Offaly overpower Down to extend winning start in Joe McDonagh Cup

It was very much a case of the win being the bottom line as Offaly eventually cruised to an easy Joe McDonagh Cup win over Down in Tullamore on Saturday afternoon.

It was Offaly's worst performance of the campaign to date but with an 11-point win – and three wins out of three – they have done exactly what they set out to do.

This was Offaly's seventh game in successive weekends and that may have been a factor in a strange sort of performance. They had a number of very good individual displays and this got them home but their collective work ethic and touch was not as high as other games with some players very much off the boil.

Down tried very hard and forced them to work for the result. They could have been closer, with Offaly getting six late points in a row in a great spell of pressure, while Pearse Óg McCrickard missed a few second-half frees that he would normally get.

While Down were still in the hunt with 25 minutes left, Offaly never looked like they would lose and they will now be looking forward to a week off while Down are in a relegation battle.

Offaly certainly didn't do much to excite the home support as they struggled to break down a defensive Down side in the first half. Their 0-14 to 1-07 half-time lead was a fair reflection of the way the game had gone. Offaly were the better team, dominating most of the possession, but Down hung on and deserved to be still in contention at the break.

It looked like Offaly would saunter to an easy win early on as they twice led by five points during the first quarter. Down then hit a great purple patch as they scored 1-03 without reply to take a 1-05 to 0-07 lead after 26 minutes. The goal was a fine strike by Jordan Doran in the 24th minute, though the Offaly defence will