again, what good is that for Offaly?”
Kelly included four players from the previous weekend’s All-Irelandwinning Under-20 team in his lineup; Adam Screeney, Dan Bourke, Cathal King and Donal Shirley. All played their part though it was the more experienced Brian Duignan that top scored with 1-4.
Sub Oisin Kelly grabbed the other goal having overcome two cruciate knee ligament injury setbacks.
Even at that the game was level 11 times and Laois came roaring back from seven points down in the final quarter to tie up approaching stoppage time. Late points from Killian Sampson, Charlie Mitchell and Jack Clancy ultimately won it for Offaly.
Kelly has had huge success with club teams over years but said this ranks up there with his greatest achievement.
The former All-Ireland-winning Portumna boss said: “Of course it does, it really does.”
But there could be more to come this season as Offaly still have to play Cork in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final on Saturday.
When the sides met at the same venue in the League, an Alan Connolly-inspired Rebels put 5-28 on the board.
Kelly said: “I know what happened in the League so it’s going to be a difficult task.”
Laois will play Wexford the same day in Portlaoise and could find it difficult to raise a gallop after this agonising loss.
They kept pace with Offaly and unloaded big guns Ross
King, Willie Dunphy and Stephen ‘Picky’ Maher from the bench in the second-half.
But the goal they needed never arrived with James Duggan, twice, Paddy Purcell and Maher all going close.
Boss Willie Maher said: “Offaly scored 1-1 at the start of each half so we were climbing a hill from there each time. To be fair to the players they died with their boots on.
Excellent
“When we got it back to level at the end, it looked like it might be there for us, that’s the way it looked. I thought our fitness levels were excellent, I thought the subs we brought on made an impact but maybe when you go level the mindset changes.
“You’re chasing something, then you get to the top of the hill and it’s a case of what you do from there. We weren’t able to push ahead and that was our downfall.”
OFFALY: M Troy; C King (0-1), C Burke, B Conneely; D King, C Kiely (0-2), D Shirley; J Sampson, E Kelly; K Sampson (0-2), D Bourke (0-1); E Cahill (0-7, 5f); B Duignan (1-4), C Mitchell (0-4), A Screeney (0-1). Subs: E Kelly (1-0) for E Kelly 30, C Spain for Screeney 55, J Clancy (0-1) for Cahill 67, S Bourke for D Bourke 71. LAOIS: E Rowland; D Conway, I Shanahan (0-1), R Mullaney; T Cuddy, P Delaney, L O’Connell (0-1); A Corby (0-4), P Purcell (0-5); FC Fennell (0-1), D Dunphy (0-11, 6f, 2 65), D Dooley; J Duggan (0-1), T Keyes (0-1), J Quinlan. Subs: S Maher for Fennell 42, D Hartnett for O’Connell 44, R King (0-1) for Duggan 46, W Dunphy for Keyes 60, J Lennon for Purcell 71.
Ref: C McDonald (Antrim).