Dunican delivers for Offaly with 'absolute rocket'

Goalkeepers scoring points has become a fairy common occurrence in Gaelic football over recent years, with Monaghan's Rory Beggan and Tyrone's Niall Morgan probably the leading exponents.

But Offaly's Paddy Dunican raised the bar further when he fired home a superb goal in his side's victory over Laois in the Allianz Football League Division 3 game at Portlaoise yesterday.

Offaly claimed victory on a scoreline of 2-19 to 1-17 at Laois Hire O'Moore Park, with Dunican's first-half goal emerging as one of the chief talking points.

The Shamrocks player carried the ball deep into Laois territory and, as space opened up in front of him, he continued to advance before rifling the ball to the net.

Offaly GAA described Dunican's shot as "an absolute rocket" on social media and the Laois goalie was powerless to stop it from flying into the net.

Dunican is no stranger to playing outfield and he showed his versatility and all round ability with that memorable goal.

The other Offaly goal was scored by Edenderry's Jordan Hayes, while Dylan Hyland and Keith O’Neill were also to the fore for the side jointly managed by Mickey Harte and Declan Kelly.

Laois didn’t get the chance to play under the new rules the previous weekend as their game against Leitrim was postponed. Their lack of match sharpness was ruthlessly exploited by Offaly (winners over Sligo in the opening round) in the first half and, at one stage, the visitors led by 1-10 to 0-2.

A flurry of scores in the closing stages put a better sheen on the scoreboard from a Laois perspective, but there could be no denying the convincing nature of Offaly's win.

The victory for the Offaly footballers followed that of the hurlers, who claimed the first half of a double over the O'Moore County, with Johnny Kelly's charges winning by 1-24 to 1-15.

Allianz Football League Division 3 results

Kildare 1-16 Sligo 0-13

Offaly 2-19 Laois 0-17

Clare 2-17 Leitrim 0-10

Fermanagh 2-16 Antrim 3-1.