Offaly condemn 14-man Antrim to Leinster SHC relegation

As their three-year Leinster Senior Hurling Championship campaign was come to an end, Antrim lost 3-15 to 1-16 to Offaly in Tullamore.

Offaly scored twice in the Joe McDonagh Cup to condemn Davy Fitzgerald’s side to the top-flight championship status for 2026. Brian Duignan (1-7), Dan Ravenhill (1-1), and Killian Sampson (11-0) contributed to the success of the Faithful County.

After being suspended and injured, Fitzgerald was aware that only winning would help his team remain at the top of the hurling standings. As a result, he was given a pre-match boost.

The Ulster county’s hopes were further shattered when O’Connor received a straight red card at O’Connor Park after already conceding a second goal from Offaly markman Brian Duignan in the second half.

Referee Michael Kennedy sent O’Connor off after finding that Offaly forward Charlie Mitchell had smacked him after consulting with his empires.

Following Declan McCloskey and McNaughton’s dismissals in defeats by Dublin and Galway, respectively, it was the third game in a row that Antrim were reduced to 14 men.

After a disastrous start, Antrim worked hard to stay in touch, but Offaly were able to move three clear through Dan Ravenhill’s penalty after Mitchell fell into the square due to Conal Bohill’s challenge.

With four unanswered points, two of which came from the returning Molloy, Antrim, who had the wind advantage in the first half, showed resilience again, leveling the score at 2-4 to 0-10.

However, Offaly put together a strong half, scoring five of the final six goals, giving them a 2-9 to 0-11 lead at the break.

After the break, Offaly struggled to capitalize on their wind or numerical advantage, going 20 minutes without a score as Antrim only had a chance to recover.

When McNaughton, who finished with 1-8, brilliantly shot into the Offaly net, those hopes were shattered.

At 2-14 to 1-16 down, McNaughton’s 65th-minute strike put Antrim back within one, but Sampson’s green flag three minutes later put Offaly on their way to victory.

In Fitzgerald’s first year at the helm, Antrim have been the escape chameleons in Leinster over the past few years, winning last-round victories over Westmeath and Carlow in 2023 and 2024 to maintain their position. However, they drop out of the top tier after losing all five of their matches.

Offaly: Mark Troy, Ben Conneely, Ciaran Burke, Sam Bourke, Ross Ravenhill, Donal Shirley (0-2), Jason Sampson, Colin Spain, Killian Sampson (0-1), Daniel Bourke (0-2), Oisin Kelly, Dan Ravenhill (1-1), Charlie Mitchell (1-7, 7f), and Brian Duignan (0-3).

Subs: Eoghan Cahill for J Sampson’s 64 and Jack Clancy for D Ravenhill’s 38.

Ryan Elliott, Stephen Rooney, Paddy Burke (0-1), Niall O’Connor, Conall Bohill, Joe Maskey, Conor Boyd, Gerard Walsh (0-2), Eoghan Campbell, Ryan McCambridge (0-1), Nigel Elliott (0-1), Scott Walsh (0-1), James McNaughton (8-8, 8f), Eoin O’Neill, Keelan Molloy (0-2).

McCambridge ’55 for Cormac McKeown.