Ikem Ugweru continues to impress for Clare. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Allianz Football League Division Three
Offaly 2-17 (2-2-13) Kildare 0-17 (0-0-17)
Antrim 1-15 (1-1-13) Sligo 1-18 (1-2-14)
Fermangh W/O Leitrim SCR
Clare 2-22 (2-0-22) Laois 1-21 (1-3-15)
Offaly secured a first competitive win over Kildare in 19 years, and in doing so, gave themselves a huge chance of securing promotion to Division Two of the Allianz League when they travel to Zimmer Biomet Cusack Park next Sunday.
Anything better than an 11-point defeat will secure a league final berth for the Faithful County, and they’ll travel in confidence after putting stuttering displays against Fermanagh and Leitrim behind them with a strong showing in front of a large crowd in Tullamore.
A pair of two-pointers from Dylan Hyland helped to get the home crowd into the game, but Kildare had the better of things either side of half-time, turning an 0-11 to 0-8 deficit into an 0-14 to 0-12 lead.
The lack of goals has been an Achilles’ heel for Brian Flanagan’s side this year however, with just four scored in six games, and two in their last five.
Offaly, in contrast, have been the leading harvester of green flags in the division, and they showed why after 53 minutes when a sumptuous team move ended with Rory Egan finding the net to nudge them 1-12 to 0-14 in front.
Their final quarter was sensational. Cormac Egan drove forward to add a couple of fine scores, one of which fizzed just a foot over the crossbar, while Dylan Hyland continued to rack up the frees and keep Kildare at arm’s length, before effectively clinching the win with a penalty in the 67th minute.
At the other of the table, the big game was in Corrigan Park, where Sligo took a huge step towards survival with a three-point win over their hosts.
Sligo established a solid foothold in the first half when they build up a 1-11 to 0-6 interval lead, with Alan McLoughlin and Alan Reilly particularly sharp up front.
Luke Towey’s goal shortly before half-time left Antrim with a lot of work to do, though it looked like they might be able to pull it out of the fire when they scored 1-4 without reply in the third quarter, Dominic McEnhill scoring their goal on the back of a great run from Conor Hand.
They couldn’t quite get on level terms however, and it was McLoughlin who effectively wrapped up the win with a two-pointer in the closing minutes, forcing Antrim to chase a goal.
Clare still have a chance to sneak into the top two, though they’ll need to either beat Offaly by 11 points in Ennis, or else get a favour from Antrim, despite producing a wonderful second-half comeback against Laois
Unlike a lot of other games in the Allianz Football League this year, Clare’s transformation from the first half to the second had nothing to do with the wind and everything to do with a couple of key individual performances, in particular Brian McNamara helping to break the Laois stranglehold at midfield, Manus Doherty curtailing the freescoring Mark Barry, and Emmet McMahon bursting into the game with seven points, all after half-time.
Aaron Griffin and Ikem Ugwueru were impressive throughout the 70 minutes, and it was an explosive run and low finish from Griffin that established an early lead for the Banner County.
However, Conor Heffernan and Damon Larkin took control of the midfield battle and with Mark Barry knocking over a plethora of scores from frees and from play, Laois gradually took over, moving six points clear when Ronan Coffey got a fist to a Josh Hogan shot that dropped short, making it 1-13 to 1-7 with the last action of the first half.
The second half was completely different however, with McMahon bursting into the game with three points in two minutes, while Alan Sweeney’s palmed goal in the 57th minute left just a point between the sides.
While Clare had all the momentum, two-pointers from Killian Roche and Heffernan kept Laois in front, but they could do nothing as Griffin’s fisted point (bringing his tally to 1-4) kicked off a run of six consecutive Clare points to finish the contest.
