Paul McConway was thrilled with how Offaly expressed themselves in Saturday's Allianz Football League Division 4 final.

The Faithful scored four goals at Croke Park for the first time since their 1980 All-Ireland semi-final loss to Kerry as they laid down a marker for their Leinster SFC rematch with Longford on May 16 in emphatic fashion.

"We wanted to come up to Croke Park and express ourselves. We've been threatening to do it all year and there's probably no better place to open up really," the Offaly captain said on Midlands 103.

"In the second half the lads showed the talent that is in that dressing-room. Look, it's a win, it's a Division 4 title. We have to park in now and move on to [the game in] three weeks' time.

"We haven't beaten them in a while and it's great to have the confidence that we know we can beat them. Three weeks' time [it's] going to be a different game, it's going to be a bigger battle.

"We realise that [this] game was a league final - you've got to play it on its merits.

"If you look at the lads we have in the forward line they are all capable of putting up high scores. These are all serious scoring forwards. I think people forget that.

"It's great for them lads to go out and express themselves and open up. It's just shows the flair we have in the team."

Commenting on his spectacular second half goal, the modest full back said: "I suppose I took a chance and sometimes they come off and sometimes they don't.

"In fairness to [Bernard Allen] it was a great [pass]. It fell for me, another day it could have gone blazing wide but thank God, it went in."

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