OFFALY made no mistake at the second time of asking when handing Dublin a comprehensive defeat in this Leinster Under 21 hurling quarter final replay at Parnell Park last night.
From the off, the Midlanders wee into their stride. Full forward Gary Hanniffy made the first of many telling contributions to open the scoring with a point. Then Hanniffy and free taker John Kelly tacked on two further points as the Dublin midfield, even at this early stage, lumbered in the wake of Shane Hand.
Shane Cooke's point on the run hinted at a Dublin upsurge. But Simon Whelehan younger brother to Brian pointed, just before Hanniffy reached up to pluck Hand's outfield delivery from the air. A quick turn and shot was enough to beat goalkeeper Brendan McLoughlin.
Two points from senior Kevin Flynn were quickly put into perspective as four Offaly points from Kelly (3) and Hanniffy rained over from various angles.
The half time introduction of Keith Horgan, along with what must have been a stern lecture, lifted Dublin for a while. They made an impression on the 1-8 to 0-4 interval score line. Kevin Donoghue, Flynn (2) and Simon Byrne fired them to within four points of the visitors but all the while Offaly were in the process of accumulating a total of 18 wides. Sooner or later, they wouldn't miss.
It took substitute Killian Farrell to stop the rot with a point and shortly afterwards Hanniffy beat full back Tom Donoghue to blaze a trail through the Dublin defence before smashing the sliothar to the net.
