Martin: Players must ask themselves some questions about commitment
IT’S probably a sign of how far Offaly have fallen that Laois boss Eddie Brennan was immediately thinking of their next challenge rather than basking in a comprehensive victory over their Midland rivals on Saturday night.
Brennan couldn’t have believed just how easy the O’Moore men went about their business as they blew an inept Faithful effort out of the water in the opening period.
Laois lorded it in the skies with Ryan Mullaney spearheading a dominant half-back line.
Buoyed by Willie Dunphy’s 14th-minute goal, Laois hit a staggering 2-7 without reply with the wind at their backs.
That was all she wrote as they led by 13 at the break, 2-13 to 0-6, and while an Offaly fightback did materialise, the final scoreline flattered the visitors to O’Moore Park as Laois edged towards a quarter-final spot.
Brennan (right) lauded their “relentless” first-half performance and hopes their first league victory will “trigger a desire” for more of the same with next week’s trip to Carlow likely to prove decisive in their bid to make the last eight.
“The lads were well-tuned in for this and they performed as well as I can ask of them. It’s a priceless two points and we have to get our heads around that,” the nine-time All-Ireland winner said.
“I said from the word go I’d like to get into the league quarter-finals, I’d love to, but they (Carlow) stand in our way at the moment. They are flying it so there’s a huge prize on offer next weekend.”
It’s back to the drawing board once more for Kevin’s Martin Faithful side as they look certain to be in the middle of a relegation dogfight.
Their first-half display was abysmal. Having led by 0-4 to 0-3, they were unable to stem the blood flow after Dunphy’s first goal to any degree, and capitulated with just two points in the remaining 22 firsthalf minutes – much to Martin’s dismay.
“We beat ourselves in the first half, we didn’t work hard enough. We left too much to do, nearly got there in the end but didn’t, it’s just down to work-rate in the first half, it just wasn’t there,” Martin said.
“They were playing reaction hurling, they weren’t off the mark. They were getting turned over, they weren’t getting breaks, which is uncharacteristic of them because we’d a good week in training.
“There’s questions to be asked, the players have to ask themselves questions about their commitment tonight and whether they gave everything or not. They’ll have to digest it over the weekend.”
Things won’t get any easier as they host Galway next Sunday but Martin wasn’t all doom and gloom with Joe Bergin and Shane Dooley returning from injury to feature. With Oisin Kelly, Conor Mahon, Cillian Kiely and David O’Toole also set to return in the next month, the Offaly supremo is confident that they’ll be a “different team come championship” but they must first try to maintain their place in1B.
Offaly started competitively but the game quickly turned after Dunphy’s first goal, when he capitalised on a mistake in the Faithful defence and rifled past Eoghan Cahill, before doubling his tally just three minutes later.
His second came after a slick team move involving Paddy Purcell and Stephen ‘Picky’ Maher and with Aaron Dunphy and Mark Kavanagh also on song up front, they ripped the Offaly defence to shreds.
Bergin was one of the few Faithful players to come away with credit as he led a mini resurgence in the second half after Martin made a triple substitution at the break with Dooley sprung from the bench.
Spirits
Colm Gath’s 39th-minute goal lifted their spirits but things could have been disastrous at the other end were it not for two fine saves from Cahill, before he added a long free to leave eight in it, 2-15 to 1-10.
Purcell was piercing holes in Offaly’s defence, however, and Maher was the beneficiary as Laois hit their third goal soon after.
While a long-range free from Bergin went all the way to the Laois net in injury time, it was too little too late as the home side held out with a fair degree of comfort.