Crucial goals help Offaly ladies to stay up

Offaly 4-5 Longford 1-8

Offaly avoided relegation to the Junior Championship by winning their crucial Intermediate relegation play-off against Longford in Kinnegad on Saturday.

Crucial goals gave Offaly the edge in the make or break clash and they took advantage of facing an understrength Longford team in the absence of several regulars this season.

Offaly started the game well, scoring a couple of goals in the early stages of the game, but Longford's girls then enjoyed a dominant spell that yielded four points in a row - a brace from Grace Shannon (free and play) with Katie Crawford and Funmi Talabi also on target.

But Offaly struck another killer blow with a cracking goal from Emily Bailey in the 18th minute and ended up in a comfortable 3-4 to 0-5 lead at the break after playing with the advantage of the breeze.

Whatever chance Longford had of salvaging the situation in the second half suffered a shattering setback when Emma Hand shot the fourth goal for Offaly with just three minutes gone on the changeover.

OFFALY: Kelley Cunningham; Nicole Farrelly, Emer Nally, Kayltin Flynn; Anna Grehan, Nicole Buckley, Michelle Mann (0-1); Emma Maher, Roisin Ennis; Emma Hand (1-1), Amy Gavin Mangan (1-0), Emily Bailey (1-0); Caoimhe Lynam (0-2), Róisín Cockram (1-0), Ciara Walsh (0-1). Subs: Saorah Doyle for E Bailey (58 mins); Shauna Slattery for E Maher (injured, stoppage time).

LONGFORD: Riane McGrath; Maria Kelleher, Eimear O’Brien, Ellen Byrne; Grace Kenny, Emma Doris, Aisling Cosgrove; Funmi Talabi (0-1), Grace Shannon (0-4, 3 frees); Katelyn McKeon, Mairead Reynolds (1-0), Ella O’Reilly; Edel Sheehy, Katie Crawford (0-2), Elle Lynn. Subs: Leanne Keegan for E Byrne, Caoimhe McCormack for E Sheehy and Anna Hayden (0-1) for E Lynn (all half-time); Sarah Macken and Tessa Tiernan for E O’Reilly and C McCormack (57 mins).

Referee: David Hurson.