Armagh 0-3 Offaly 2-17

Report by John Gavin

Offaly took to the field in the Athletic Grounds on Saturday afternoon not only knowing that their place in the Division 2A Final was secured but also that they would face Derry given that the Oak Leaf girls had overcome Kerry earlier in the day. 

In addition, Armagh's relegation had also been confirmed so it was a game with little at stake and this showed in the first half.  Offaly seemed flat in their early showing in the game and Armagh unfortunately offered little challenge.

The Armagh management might have hoped that David Sullivan might not have name a full strength team but somewhat surprisingly Offaly did line out with a team that one might expect would be similar to the one that starts in the League Final.  With Roisin Kinsella and Faye Mulrooney returning to the attack the Offaly forwards were strengthened to the team that faced Carlow last time out.  At the back, Leah Gallagher returned to guard the Offaly net in place of Emer Reynolds. 

The gulf between the teams was evident in the first half with Offaly, without reaching anything close to their optimum performance, were 1-8 up before Armagh got their first and only score of the half from a free in the 25th minute.

It was a similar story in the second half with Offaly continuing to keep the scoreboard ticking over without too much resistance from Armagh.  One performance that did stand out was Faye Mulrooney playing at full forward.  The Birr woman found the net in the first half and followed it up with a second shortly after the restart and quickly added three points in quick succession before being called aside as David Sullivan made his customary number of changes to give his subs plenty of game time.

Afterwards Sullivan reflected on the game and admitted the first half was uninspiring game but highlighted how his team improved in the second half and hit some nice scores.  Naturally he was pleased to have gotten through the game without any injuries to his players which was always a risk in a game was that a "dead rubber".

Reflecting on the campaign as a whole, while he was pleased that his team had won all their games and with Ellen Gilligan coming on at half time in Armagh it meant that all his panel had played in the campaign which is a positive.  He then went on to say that the clean sweep would count for nothing come the final.  He was aware that Derry will have improved since they met earlier in the campaign and he and his team will not be underestimating the challenge ahead of them come 13 April.

Offaly team:  Leah Gallagher, Aoife Liffey, Cathy Fogarty, Megan King, Orlagh Phelan, Amy Byrne, Hannah Feenane, Sharon Shanahan, Caoimhe O'Donovan, Grace Teehan, Christine Cleary, Mairead Teehan, Fianait Dooley, Faye Mulrooney, Roisin Kinsella

Subs:  Ciara Maher for Fianait Dooley, Clodagh Leahy for Orlagh Phelan, Elizabeth Kilmartin for Sharon Shanahan, Kaitlyn Kennedy for Amy Byrne, Grainne Kennedy for Faye Mulrooney, Orla Kilmartin for Grace Teehan, Aoife Hoctor for Roisin Kinsella, Ellen Gilligan for Leah Gallagher

Offaly scorers:  Faye Mulrooney 2-5, Grace Teehan 0-7 (3 frees, 3 x '45), Clodagh Leahy 0-2 (1 x '45), Roisin Kinsella 0-1, Orla Kilmartin 0-1, Mairead Teehan 0-1

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