Mature comments.
Belmont youngster Oisín Kelly is highly rated in Offaly. Two years a county under-21 and now going into his second season with the Faithful county’s senior hurlers, for a 21-year-old, he has plenty of experience behind him.
Hurling in Offaly has been in the doldrums for a good few years now. There have been few bright sparks with the county’s seniors shipping some heavy beatings in Leinster and in the league.
On Saturday evening, the first serious rumblings of an upturn in the county’s fortunes landed on the GAA scene. A hard-working Offaly side totally outfought and outclassed Dublin in Croke Park.
These Faithful men mean business https://t.co/RS7mIF3Bo7
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) January 27, 2018
They were well deserving of their 13 point margin of victory, but more importantly was the manner in which they secured it. They were dogged, hungry, fit and bloody-minded. They wanted that one.
It hasn’t just happened over night. Offaly pushed Dublin hard in a provincial under-21 final in 2016. Progress is being made in their underage structures. The development of the state of the art Faithful Fields outside Kilcormac was massive for the county.
The hurlers are in Offaly. It’s through work like this that will see more lads like Oisín Kelly emerge.
Kelly was man-of-the-match in that victory that reduced Michael Duignan to tears. The tall, strong, fast and explosive full forward terrorised the Dublin defence with his direct-running and ball-winning ability.
He scored two class points from play in a productive showing, and slotted a silky sideline from under the Hogan Stand.
22: Dublin 0-05 | Offaly 0-08.
What a score from @Offaly_GAA's Oisín Kelly. Sublime sideline cut!
Live now on eir sport 1! #AllianzLeagues #MatchNightLive pic.twitter.com/hrg0GS8gaR
— eir Sport (@eirSport) January 27, 2018
Kelly set the tone of the game with the very first ball he got on Saturday night. 60 yards out from goal and by the sideline, there wasn’t much on. He didn’t care. He had one thing on his mind and that was to head for goals.
He skinned his marker and notched a hard-earned point.
He kept probing all the way to the full-time and his last point was a sight to behold.
WATCH:
Full-time highlights as Offaly produce a fantastic display to beat Dublin in the opening game of their #AllianzLeagues campaign. #MatchNightLive pic.twitter.com/htupD6lINv— eir Sport (@eirSport) January 27, 2018
Kelly was interviewed on eir sport after the game, and his demeanour, his words and his ambition all spoke of a man who means business. Who’s determined to kick on.
Many of the best players are their own worst critic, and Kelly, despite being widely praised for his first half showing, was worried that he was going to be taken off at half-time. That’s a man with his feet planted and with high standards for himself. That’s exactly what Offaly need.
“Yeah, it’s just massive relief from all the hard work we’ve put in throughout the year. We done savage work the last couple of years, but this year, we really upped it and thank God it paid off.
“I thought I could have been taken off at half-time, but thankfully, they (the management) gave me another couple of minutes to prove myself. Thankfully it paid off.
"The work we've put in, we fear no one" – Oisin Kelly spoke to @AnnaGCork after his Man of the Match display at Croke Park. #AllianzLeagues #MatchNightLive pic.twitter.com/wmarzzss84
— eir Sport (@eirSport) January 27, 2018
“We fear no-one. The work we’ve put in, we fear no-one. That’s just the way we are, so we’re going to give it lots of it against Limerick anyway,” he said to Anna Geary.
Offaly have a long way to go, but with the likes of Kelly, a hungry Shane Kinsella, a dogged Colin Egan and many more in their ranks, their headed in the right direction.
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