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Graham Shows His Mettle As Offaly Scrape Past Laois

Thursday, 8 July 2010

Peter Cunningham awaits a high ball.

Offaly 0-10 Laois 0-9.

NOEL Graham provided a tantalising glimpse of his immense potential when he powered Offaly into the Leinster Minor Football Championship final in O'Connor Park, Tullamore last Wednesday evening.
Graham stamped his authority on the game from start to finish and it is seldom that a team has owed so much to one man as Offaly edged out Laois by a point, 0-10 to 0-9, in a very tense and exciting battle.
The Cappincur man kicked seven of Offaly's ten points, two of them from play, but there was so much more to his performance than his score taking. He controlled midfield throughout, covered acres of space as he popped up on the Laois 14 yard line one minute and a minute later was back clearing from in front of his own goal. His distribution was superb and Graham powered Offaly on relentlessly.
With his midfield partner, Pat Camon having his best game of the campaign and providing very able support, Offaly totally dominated this all important sector and laid the foundations for their hard earned win here.
Afterwards, Graham was the name on the lips of all Offaly fans and there is no doubt that he has immense potential. He possesses all the attributes to make it at senior inter county level and while there will be inevitable questions about his temperament - These did not surface on Wednesday last -, he is one of the brightest upcoming talents in the county.
Played in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd, it is amazing to note that Offaly ended up holding on for dear life here as they enjoyed the lion's share of possession. They were the better side for a good three quarters of the game but it is a source of concern that they didn't put a very mediocre side away and instead left themselves open for a late sucker punch.
Offaly really should have coasted into the final. Laois made a flying start and were three points to the good before Offaly knew what hit them. After this, Offaly played some great football. With Graham at full throttle and Camon moving the ball well beside him, they played some very fast and constructive football and were ahead by 0-7 to 0-6 at the break.
Laois had the advantage of a slight wind in the second half but Offaly continued to dictate the flow of the game. With sixteen minutes left, Offaly were 0-10 to 0-7 ahead and Laois were waiting expectantly to be put out of their misery.
Instead, Offaly suddenly lost their composure with the winning post in sight. They became increasingly ragged and error prone as the game wore on, taking too much out of the ball, playing themselves into trouble and giving hard won possession away with alarming ease. They became remarkably sloppy in the closing quarter - And interestingly, Graham was as guilty as any of his colleagues in this regard, though he did ease the pressure with some sterling late defensive work - and with eight minutes left, Laois had the deficit back to the minimum.
Time was on the visitor's side but they were just not good enough to take advantage. With Offaly on the ropes, a really good side would have punished them but Laois just didn't have the forward power to do so and a relieved home side held on.
The manner in which Offaly left themselves open to a late snatch and grab raid raises doubts but after impressive wins over Longford and Meath in the earlier rounds, maybe it was no harm.
They certainly left plenty of room for improvement ahead of Sunday's final in Croke Park. Defensively Offaly coped reasonably well against an average Laois attack, with Conor Lowry and Cian Donohoe doing particularly well but the back six did become sloppy late on.
The contribution of Offaly's midfield pairing has already been acknowledged and the attacking display left a lot to be desired. With midfield so dominant, Offaly enjoyed an abundance of possession and should have been able to win comfortably - A reflection of their dominance is provided by the fact that they kicked ten wides compared to just two for Laois.
Peter Cunningham and Paul McPadden were the only two forwards to play well and too many of the other players were caught behind their men when ball came in. Cunningham worked very well while McPadden showed well for the ball, but seemed to go to ground too often and too easily - The soft underfoot conditions may have contributed to this and he could have had the wrong studs.
Laois made a blistering start and had points on the board from Paul Kingston (Free) and Damian O'Connor (Two) by the second minute. Offaly, however, settled quickly after this with Graham opening their scoring from a free. With Graham dictating and scoring two super points from play as well as a free and Peter Cunningham and Paul McPadden also getting in on the scoring act, Offaly stormed into a 0-6 to 0-3 lead by the 14th minute.
It was sensational football by Offaly but points from Daryl Hayden and Paul Kingston kept Laois right in it. Graham superbly converted a '45' and then hit the post after Peter Cunningham fumbled when it looked like he would get in on goal before Kingston's free left Laois trailing by 0-7 to 0-6 at the break.
Jamie Farrell quickly equalised after the resumption but two Graham frees and one from Stuart Cullen put the winners 0-10 to 0-7 ahead with fourteen minutes gone in the second half.
Offaly appeared to be in no danger but it almost unraveled badly in the closing quarter. Frees from Shane McCauley and Paul Kingston cut the deficit to the minimum but despite seeming to do their utmost to throw it away, a relieved Offaly held on.

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