Offaly withstood a late comeback by Down in last night's Walsh Cup quarter-final at Darver in Louth to come through 4-13 to 2-12 and ensure a place in the penultimate stage against Wexford.
Joe Dooley's charges led 2-12 to 1-4 at the interval thanks to goals from Daniel Currams and Francis Kerrigan.
But Down bounced back strongly, thanks to good work by substitute Kevin McGarry, Stephen Clarke and Paddy Coulter. Alas, to no avail.