Longford 0-16
Offaly 0-13
LONGFORD WILL PLAY reigning champions Dublin in the Leinster SFC quarter-finals after a brilliant second-half comeback to beat Offaly.
Michael Quinn missed a first-half penalty as Longford fell seven points behind in front of 4,959 in O’Connor Park.
But with the wind at their back, they reeled off 11 of the last 12 scores to stun the home crowd.
Offaly ran out 13-point winners when these sides met in the Division 4 league final last month but the visitors turned that form on its head in Tullamore.
Their reward is a trip to Croke Park on 31 May where they will be massive underdogs against a Dublin team seeking a 10th provincial title in 11 years.
It was Longford who started the strongest and they led by 0-5 to 0-4 after 26 minutes.
But some resolute defending from Offaly held them scoreless for 20 minutes from that point, including a save by goalkeeper Alan Mulhall to deny Quinn from the spot.
Offaly led by 0-9 to 0-5 at the break, and when they built on that advantage after the restart to lead 0-12 to 0-5, they looked to have one foot in the next round.
But it was Longford who dominated the final 25 minutes with Brian Kavanagh leading the way with three second-half points from full-forward.
A point from Colm P Smyth drew them level at 0-13 apiece with five minutes to play before Dessie Reynolds, Kavanagh and Ross McNerney clinched the win.
Longford
1. Paddy Collum (Fr. Manning Gaels)
2. Dermot Brady (Longford Slashers)
3. Barry O’Farrell (Carrickedmond)
19. Cian Farrelly (Emmet Óg)
5. Colm P. Smyth (Abbeylara)
6. Diarmuid Masterson (Dromard)
21. Barry McKeon (Colmcille)
8. Barry Gilleran (Longford Slashers)
9. Kevin Diffley (Ballymahon)
10. Ronan McEntire (Dromard)
11. Michael Quinn (Killoe Young Emmets)
12. Shane Doyle (Kenagh)
24. Rory Connor (Kenagh)
14. Brian Kavanagh (Kilmacud Crokes)
15. Francis McGee (Dromard)
Offaly (named)
1. Alan Mulhall (Walsh Island)
2. Brian Darby (Rhode)
3. Paul McConway (Tullamore)
4. Daithí Brady (Ballyfore)
5. Niall Darby (Rhode)
6. Johnny Moloney (Tullamore)
7. Joseph O’Connor (St Rynagh’s)
8. Graham Guilfoyle (Clara)
9. Niall Smith (Gracefield)
10. Eoin Carroll (Cappincur)
11. Niall McNamee (Rhode)
12. Anton Sullivan (Rhode)
13. Bernard Allen (Tubber)
14. Nigel Dunne (Shamrocks)
15. William Mulhall (Walsh Island)
RTE can put in a request to change Sky’s game to 3pm. I doubt Sky would deny them if they did.
you really think Sky wulould back down? 7 clocks seems to be their favoured time.
The Sky deal hasn’t gone down well in rural parts of Ireland. It would be a travesty if a senior football provincial final was not on television. I wouldn’t think Sky would want to be the cause of that. It would be a pr disaster.
it won’t be the first time it’s happened. the only reason it’s an issue now is because of Sky.
No way sky will change the schedule for their competitors. This was always going to happen once sky got involved and for that I think the gaa sold out. To have one of their marquee games of the season not being shown on rte is a massive disappointment and a sign of what’s the come.
out of curiosity..suppose premier sports wouldnt get it either because of sky for us UK based people….
Well no surprise here. GAA make a mess of one of the biggest fixtures of the year and could now lose it to Sly Sports !!! Laughing stock…
This issue is known in advance. People are talking about asking Sky to change their timeslot, but why did the Munster council choose this time and date for the replay?
Would imagine in order to fill their own coffers.
Surely they will come to an agreement. Lets be honest, Nobody wins if a Cork v Kerry Munster final is replaced by Derry v Wexford!
This is crap. Sky have the rights to the 3B games. This is a replay that Sky don’t have rights to! So, so what if it clashes, RTE is an independent broadcaster who can surely broadcast whatever it likes at 7pm on Saturday as long as it isn’t the games it sold!!! RTE needs to cut the crap & show the Munster final
The Derry and Wexford supporters might beg to differ. This is what the GAA signed up for when they did the deal with Sky.
Is this OUR NATIONAL game – Are @RTEsport serious that they won’t broadcast a 7pm replay game because the greedy GAA sold rights to other matches to Sky Sports??
was the first game in killarney as well??