If a fiction writer came up with a story containing so many amazing twists and incredible statistics the finished article would surely be described as too far-fetched, way beyond the bounds of possibility and utterly lacking in credibility. By Paul Clarke

How could a team score five goals and 12 points in a football match and lose and how could their opponents summon up the physical and mental strengths required to claw back an 11-point deficit with less than half of the contest remaining? But the 1970 Leinster SFC final at Croke Park was no ordinary game; it was surely the most extraordinary provincial decider ever played.
Of undoubted significance is the fact that this was the first year of 80-minute championship matches, but that in no way takes away from the mind-boggling nature of a rip-roaring contest in which Meath, under the guidance of new trainer Mick Campbell from Kells, battled back from a seemingly impossible position to defeat Offaly by a point on a 2-22 to 5-12 score line.
It's one of those games that people are always anxious to say they were at. But while the stories of matches from the past often improve with their repeated retelling and become more colourful with the passing of time, there can be no denying that the Leinster showdown staged on the third Sunday of July back in 1970 requires no embellishment, no exaggeration.
An attendance in excess of 32,000 people shared every fascinating moment of a match in which Offaly, the previous year's beaten All-Ireland finalists, looked to be cruising to the retention of their provincial crown when they took a firm grip on the encounter as the first half progressed. Meath, bidding for a first Leinster success in three years, had started well and led by 0-6 to 0-1 after 15 minutes, but the pattern of the game soon changed in the most incredible way.
With Kieran Claffey a powerful influence at midfield, Offaly took over completely and began to score goals with a regularity that had Meath shell-shocked. Johnny Cooney got the first and then Claffey surged through the Royal County defence to add a second. Murt Connor, usually a defender but operating at full-forward in the absence of Sean Evans, got two more.
Both teams were also scoring points with consistency, so much so that it was difficult to keep track, and another amazing statistic to emerge was Offaly's tally of 4-6 during a 25-minute spell in that first half. They were 10 points clear at the interval, leading by 4-7 to 0-9, and that dire looking situation was enough to prompt some Meath supporters to head home early and catch up with work on the farm.
Tony McTeague had been brilliant in the opening 40 minutes, tormenting a stunned Meath defence, and with such a massive cushion to safeguard themselves against a possible Royal County rally Offaly looked certain to retain their Leinster title and keep alive their dream of making amends for the previous year's All-Ireland final loss to Kerry.
As Trim's Mickey Fay sat on the bench during the first half he witnessed a Meath performance which started promisingly, but then looked on in amazement and horror as Offaly took command and threatened to turn the encounter into a cakewalk.
"We started very well and went five points up, but then it all went wrong," recalled Fay who was to play a hugely significant role in Meath's sensational recovery. "The defence was like a sieve and goals were going in every direction. We were 10 points behind at half-time. I thought at that stage that it was an impossible task for us to come back.
"After we went back to the dressingroom at half-time I was told I was going on. I remember thinking 'thanks a lot'. I went in at left corner-forward and Ollie Shanley was switched to right half-back."
Bertie Cunningham, the 'footballer of the year' in 1967 following Meath's All-Ireland success, was among those to give Fay encouragement before he took to the field.
"Bertie was my idol from 1966 and 1967 when I was only a gasun," Fay added. "I remember he put his fist up against my chest coming out of the dressingroom and said 'now Fay, let's give it a blast'. But Offaly went 11 points ahead. I was stuck in at corner-forward. I was only 20 and was dying to run. I was like a greyhound on a leash, but you didn't roam out the field too far in those days."
Meath's big selection committee, made up of Jack Fitzgerald, Peter McDermott, Mattie Gilsenan, Pat Collier, Liam Creavin, Peter Darby and John Meehan, had taken the decision to move the speedy Shanley from corner-forward to defence in a bid to lessen McTeague's influence on the game and they also introduced young Fay to an attack which had scored nine first half points from limited possession. Both moves were to work out brilliantly.
But reappearing for the second half, Meath's prospects looked close to hopeless. They needed to resume positively, but instead it was Offaly who stretched their advantage to 11 points when Paddy Fenning split the uprights.
It would surely take more than Meath's traditional battling qualities to turn this one around, but the players clearly didn't view the situation as beyond them and by the time 15 second half minutes had elapsed the deficit was down to seven points at 0-16 to 4-11. It was still big, but it looked a great deal better than 11. And, significantly, this was a 40-minute half.
"We got it back to seven points and then I got two goals in quick succession," added Fay who had been Meath minor captain in 1968. "Tony Brennan kicked over a high ball and I got a fist to it for the first one. A minute later another high ball came in and went over Joe Murphy's head. I grabbed it and kicked it straight away. It went across Martin Furlong and into the net. Those goals brought us right back into it and gave us great belief."
By this stage the tension and excitement had become almost unbearable and Mick Mellett set hearts racing even faster when he drew the sides level with a point. It had been a remarkable recovery, built to a large extent on Shanley's curtailment of McTeague, the vastly improved showing of Vincent Lynch and Vincent Foley at midfield, Brennan's influence in attack and, of course, Fay's brace of goals. Without them it would surely have been impossible for Meath to close the gap with points alone.
Soon after Mellett's leveller, Claffey regained the lead for Offaly, but Meath were rampant and Brennan slotted over two frees and Matt Kerrigan and Ken Rennicks also pointed to push them three clear.
But this fascinating final wasn't going to end tamely with Meath easing clear. Time was running out for Offaly to salvage the situation, but they looked dangerous when Meath 'keeper Sean McCormack saved a rasping shot from Sean Kilroy. Inevitably, the equalising goal came when McTeague floated a free from the left flank into the danger zone and Willie Bryan rose highest to direct the ball to the net.
That left the score 5-12 to 2-21 and the contest looked set to end in a fitting draw. Neither side deserved to lose after serving up such incredible entertainment, but there was to be a winner and, sadly, a loser too. Kerrigan caught a kick-out and provided the pass for Brennan to score a brilliant winning point from long range. Offaly had one last chance to save the day when captain Eugene Mulligan raided upfield, but his effort drifted wide.
"I couldn't believe it when Willie Bryan got that goal to level it up again," said Fay. "But Tony Brennan got a great winning point. I remember thinking the ball would never come out of the clouds. Tony had a great game that day. He scored 10 points. Moving Ollie Shanley back to mark Tony McTeague was crucial. He was a fitness fanatic and could run all day.
"It was a tremendous feeling to win it. I can recall heading for the dressingroom and Peter Darby telling me to go up the steps of the stand for the presentation. That was some game. What a pity it wasn't televised. It would be great to be able to see it again.
"We beat Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final, but losing the final to Kerry was a huge disappointment. We missed far too many chances. That could have made all the difference. It just didn't happen on the day."
Amazingly, it would be a further 16 years before Meath would win the Leinster title again, but Offaly stormed back in magnificent fashion and clearly learned much from the horrendous experience of surrendering such a big lead in the 1970 final.
They defeated Kildare comprehensively in the 1971 Leinster final and went on to claim an historic first All-Ireland senior title with a final win over Galway when Bryan had the honour of lifting the Sam Maguire Cup. They retained the title the following year with a replayed final victory over Kerry when McTeague became the second Offaly captain to raise the famous trophy.
Murt Connor felt the awful experience of surrendering such a huge lead in that 1970 provincial final didn't do Offaly any damage, but instead probably taught them a lesson.
"It's impossible to explain," Connor said. "The fact that it was an 80-minute game was a big factor. I suppose we didn't pace ourselves. It was an unreal turnaround. You see turnarounds like that now, but something like that was very unusual back then.
"But I guess it didn't do us any harm. We went on to win the next two All-Irelands. It was probably a lesson learned. I scored 2-3 in that game and ended up on the losing team."
The teams were:
Meath - Sean McCormack; Bertie Cunningham, Jack Quinn (captain), Peter Black; Mick White, Terry Kearns, Pat Reynolds; Vincent Foley, Vincent Lynch (0-1); Tony Brennan (0-10), Matt Kerrigan (0-3), Mick Mellett (0-2); Ken Rennicks (0-3), Joe Murphy (0-1), Ollie Shanley (0-2). Subs - Mickey Fay (2-0) for Black, Peter Moore for Foley.
Offaly - Martin Furlong; Eugene Mulligan (captain), John Smith, John Egan; Nicholas Clavin, Larry Coughlan, Pat Monaghan; Willie Bryan (1-1), Kieran Claffey (1-2); Paddy Fenning (0-1), Johnny Cooney (1-0), Tony McTeague (0-4); Pat Keenan (0-1), Murt Connor (2-3), Jody Gunning. Subs - Jimmy Hanlon for Monaghan, Sean Kilroy for Gunning, Willie Molloy for Claffey.
Referee - Brendan Hayden (Carlow). Tweet

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