Offaly too strong for flat Kildare as they maintain perfect start

Having survived two ferociously tight battles with Kildare in the league, Offaly were pleasantly surprised to waltz to a comfortable win in round 2 of the Joe McDonagh Cup in Hawkfield this afternoon.

A bad beating by Carlow in their opening round was a big shock to Kildare's system and further evidence of the wheels falling off was provided here as they were never really at the races. A 12th minute red card for attacker Mark Delaney after an off the ball offence was a major factor in their downfall here but even that does not fully explain two big defeats.

A seven point winning margin does not reflect the full extent of Offaly's superiority and this game was over as a contest early on. They could afford the luxury of going through the motions in the second half and with two wins out of two, Offaly have very much hit the ground running.

There had been plenty of talk in Offaly about the Croke Park decision to fix this game at Kildare's training ground but it ended up a very moot point. There was a surprisingly small crowd here, less than 1,000 people as Kildare hosted the fixture well while Offaly's dominance meant that it lacked the anticipated championship fervour.

Offaly were 0-5 to 0-3 ahead when Delaney saw red. With Kildare making mistakes and hitting wides as well as dropping too many balls short, it was clear that Offaly were the better side but they really went for the jugular.

Cillian Kiely got a 16th minute goal as Offaly scored 1-7 without reply to lead by 1-12 to 0-3. The game was over at this stage and a 26th minute goal from James Burke was greeted with a mute response by the home support.

Very sloppy play allowed Kildare in for a second goal before the interval, Cian Boran's less than clinical strike scraping