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DUBLIN 5-10
OFFALY 3-7
Dublin got their Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Football Championship Group 1 campaign off to a flying start as they accounted for Offaly by nine points at Glenisk O’Connor Park on Saturday afternoon.
Despite conceding two goals in the opening two minutes, the Dubs settled into the tie with five goals before the break seeing them well-placed by half-time.
The second-half was a more even affair but the visitors were rarely troubled as they withstood some sporadic home pressure to ease home with a fair degree of comfort.
Dublin could not have wished for a worse start as Dylan Dunne netted for Offaly in the 2nd minute and from the resultant kick-out, the hosts gained possession again with Ruairí Woods raising a second green flag inside thirty seconds.
To Dublin’s credit, they began to settle themselves into the tie with full-forward Mubarak Salami getting them off the mark in the 5th minute before Woods restored Offaly’s six-point buffer soon after.
Dublin were in need of some inspiration at this stage and it duly arrived through a calmly converted penalty by Caoilinn O’Connell in the 10th minute as the visitors began to enjoy an ascendancy at midfield.
The influential Salami began to create headaches for the Offaly defence with the St Maur’s attacker levelling matters with Dublin’s second goal in the 11th minute before Dublin raised their third green flag in four minutes as Cillian McCabe put the finishing touches to a well-worked move.
Given the frantic start to proceedings, it was inevitable that a period of calm should follow with eight minutes of scoreless play ended when Finn McGinnis popped up for Dublin’s fourth goal in the 21st minute.
McCabe and Salami added points in quick succession before the latter put further daylight between the teams as he fired home from another incisive team move.
Further points by Jamie Heavey (free) and the classy Ciarán Clifford heaped further misery on an Offaly side that eventually ended a barren period twenty-two minutes through a free from captain Cian McNamee.
The half finished with Dublin’s Zach Donegan and McNamee trading points as Dublin entered the break leading by a healthy 5-6 to 2-3 margin.
Not surprisingly, Dublin were more restrained in the second-half as they conceded the first three points of the restart to Woods, Isaac Ryan and McNamee.
McGinnis, who impressed throughout from centrefield, opened Dublin’s second-half scoring in the 39th minute and Heavey’s second free of the contest saw them back into an eleven-point lead.
The final quarter lacked the excitement of the previous 45 minutes but points from Clifford and McCabe were more than enough to keep the Dubs on track despite Offaly netting a third goal through Eamon Maher in the 49th minute.
Dublin will resume their campaign when they host Laois on Thursday, 10th April (7.30).
Scorers – Dublin: M Salami 2-2; C McCabe 1-2; F McGinnis 1-1; C O’Connell 1-0 (pen); J Heavey (2f), C Clifford 0-2 each; Z Donegan 0-1. Offaly: R Woods 1-2; D Dunne 1-1; E Maher 1-0; C McNamee 0-3 (1f); I Ryan 0-1.
Dublin: F Byrne; E Fynes, J O’Keeffe, G Hayes; Z Donegan, J Heffernan, C O’Connell; T Ó Ceallaigh, F McGinnis; L Patten, C Clifford, R Ennis; C McCabe, M Salami, J Heavey. Subs: E Tennant for Donegan (40), J Murray for Patten (51), M Farrell for Ó Ceallaigh (51), D Coakley for Heavey (56), R Clancy O’Looney for Salami (60).
Offaly: J Ryan; C O’Beirne, D Stoyanov, C Farrell; P Duffy, T Kelly, I Ryan; E Maher, C Duffy; J Daly, D Deehan-Kavanagh, C Weldon; R Woods, D Dunne, C McNamee. Subs: T Carroll for Stoyanov (half-time), T Furey for Deehan-Kavanagh (half-time), S Byrne for Daly (half-time).
Referee: Niall Ward (Westmeath).