Tullamore come out on top in low-scoring Offaly final

Tullamore 1-05 Ferbane 0-06

Tullamore made amends for their narrow defeat to Rhode a year ago by recording their 29th Offaly senior football championship title at the expense of Ferbane in a tense and physical battle at Glenisk O’Connor Park in Tullamore this afternoon.

With both sides incredibly fit and athletic, but equally with no forward lighting up the occasion, it spoke volumes that going into stoppage time, no player had managed to score more than once. It was a day for defenders, with Declan Hogan, Leon Fox, Daire McDaid, Conor Butler and man of the match John Furlong all imperious.

Between the 22nd and 58th minute, the two teams added just a single point each, as despite the best efforts of referee Chris Dwyer, the contest struggled to build up any continuity or flow.

However just when it looked as if Furlong’s point in the 58th minute might settle matters, there were moments of real drama to give the 4,160 supporters in attendance something to remember.

Tullamore goalkeeper Corey White made a stunning save to deny Jack Clancy a goal, Cian Johnson almost tested him again but was smothered out and had to settle for fisting a point, setting up one last kickout.

The town side were able to win that last restart and create a free, from which Michael Brazil confirmed their win with the last action of the game.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a period of settling in as these two clubs that have known plenty of tense, heartbreaking defeats in recent years, found their feet. However even after a tense and scoreless opening five minutes, there was still no sense that this game was on course to be the lowest scoring Offaly final since Tullamore beat Cloghan by 0-08 to 0-01 in 1956.

Harry Plunkett took advantage of a mistake by