A fine second half performance saw Offaly defeat Limerick in the Lidl Division 4 National League Final today to earn a hard-fought for promotion to Division 3.

It was a case of goals win games at St. Brendan's Park in Birr as Limerick kept there necks in front early in the fixture thanks to three first half goals to keep Offaly at bay.

The Faithful County raised the green flag three times themselves in the second half however, to add to their decent tally of points and finally pull away from Limerick.

The final got off to a blistering start, with the Treaty County's Mairead Kavanagh notching a point and Catriona Davis scoring a goal in the first minute of the game.

Ellee McEvoy led Offaly forward, scoring three successive points to bring her side back into the game while a Fiona Dempsey point levelled the match on 11 minutes.

Driven by wing forward Cathy Mee, Limerick continued to have forays into the Offaly half but a lack of composure in front of the goalposts saw the side fail to score again in the first 15 minutes as a point from Emma Hand saw the Faithful lead into the water break.

Offaly added a brace of points as the first-half continued and looked to be pulling away but two goals from Iris Kennelly saw Limerick storm back into contention as the Treaty County took advantage of their opponent's open defence. The Faithful County had no such luck going forward and were forced to take their scores from distance and Limerick led by a point at half-time

Limerick looked to have the edge early in the second half as they found their point-scoring boots but Offaly added a few points of their own to stay in touch though still lacked that killer blow.

That changed just before the second water break as they finally notched a goal and then two more in quick succession through Emma Hand, Ciara Walsh, and Ellie McEvoy, putting some clear distance between they and their stunned opponents who had been reliant on goals all game.

Limerick got a fourth goal soon after through Cathy Mee but the gap between the two sides proved too much as Offaly saw out the game in a professional manner for a well-earned final victory and promotion to next years Division 3.