Hi °C | Lo °C A superb display of point taking from sharp shooting corner forward Niall McNamee helped Offaly to a well deserved seven point win over rivals Tipperary in the final of the Allianz NFL Division 4 at O'Moore Park, Portlaoise.
The Rhode clubman was in blistering form and was just too hot for Tipperary defenders to handle.
Offaly had a great start to the game thanks to a Ciaran McManus goal in the 10th minute, somewhat against the run of play. From then on, Tipp were playing catch up and by the interval Tipp trailed by 1-8 to 0-5 - Niall McNamee kicking five of Offaly's scores, while Brian Coen had four of Tipp's.
Thomas Deehan also proved a handful for Tipp as he chipped in with three from play.
To their credit, Tipperary battled all the way through and Coen added four points in the third quarter to help them back into contention. But, it wasn't to be and a goal in injury time from Niall Smith sealed the game for Offaly to give them and their manager Pat Roe the silverware.
This was a keenly contested tie with the victors doing all in their power to get over the finish line in front. Best for them were Thomas Deehan, Paul McConway, Cairan McManus, Niall Smith and Shane Sullivan.
But it was Niall McNamee who gets the real kudos with another fabulous display of shooting earning him the man of the match award.
Tipperary's best on the day were Brian Coen who kicked 0-10, Robbie Costigan, Kevin Mulryan, Seamus Grogan and Eamon Hanrahan who was introduced at half-time.
OFFALY: P Kelly, G Rafferty, S Sullivan, S Brady, B Darby, P McConway, N Grennan, C McManus 1-1, A McNamee, D Egan 0-1, N Smith 1-0, P Kelleghan, T Deehan 0-3, J Reynolds, N McNamee 0-7. Subs: J Coughlan 0-1 for J Reynolds; S Ryan for P Kelleghan; C Omerford for D Egan.
TIPPERARY: P Fitzgerald, A Foley, M Peters, C McDonald, P Codd, R Costigan, C Maher, K Mulryan, G Hannigan, P Austin, E Kearney, L Coskeran, D O'Brien, S Grogan 0-1, B Coen 0-10. Subs: P Johnson 0-1 for Maher; E Hanrahan for Hannigan; B Jones for Kearney; S Stapleton for Austin; H Coughlan for Codd.
Referee: C Reynolds (Down).
