On days like these, teams discover themselves. Not long before throw-in, Offaly lost three players to various injuries and, during the match, both of their midfielders departed for the regional hospital which is little more than a good kick of the ball from O'Connor Park in Tullamore.
So, the only assumption that can be made is that Offaly's strength-in-depth is greater than that of Dublin's. And, perhaps, their desire too! Certainly, in terms of the National League, Dublin's priorities seem to be more to unearth new talent than to make a realistic tilt at the country's secondary competition.
If that's the case, then Dublin got their just deserts yesterday. In fact, this match was out of their reach by the half-time whistle which Offaly, who had played with the stiff wind, reached with an almost unassailable 10 points lead. Although Dublin upped the ante in the second half, and at least salvaged some pride, some abysmal shooting ensured there was little chance of redeeming much else.
Offaly thoroughly deserved this win. There were wholesale changes to the side before the start when John Kenny failed a fitness test and half forwards Colm Quinn and Mel Keenaghan were also withdrawn with injuries. As if their plight wasn't bad enough, James Grennan (with a dislocated shoulder) and Ciaran McManus (who suffered a suspected broken elbow) became match casualties.
Yet, despite such blows, they remained committed to a game-plan in which the basics of handling, passing, kicking and tackling were performed with diligence.
In defence, Karl Slattery at half back was quite superb while Cathal Daly gave a display of corner back work that should be videotaped and shown to any youngster with eyes on playing in that position. However, much of Offaly's most valuable work was done in a 10-minute purple-patch before half-time when they scored five successive points - from McManus, Darren Quinn, Basil Malone, Cillian Farrell and Donie Ryan - to effectively leave Dublin clutching at straws.
Offaly's goal came in the 10th minute when McManus' long ball from the middle of the field broke to Ryan. His shot was blocked by a Dublin hand but the ball fell to Malone and he fired past David Byrne from 15 yards. It was a goal that fully demonstrated Offaly's work ethic.
Moments earlier, Offaly's Padraig Kelly had pulled off a fine save from Wayne McCarthy - who scored Dublin's solitary first-half point, from a free 22 minutes into the game - on one of the rare occasions that the visitors negotiated a way through the Offaly defence.
There was marked desperation in Dublin's play. On one occasion, in first-half injury time, Paul Curran - who had been parachuted in minutes earlier in an attempt to bring some meaning to their attack - was left with his hands in the air in a gesture of frustration after battling by three Offalymen only to discover not a single player in the expanse to his right. He ended up turning back from where he had come to pass.
Curran's introduction did, however, help Dublin in their fightback and Niall O'Donoghue, who kicked three points, also blossomed as the game progressed. And Peadar Andrews also had his moments in an overworked defence.
But the day belonged to Offaly, who rammed home their greater intent in the first half and then overcame the haemorrhage of injured players later in the game with a commitment that ran throughout the entire team. "A lot of people wouldn't have given us a chance before the start, with all those injuries, but some of the young lads in there for the first time showed that they want to keep that jersey," said Offaly manager Padraig Nolan.
Dublin have now lost two out of two in the league and there's a possibility that yesterday's match will mark the end of their pre-Christmas campaign. Kerry have requested that their match on Sunday week be postponed and Dublin have acceded.
OFFALY: P Kelly; C Daly, G Rafferty, J Brady; B Mooney (0-1), T Keogh (0-1), K Slattery; J Grennan, C McManus (0-2, one free); N Coughlan, C Farrell (0-1), D Quinn (0-1); D Ryan (0-1), A McNamee, B Malone (1-3, two frees). Subs: C Grennan for J Grennan (30 mins), M Daly for McManus (43 mins), G Comerford for Ryan (63 mins), C Evans for Coughlan (68 mins), Ryan for Quinn (70 mins).
DUBLIN: D Byrne; M Cahill, P Christie, M Casey; S Ryan, I Clarke, P Andrews; D Homan, C Whelan; D Magee, J Ward, N O'Donoghue (0-3); B O'Brien, V Murphy, W McCarthy (0-4, all frees). Subs: P Curran (0-1) for Ward (27 mins), I Robertson (0-1) for O'Brien (half-time), K Kelly for Magee (57 mins), K Galvin for Clarke (70 mins).
Referee: G Lynch (Fermanagh).
