Offaly Keep Faith And Force A Leinster Semi-Final Replay

Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Semi-Final: Galway 2-19 Offaly 3-16

Shane Dooley hit two injury-time points to give Offaly another opportunity to dump Galway out of the Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship after an absorbing 2-19 to 3-16 draw at Croke Park on Sunday.

The least Offaly - and the magnificent Dooley - deserve is another day out after producing a performance that many thought was beyond them. It was a throwback to Offaly days of the past, when the men from the Faithful County frequently slugged it out with the best the province had to offer and often came out on top.

Dooley's nerve jangling free, three minutes into injury time, may have levelled the game, but it felt like a winner for the Offaly supporters who have endured lean times of late. Dooley, the son of their manager and former star, Joe, struck 1-7 (1-1 from play) in yet another brilliant individual performance.

What made the performance all the more remarkable was that Offaly were down to 14 men and four points in arrears after 47 minutes. Having led by 3-7 to 0-11 at the break, Galway hit back with two goals, and when Daniel Currams was given a straight red card for a frontal charge on David Burke, Offaly looked to be on the verge of imploding.

However, they reacted to the sending off by hitting the next three points and were level with six minutes to go. Joe Canning and Iarla Tannian nudged Galway ahead, but Dooley assumed the responsibility at the death and forced a replay with two injury-time scores. The GAA confirmed on Sunday evening that the replay will go ahead in Portlaoise next Saturday evening at 7pm [2pm EDT].

For Galway, the inquest into how they managed to throw away a lead when a man up and four points ahead will be painful and not without casualties.

Yet again, the Tribesmen displayed an alarming tendency to drift in and out of games. At times they were electric; other times they looked nothing like the All-Ireland contenders many have touted them as this year.

For starters, they will need to take a long, hard look at their defence, which leaked three goals in the first half and always appeared one step away from disaster. Never has Fergal Moore been so badly missed.

There were positives, too, as Joe Canning hit 1-5, including two sideline cuts, and scoring machine Ger Farragher also pitched in with a similar total. However, after Joe Canning and Farragher's goals at the start of the second half had turned the game, the question will remain as to how they blew the perfect chance to reach the Leinster decider in their second year in the competition.

Galway picked up where they left off in the quarter-final win over Wexford. The game was two minutes old when Damien Hayes opened the scoring. Farragher swept over a trademark sideline cut and a free before Tannian put them four points ahead after seven minutes. All was well for the Tribesmen and there was little to hint of the torment that was to come.

Derek Molloy made Offaly's first deposit in the ninth minute, bursting onto the ball at pace and firing over. They were back in the game two minutes later. Dooley, the Offaly danger man, won the ball in the corner and ran straight at Ollie Canning, ten years his senior. Canning was left floundering and Dooley drove a shot at Colm Callanan, which the Galway goalkeeper could only bat into the path of Joe Brady, who duly hit the back of the net. Brian Carroll then added a point to level the game.

The momentum was with Offaly and there was confidence coursing through their attack. Their half-forward line, especially, was causing Galway all sorts of problems, a point that was reinforced when Bergin put them ahead with his second point, this time from an outrageous angle.

Galway were in complete shock when Offaly stole in for a second goal after 19 minutes. Bergin sent a high ball into the full-forward line and Dooley picked Ollie Canning's pocket, sneaking ahead of the veteran Galway defender driving the ball home. Offaly led 2-3 to 0-5 and when Dooley added a score from a free, the Faithful men had scored 2-3 on the spin in a remarkable ten-minute spell.

Joe Canning, starved of ball at full-forward, rallied the Tribesmen by hitting successive points - one from play and another free. Canning was visibly frustrated and urged his team-mates to send more high ball into the edge of the square, where he was enjoying a real battle with David Kenny.

But Galway's problems were of a more fundamental nature - they couldn't handle the Offaly attack, particularly the rampant Bergin. Shane Kavanagh, the Galway full-back, should have swallowed up a long delivery, but he took his eye off the ball and Bergin stole in for Offaly's third goal.

Galway were in disarray and their manager, John McIntyre, hauled Donal Barry off after 30 minutes, replacing the Castlegar man with the experienced John Lee in the half-back line. Galway finished the half with two much-needed points on the trot, Farragher and Aonghus Callanan hitting the target to leave their side 3-7 to 0-11 down at the break.

A game that swung wildly had another unexpected twist when Galway hit two goals in as many minutes at the start of the second half. Joe Canning profited after Cyril Donnellan had torn through the Offaly defence before stumbling and offloading to his burly full-forward, who tapped home.

A minute later, they had a second when Aonghus Callanan's brilliant run and shot produced a fine save from James Dempsey, the Offaly goalkeeper, but the rebound fell kindly for Farragher to tap home. Galway were four points up and when Currams was sent off in the 47th minute, it looked like curtains for the Faithful men.

However, went to the well once again and finished the game brilliantly to force a replay after a performance that will go into the annals of Offaly folklore and one that will, undoubtedly, go down as their most impressive since the victory over Cork ten years ago.