Offaly GAA chairman Michael Duignan has hit back at supporters who criticised the county's footballers on social media, following yesterday's second-half downfall against Clare, telling them they should be "very ashamed".
The Faithful County are now facing a battle to preserve their Allianz Football League Division 3 status after the demoralising 2-10 to 1-12 loss to the Banner yesterday in Tullamore.
Declan Kelly’s side led by 1-10 to 0-4 after 50 minutes and looked to be home and hosed, but an astonishing final quarter collapse saw them lose by one point, with a skied penalty from Peter Cunningham in the sixth minute of injury-time only totalling to the sense of scepticism and gloom around Glenisk O’Connor Park after the match.
As fans took to social media last evening to criticise and vent about the performance, Duignan replied on Twitter: "Thanks lads for your comments. No one on here has ever been inside an inter-county dressing room. You have no idea what these players do for their county.
"All of you should be very ashamed."
Thanks lads for your comments. No one on here has ever been inside an inter county dressing room. You have no idea what these players do for their County. All of you should be very ashamed. https://t.co/P5ahS3uPYd — Michael Duignan (@DuignanMichael) February 18, 2024
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What now for Offaly?
Offaly now travel to top-of-the-table Down next Saturday evening with three defeats from three.
Upcoming home games against Limerick and Wicklow mean that relegation is not a certainty yet, but the Faithful County have failed to take anything from three tight contests now.
On a bright point for Offaly, there were a lot of very solid displays by Offaly, with Cormac Egan shining in a new role at wing-back, John Furlong and Aidan Bracken impressing in a solid defence, Eoin Carroll and Peter Cunningham working hard at midfield, and Ruari McNamee, Kevin McDermott and Jordan Hayes showing up well in attack so they should have enough to secure safety but this is where they didn’t want to be after three games of the league.
