Jack Reid gives Wicklow the edge over Offaly

Leinster U-20FC: Wicklow 2-8 Offaly 1-10

Offaly U-20 manager Ken Furlong. Photo: Sportsfile

A point from Jack Reid four minutes into injury time put Wicklow in pole position for qualification as they edged out a fancied Offaly in Kilcormac's Faithful Fields tonight.

A win against Louth will be enough to put Wicklow through with Dublin and they were thrilled with this win. They lived dangerously at times in an extraordinary game of football but also missed their share of chances in a rip-roaring second half.

Offaly will be wondering how they lost. They missed 3-3 in a first half where top scorer Jamie Guing could have got a hat-trick of goals and somehow went in trailing by 2-6 to 1-3 at half time – Joe Prendergast and Tommy Keogh (penalty) got their goals in the 26th and 30th minutes.

The returning Cormac Egan got Offaly's goal in the seventh minute and he was sensational before going off with a worrying looking hamstring injury late on.

Offaly cut down on their error count in the second half and a Jamie Guing '45' in injury time looked to have secured a draw. However, Prendergast popped up for a dramatic late winner. Wicklow had a few very bad wides late on in the second half and played over 20 minutes with 14 men as Adam Byrne got a black card and was then shown red for a second yellow six minutes from full time.

SCORERS – Wicklow: T Keogh 1-2 (1-0pen, 0-1f); J Prendergast 1-0; JP Nolan 0-3 (2f); J Reid, L O'Neill, T Harrington 0-1 each. Offaly: J Guing 0-9 (4f, 2m, 1 ’45), C Egan 1-0, G O'Meara 0-1 (f).

OFFALY – D Dunican; D McDaid, D Finneran, T Hyland; D Byrne, C Ryan, L Bourke; J Furlong, H Plunkett; G O'Meara, N Furlong, P Robbins; C Egan, S Conway, J Guing. Subs: A Egan for Conway (HT), B Heffernan for Bourke (HT), K O'Neill for Robbins (43), C Murphy for O'Meara (54), L Kelly for Egan (59 inj).

WICKLOW – J Sargent; A Byrne, L O'Brien, A Kinsella; J Boland, L O'Neill, A Brennan; D Cooney, J Kirwan; J Prendergast, M Nolan, T Harrington; Conor Fee, T Keogh, JP Nolan. Subs:S Doyle for Keogh (46), C Deering for Brennan (50), P Kavanagh for Harrington (50), M Murtagh for O'Neill (55), J Reid for Fee (62).

REF – A Smith (Meath).