by Daragh Ó Conchúir at FBD Semple Stadium

Derry boss, Eamon Melaugh felt it was part of a learning curve for his own young squad of players, with nerves a factor in how they started the game.

He has had to plan without supremely talented and experienced performers such as Áine Barton and Bríd Rogers for this season, while the likes of Aoife Ní Chaiside are rehabbing injuries. Lauren McKenna was making her first start in nearly 12 months after her own injury issues.

The game’s first scorer, Éabha McElhinney is still in school and days like yesterday, while disappointing, should teach them plenty.

“The goals killed us in the first half,” said Melaugh. “Offaly got the goals at the right time in the second half. We were coming back at them but they got the killer goal. We had them back to five points, everything was going well but that killer goal was a real sucker punch.

“The first half, we more or less handed them goals and at this level, you can’t give away goals like that.

“But we’ve a very young squad and hopefully the players that are missing, we’ll have them all back next year. We lost 13 players from last year for different reasons, and eight or nine of them would have been starting. But we’ve a lot of young girls and they’re working hard, they showed a lot of heart there.

“The Kerry game and the Meath game, they showed how well they can play and I don’t think they played as well as they can today. I think the occasion did get to them. I noticed it in the warm-up and then at the start of the game, the first touch wasn’t there.

“But they showed a lot of character at the start of the second half, came back at them but it unfortunately didn’t go our way and we’ll be back next year hopefully.”

SCORERS FOR OFFALY: M Teehan, G Teehan (0-3fs) 2-4 each; F Mulrooney 0-2; Shanahan, C Cleary, F Dooley 0-1 each

SCORERS FOR DERRY: O Hull 0-4(3fs, 1 45); A Lennon 0-2; L McKenna, E McElhinney, R McAllister, J Donnelly 0-1 each

OFFALY: L Gallaher, A Liffey, C Fogarty, M King, O Phelan, A Byrne, E Regan, S Shanahan, C O’Donovan, G Teehan, C Cleary, R Kinsella, F Dooley, F Mulrooney, M Teehan. Subs: C Leahy for O’Donovan (41), C Maher for Mulrooney (53), H Feenane for Kinsella (56), K Kennedy for Regan (56), O Kilmartin for Dooley (58), G Kennedy for G Teehan (60+3)

DERRY: L Coyle, E Doherty, R Cassidy, L Lennon, C Ní Mhianáin, N Quinn, R Bradley, A McGill, R McAllister, E McElhinney, L McKenna, S McGill, J Donnelly, A Lennon, O Hull. Subs: A McDaid for A McGill (38), C Kerr for Hull (51), A McOscar for Quinn inj (56), C McCloskey for Bradley (60), R Keenan for S McGill (60+2)

REFEREE: Joe Mullins (Clare)