Brave Royal bid falls short in Kildalkey

Offaly .........................2-18

Meath .........................3-11

Meath suffered a narrow defeat to 2024 All-Ireland and Leinster champions Offaly in a pulsating round two encounter in Group 2 of the Leinster u-20 HC this evening in Kildalkey, writes Eanna Mackey.

The Royals still have plenty to play for heading into their final group game against Laois after also losing to Dublin in round one, with a place in the quarter-finals still up for grabs.

A devastating spell just after the restart ultimately proved decisive, as Offaly struck 1-6 without reply while playing with the benefit of a strong breeze.

Kyle Ennis got Meath off to the perfect start, raising a white flag inside the opening minute. However, his effort was cancelled out immediately at the other end when Mark Mulrooney pointed for the Faithful County.

Patrick Lyons edged Offaly ahead in the fourth minute with an excellent over-the-shoulder score before an Odhrán Fletcher free made it 0-3 to 0-1.

Sharpshooter Louis McIvor opened his account in the eighth minute before an Andrew Hogan effort from play doubled Offaly’s advantage, leaving the visitors 0-4 to 0-2 ahead despite playing into the strong breeze blowing.

McIvor responded with a free to reduce the gap to the minimum before the Donaghmore/Ashbourne rising star added a stylish score from play to level the contest in the 19th minute.

Fletcher restored Offaly’s lead with another placed ball before Liam O’Riordan raised the first green flag of the evening, getting on the end of a looping delivery from Patrick Lyons ahead of Conor Cummings to give the Faithful men a 1-5 to 0-4 advantage with eight minutes remaining in the opening half.

However, Seán Corrigan’s men responded impressively and outscored the visitors by 1-3 to 0-2 during the closing stages of the half.

Ennis continued his strong scoring form, responding immediately with his third goal in four games after combining well with McIvor before rifling his finish to the corner of the net.

McIvor and Darren O’Higgins then combined for a neat one-two that resulted in the equalising score before Fletcher steadied Offaly with an important pointed free.

O’Higgins replied with an excellent effort from a tight angle before McIvor landed the score of the evening from near the halfway line to edge Meath 1-7 to 1-6 ahead approaching the interval.

Odhrán Fletcher levelled the game with the final puck of the half from another placed ball as the sides went in level at 1-7 apiece at the break.

Following the restart, Offaly took complete control with a devastating spell of 1-6 without reply, stretching their advantage to 2-13 to 1-7 by the 37th minute.

A brace of points from Fletcher and Liam O’Riordan, along with further scores from Darragh Scully and Gearóid Maher, pushed the Faithful County six clear before Conor Cummings batted the ball into the path of Patrick Lyons, who gathered possession and rifled to the net.

Meath once again showed their resilience, however, when Patrick Jordan forced a penalty following a black card offence by Ajay Carey, with Louis McIvor showing his class to roof the resulting strike to the top-right corner of the net.

Andrew Hogan responded with a monster effort for Offaly before Jordan struck again for Meath, this time played through by Darren O’Higgins, and finished emphatically to the net to drag the Royals back into the contest with the scoreboard reading 2-14 to 3-7 by the 42nd minute.

A brace of scores from McIvor were then cancelled out by Andrew Hogan, Seán Carey and Fletcher before Jordan and McIvor added a point apiece to leave just three between the sides at 2-17 to 3-11 entering the closing minutes.

However, Offaly showed their experience at this level to see the game out, with Odhrán Fletcher adding an excellent score deep into stoppage time to stretch the lead to four and secure a second consecutive victory for Leo O’Connor’s side.

Sean Corrigan’s men will have a two-week break before a do-or-die clash with Laois on home soil.

Offaly - Matt Watkins; Sean Og Foley, Joey McLoughlin, Caelum Larkin; Andrew Hogan (0-3 one free), James O'Sullivan, Harry Sweeney; Sean Carey (0-1), Ajay Cleary; Mark Mulrooney (0-1), Liam O'Riordan (1-2), Gearoid Maher (0-1); Odhran Fletcher (0-8 seven frees), Patrick Lyons (1-1), Conor Egan. Subs – Darragh Scully (0-1) for Larkin half-time, Brian Guinan for Egan 34m, James Hennessy for Carey 60m.

Meath - Conor Cummings; Brian Stagg, Adam O'Donoghue, Alex Fox; Anthony Healy, Jack McKeown, Fergal Flynn; Finn Conroy, Edward Dunne; Louis McIvor (1-8 five frees, 1-0 pen), Mark Leavy, Cathal Barron; Darren O'Higgins (0-1), Kyle Ennis (1-1), Patrick Jordan (1-1). Subs – Joey Christie for Barron 49m, Luca Taheny for Dunne 54m, Callum Buckley for McIvor 57m.