Flashback: Dublin v Offaly Leinster Final 2006

Mon, 22nd April 2024

By Conor Martin

Dublin take on Offaly in the semi-finals of the Leinster Senior Football Championship this weekend at Croke Park.

The two counties met at HQ in the 2006 Leinster final decider against Offaly, in which the Dubs won by nine points and became the first county to retain the Leinster title in 11 years in front of a crowd of 81,754.

Despite winning by a comfortable margin in the end, Dublin took a while to get going.

Conal Keaney, Alan Brogan & Tomás Quinn got us level, while Ciarán Whelan was controlling the midfield and caused Offaly a major headache.

Niall McNamee and Thomas Deehan were keeping Offaly in contention and by the break, both Dublin and Offaly had six points to their names on the Croke Park scoreboard.

McNamee and Quinn were taking charge of their respective counties provincial ambitions, but Dublin had the slight upper hand on their fellow Leinstermen and moved into a five-point lead.

The Dubliners were turning the screw. Whelan, Brogan and Jason Sherlock were having an impact on the game alongside Quinn.

Offaly were reduced to 14 men when Alan McNamee saw red with 17 minutes on the clock remaining.

Both sides had goal chances. First, Quinn was denied by Offaly's Padraig Kelly before Stephen Cluxton was at hand to divert a Niall McNamee effort on goals over the bar.

Brogan and Keaney helped put Dublin out of Offaly’s reach.

However, the score of the day would come when Whelan and Brogan combined beautifully to play in Sherlock, who rattled the Offaly net, following up his goal with a point as Dublin finished in style.

Dublin would advance to the All-Ireland series but were beaten by just a point at the hands of losing All-Ireland finalists Mayo in the semi-finals.

Dublin: S Cluxton; D Henry, B Cahill, P Griffin; P Casey, B Cullen (capt), C Goggins; C Whelan, S Ryan; C Keaney (0-03), A Brogan (0-04), R Cosgrove; J Sherlock (1-01), D Lally, T Quinn (0-07)

Subs used: S Connell, D O'Callaghan, D Magee, C Moran, S O'Shaughnessy

Offaly: P Kelly; G Rafferty, S Sullivan, N Grennan; P McConway, S Brady, K Slattery (capt); C McManus (0-02), A McNamee (0-01); D Hunt, P Kellaghan, N Coughlan; T Deehan (0-02), J Reynolds, N McNamee (0-04)

Subs used: C Daly, J Keane, C Quinn, M Daly

Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)