Patrick Horgan shoots to score a goal for Cork against Offaly. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
All-Ireland SHC Preliminary Quarter-Final
Cork 4-25 Offaly 3-19
By Paul Keane at Glenisk O'Connor Park
With just 15 minutes to go in Tullamore, and only six points between the teams, Offaly wing-forward Oisin Kelly bore down on the Cork goals.
A three-pointer would have cut the deficit in half and with momentum on their side, who knows how the closing quarter hour or so may have panned out for underdogs Offaly.
Cork goalkeeper Patrick Collins saved superbly though and about 60 seconds later Pat Horgan had the ball in the net at the other end of the pitch, propelling Cork nine points clear.
That was the margin that ultimately separated the teams and while three more goals flew in after that Horgan strike, two from Offaly in stoppage time, it was the veteran Glen Rovers man that once again gave his team room to breathe.
Horgan finished with 1-10 while Shane Barrett, Brian Hayes and Robbie O'Flynn also got among the goals for the All-Ireland hopefuls, helping them to secure a win that guarantees a quarter-final shot at Dublin next weekend.
Manager Pat Ryan described the performance as 'sloppy' though and a significant improvement will be required against the Dubs.
Offaly, meanwhile, can be proud of their efforts and will pull the shutters down on a successful season, one they signed off on with stoppage time goals from Jack Clancy and the excellent Killian Sampson.
The hosts may have hoped to capitalise on Cork ring rustiness with four weeks having passed since Ryan's Rebels locked down third position in the Munster table by beating Tipperary.
Offaly, meanwhile, were still exhibiting an afterglow from their breakthrough McDonagh Cup success at Croke Park last weekend, catapulting them back into the Leinster SHC for 2025 having not featured there since 2018.
Hayes suggested with a stunning third minute Cork goal that there weren't going to be any cobwebs for the 2021 All-Ireland finalists to clear away.
The St Finbarr's man burst through the centre of the Offaly defence before cleverly shortening the hurl and batting the sliotar beyond Mark Troy.
Yet Offaly were shortly back on level terms at 0-3 to 1-0 and they gave the home supporters plenty to get excited about in an entertaining first-half.
All-Ireland U-20 winner Dan Bourke nailed two nice points and both Sampson and Eoghan Cahill punished turnovers in the Cork defence with Offaly scores. One of those turnovers came from Mark Coleman coughing a ball up with little cover behind and the Blarney man fired three first-half wides too.
But that Hayes goal and another from the excellent Barrett in the 22nd minute still left Cork 2-15 to 0-13 up at the interval.
The eight-point lead flattered Cork though they were certainly the better team, even if goal-king Alan Connolly had been largely tied up by full-back Ciaran Burke.
Back in March, when Cork hammered Offaly in the National League and put 5-28 on the board, Connolly sniped a hat-trick, adding two more since in league and Championship.
Barrett stood up this time as the chief Cork attacking threat, finishing the first-half with 1-3.
Horgan, who began the day 23 points behind TJ Reid in the all-time Championship scoring charts, drilled seven first-half points and, perhaps with Reid in mind, tried for a cheeky goal from a 20th minute free that was blocked out for a 65.
Aside from Burke shaping up to Connolly, Offaly detailed Ben Conneely to track Hayes and Cathal King for man-marking duties on Horgan.
The 1998 All-Ireland winners breathed fresh life into the contest seven minutes after the restart when Oisin Kelly pulled first time and netted following Killian Sampson's ball across goals.
That left just five points between them and the margin, a concerning one from Cork's perspective, remained in place entering the final quarter, 2-20 to 1-18.
A turning point arrived at that stage, Cork goalkeeper Patrick Collins superbly denying Kelly with a goal and Horgan then exchanging passes with Hayes and striking to the net at the other end.
Suddenly, Cork had moved 3-21 to 1-18 clear and their large contingent of supporters finally breathed out.
There was still plenty of drama to come though and Offaly closed out their 2024 inter-county season with a smile following those two goals in the 73rd and 74th minutes.
Scorers for Cork: Pat Horgan 1-10 (7fs, 2 65s), Shane Barrett 1-4, Brian Hayes 1-1, Declan Dalton 0-4 (1f), Robbie O'Flynn 1-0, Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-3, Niall O'Leary 0-1, Conor Lehane 0-1, Shane Kingston 0-1.
Scorers for Offaly: Killian Sampson 1-3, Eoghan Cahill 0-5 (4fs), Brian Duignan 0-5 (3fs), Oisin Kelly 1-0, Jack Clancy 1-0, Dan Bourke 0-2, David King 0-1, Cillian Kiely 0-1, Charlie Mitchell 0-1, Jason Sampson 0-1.
Cork: Patrick Collins; Niall O'Leary, Eoin Downey, Sean O'Donoghue; Tim O'Mahony, Robert Downey, Mark Coleman; Ciaran Joyce, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Declan Dalton, Shane Barrett, Conor Lehane; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes.
Subs: Shane Kingston for Connolly 44, Luke Meade for Barrett 55, Padraig Power for Lehane 63, Jack O'Connor for Hayes 64, Robbie O'Flynn for Dalton 67.
Offaly: Mark Troy; Ben Conneely, Ciaran Burke, Cathal King; David King, Cillian Kiely, Donal Shirley; Jason Sampson, Ross Ravenhill; Killian Sampson, Brian Duignan, Oisin Kelly; Charlie Mitchell, Eoghan Cahill, Dan Bourke.
Subs: Eimhin Kelly for Cahill h/t, Jack Clancy for Ravenhill 47, Sam Bourke for Kelly 61, Dara Maher for Kiely 64, Luke Watkins for D Bourke 70.
Referee: Sean Stack (Dublin).
