Offaly’s U20 hurlers were the toast of the Midlands county after thousands packed into Nowlan Park to watch them defeat Tipperary in the All-Ireland U20 final. Having lost out to the Premier County in agonising fashion in the minor final of 2022 – when a last-minute goal snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for Tipp – Offaly showed they had learned their lessons as the same nucleus of players got over the line at the U20 grade. Leo O’Connor’s side were 0-12 to 1-05 ahead at half-time, with the razor-sharp Adam Screeney knocking over eight points of his own in the first half.
The Kilcormac–Killoughey clubman is one of the most exciting young hurlers in the country and while a majority of his personal tally of 0-12 came courtesy of deadly accuracy from dead balls, his threat from open play was typified with a scarcely-believable point out near the sideline just minutes into the final. He backed out towards the sideline in receiving the pass from Conor Doyle before a quick dummy on the right outfoxed his marker. Adam Screeney up to old tricks for @Offaly_GAA in the under 20 All-Ireland final #GAANOW pic.
twitter.com/OQ5l596Atp Feinting back and forth, he then tightened the angle as he turned back towards the touchline and launched a brilliant effort across his body which arrowed between the posts. The score was reminiscent of the work of Waterford’s John Mullane in his prime and certainly roused the huge Faithful support among the 25,825 in attendance at Nowlan .
