Leinster Senior Hurling Championship – Offaly 3-19 Kerry 0-20

Kerry will play Offaly in Round 3 of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Round Robin competition on Sunday May 22nd at 3pm in O’Connor Park Tullamore.

Offaly hurlers overcome tough challenge from Kerry

Report by Kevin Egan from breakingnews.ie

Offaly 3-19 Kerry 0-20

The crisis in Offaly hurling has abated for another fortnight at least after Eamonn Kelly’s county side came through a tense encounter with Kerry this afternoon, writes Kevin Egan.

They secured their progression to the knockout stages of the Leinster championship thanks to two second-half goals from Joe Bergin.
Kerry more than held their own for long stretches of this contest and were unlucky to trail by a single point at half time after hurling with the aid of a fresh breeze.

The Kingdom burst out of the blocks at O’Connor Park and picked off five of the first six points of the contest, with teenage players Jason Diggins and Brandon Barrett both on target with top class scores. As has been the case all year, Offaly were hugely reliant on Shane Dooley’s placed ball expertise to keep them in contention and the Tullamore man delivered the goods with an array of frees and one superb sideline cut.

He also tapped in a goal from close range shortly before half time to give his side a 1-9 to 0-11 interval lead, however he and his colleagues were guilty of a series of wides after half time and they allowed Kerry to regain the initiative. It was only with twenty minutes to play that Offaly finally put some daylight between the sides, kickstarted by Bergin’s first goal.

He got a touch to Dooley’s high ball to flick it past Aidan McCabe and when Kevin Connolly followed up with a point, Offaly were five clear. Kerry continued to press for scores but while Shane Nolan and Brandon Barrett continued to pick off some nice points, they never really troubled James Dempsey in the Offaly goal.

Bergin’s second goal, again assisted by Dooley, killed off any lingering hopes of a Kerry comeback and set Offaly up with a home Leinster quarter-final against Laois, where a win would take them out of the round robin series in 2017.

Offaly Scorers: S Dooley 1-10 (0-8f, 0-1 ’65, 0-1 s/line), J Bergin 2-2, K Connolly 0-2, S Kinsella, J Mulrooney, C Kiely, P Guinan & L Langton 0-1 each.

Kerry Scorers: S Nolan 0-8 (0-6f), B Barrett & J Egan 0-3 each, D Collins & J Griffin 0-2 each, J Diggins & T Casey 0-1 each.

OFFALY: J Dempsey; C McDonald, D Shortt, P Rigney; D King, S Gardiner, D Mooney; S Ryan, P Camon; S Cleary; C Kiely, S Kinsella, P Murphy; S Dooley, J Mulrooney, J Bergin.
Subs: K Connolly for Camon (35), B Conneelly for Mooney (55), P Guinan for Kinsella (58), L Langton for Murphy (66), S Cleary for Kiely (66).

KERRY: A McCabe; B Murphy, P Kelly, K Carmody; J Diggins, D Dineen, T Murnane; D Collins, J Griffin; B Barrett, P Lucid, S Nolan; J Conway, J Egan, J Goulding.
Subs: M O’Leary for Lucid (29), D Fitzell for Murphy (52), B O’Leary for Conway (55), T Casey for Collins (60).

Referee: Paud O’Dywer (Carlow).

Team News

The Kerry Senior Hurling Team to play Offaly in Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Round 3https://t.co/CMhMcXTNWt pic.twitter.com/EVcVBBntzZ

— Kerry GAA (@Kerry_Official) May 19, 2016

The Kerry Senior Hurling Team to play Offaly in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Round Robin Group, Round 3, at O’Connor Park, Tullamore on Sunday next (3pm) shows three changes in personnel and a number of positional changes from the side defeated by Westmeath in Round 2. Jordan Conway, Brandon Barrett and Philip Lucid come into the side in place of Mikey Boyle who is suspended, and the O’Leary brothers, Michael and Brendan.

The team captained by Daniel Collins of Kilmoyley lines out as follows:

1. Aidan McCabe Kilmoyley
2. Jason Diggins Causeway
3. Patrick Kelly Clarecastle
4. Bryan Murphy Causeway
5. Daniel Collins(C) Kilmoyley
6. Tom Murnane Kilmoyley
7. Keith Carmody Causeway
8. Darren Dineen St Brendans
9. John Griffin Lixnaw
10. Jack Goulding Ballyduff
11. Shane Nolan Crotta O’Neills
12. Jordan Conway Crotta O’Neills
13. John Egan St Brendans
14. Brandon Barrett Causeway
15. Philip Lucid Ballyheigue

Fir Ionaid:

16 Martin Stackpoole Lixnaw
17. Brendan Brosnan Lixnaw
18. John Buckley Lixnaw
19. Jordan Brick Kilmoyley
20. Tommy Casey Causeway
21. Paudie O’Connor Kilmoyley
22. Dougie Fitzelle Kilmoyley
23. Rory Horgan St Brendans
24. James O’Connor Abbeydorney
25. Michael O’Leary Abbeydorney
26. Brendan O’Leary Abbeydorney

Bainistíocht:

Bainisteoir: Ciaran Carey (Patrickswell)
Coach/Selector: Mark Foley (Adare)
Treanálaí: Damien Ryall (Abbeydorney)
Róghnoirí: James McCarthy (Kilmoyley), Michael Conway (Lixnaw)

Additional Players on Panel

Mikey Boyle Ballyduff – Susp
Colum Harty Causeway – Inj
Mike Milner Dr Crokes
Darragh Shanahan Kilmoyley
P J Keane Abbeydorney
Stephen Murphy Causeway
Fionán Horgan St Brendans
Joseph Diggins Causeway