Resilient Limerick see off Offaly to score precious Tailteann Cup win

"WE HAD a good build-up over the week after losing to Down and the lads put their bodies on the line,” was manager Jimmy Lee's reaction to Limerick senior footballers' first win of the season, a 2-10 to 0-8 success over Offaly in their Tailteann Cup second round group fixture in Rathkeale's Mick Neville Park on Saturday afternoon.

Coming after eleven successive defeats in league and championship and one day short of twelve months, this emphatic success over Offaly not only turned Limerick's fortunes around but also all but qualified them for the play-offs of football's secondary championship ahead of their final preliminary outing against London next Saturday.

With both sides coming into the game in similarly downbeat circumstances, Limerick's failure to point from play in their opener against Down being matched by the Faithful's shock 14-point humiliation at home to London, it was no surprise that both sides' opening display was gripped by a nervous apprehension of not repeating their previous outings.

A first half dominated by endless passing movements across the width of the 45-metre line ended predictably on level scores and even the early exchanges on the restart promised anything different until Limerick, after falling behind again, took the game by the scruff of the neck.

The Shannonsiders rattled over three scores in succession, added a goal and a point within minutes of Offaly's strike in reply and then finally flaunted talents that had been hidden all year to cruise home in impressive fashion.

Limerick's extended build-up from the throw-in failed to make an opening and, when it broke down, Offaly grabbed the initiative for Nigel Dunne's '45 to open the scoring and Peter Cunningham's long shot to double their lead, 0-2 to 0-0.

However, one or two physical challenges brought some life to the exchanges and, with the hosts adding some pace and some focus to their support play, Cathal Owens opened their account. This was followed by Barry Coleman shooting a point on the loop to equalise and Peter Nash's free giving the home side the lead going into the second quarter,

'The Faithful' replied immediately with Ruairi McNamee's levelling point but, despite enjoying a run of possession, they failed to penetrate the Limerick defensive formation until McNamee struck again from distance. Going into the run-in to the break, the home side lifted the pace for Downes to point again from distance and then took the lead with Nash's 13-metre free for an off-the-ball foul before Jack Bryant hit back off the resulting kick-out for Offaly to tie the scores at 0-6 apiece.

The second half began as turgidly as the first before Offaly finally broke through the lateral passing movements with Dunne's point from wide on the left. The game changed, however, when Limerick's first attacking mark and, finding the momentum from Downes' equaliser, Coleman and James Naughton followed up with points to lead them leading by two for the first time.

Dunne pulled one back from a free on the three-quarter mark, but was then surprisingly substituted as the hosts broke quickly from deep to find Bob Childs cutting in along the right on the goal line to fist over. Now with a spring in their step, Limerick attacked the kickout and when the move broke down in the face of desperate Faithful defending, Emmet Rigter was on hand to collect the breaking ball and clinically dispatch it into the far corner of Ian Duffy's net.

The Leinstermen tried to respond, but the conviction wasn't there as the Limerick defence sucked the life out of their increasingly desperate movements for nine scoreless minutes before Eoin Carroll found the target with a point off a mark.

It was enough to provoke an instanst response as a flashing sequence of passes from Coleman to subs Bryan Nix and Iain Corbett left the high floating delivery for Rigtet to punch home his and Limerick's second goal. With the result now done and dusted, Limerick's Darren O'Doherty was able to finish off the scoring in added time with a strike on the turn.

SCORERS, LIMERICK: Emmet Rigter 2-0, Cathal Downes 0-3 (1 mark), Barry Coleman, Peter Nash (2 frees) 0-2 each, James Naughton (free), Bob Childs, Darren O'Doherty 0-1 each; OFFALY: Nigel Dunne 0-3 (1 '45', 1 free), Ruairí McNamee 0-2, Peter Cunningham, Jack Bryant, Eoin Carroll (mark), 0-1 each.

LIMERICK: Josh Ryan, Tony McCarthy, Séan O'Dea, Cormac Woulfe; Barry Coleman, Cillian Fahy, Paul Maher; Tommy Childs, Emmet Rigter; Tommy Griffin, James Naughton, Cathal Downes; Brian Ahern, Bob Childs, Peter Nash. SUBS: Iain Corbett for Tommy Childs (52 minutes), Danny Neville for Brian Ahern (55 minutes), Darren O'Doherty for Cormac Woulfe (64 minutes), Andrew Meade for James Naughton (68 minutes), Bryan Nix for Peter Nash (69 minutes).

OFFALY: Ian Duffy; Lee Pearson, David Dempsey, John Furlong; Cormac Egan, Peter Cunningham, Jack O'Brien; Eoin Carroll, Declan Hogan; Dylan Hyland, Ruairí McNamee, Jordan Hayes; Nigel Dunne, Keith O'Neill, Jack Bryant. SUBS: Aaron Sullivan for Dylan Hyland (49 minutes), Cathal Flynn for Jack Bryant (51 minutes), Cian Farrell for Nigel Dunne (60 minutes).

REFEREE: Jerome Henry (Mayo).