Tailteann Cup semi-final: Wicklow 2-26 (2-5-16) Offaly 4-15 (4-0-15) Oisín McConville had planned to make more than three substitutions during the second half at Croke Park, but Wicklow were playing so well, he opted not to disrupt things.The Garden County were in full bloom for that 35 or so minutes, outscoring Offaly 1-17 to 1-4 to power through to a first ever Tailteann Cup final against Down on July 11th.It was a thrilling comeback considering that Wicklow trailed by eight points at half-time having coughed up three first-half goals.Wicklow manager McConville reckoned they’d spent too much time worrying about Offaly and trying to thwart them, ultimately tying themselves up in ribbons.So he gave his players a licence to thrill in the second half, and the players responded with a huge performance.Eoin Darcy and Oisín McGraynor were Wicklow’s goalscorers, though it was goalkeeper Mark Jackson, man-of-the-match Chris O’Brien, and talisman captain Dean Healy that really powered the revival.Jackson missed a string of kicks when Wicklow came up just shy of Dublin in Leinster but nailed three two-point frees this time.Wicklow manager Oisín McConville celebrates after the game. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho Wicklow scored four two-point frees in all after the break, with O’Brien grabbing the first of those, and 0-6 in total.Eoin Murtagh got the last of their orange flag scores in the 58th minute, the perfect response to Offaly’s fourth goal, scored by their lead scorer Jack McEvoy.Wicklow were reaching for the champagne for a finish, reeling off the last three points, punching the air in delight each time.“I got a reaction four years ago, the very first night I went in with these lads,” said McConville. “We haven’t set the world alight with trophies, but everybody has bought in. We’ve improved bit by bit, and today is the culmination of all of that. But it doesn’t end today for us.”Wicklow were a different side after the break, outscoring Offaly 1-9 to 0-1 in the 20 minutes or so after the restart.McGraynor was gifted a 54th-minute goal when his point attempt squirmed through the hands of Offaly goalkeeper Conor Melia, nudging Wicklow 2-18 to 3-12 ahead.McEvoy’s goal for Offaly briefly tied it up again but Wicklow kicked strongly for home after that, Murtagh, Kevin Quinn and Jonathan Carlin all hitting important scores to swing the momentum back their way.WICKLOW: M Jackson (0-3-0, 3tpf); T Moran, G Fogarty, M Stone; E Murtagh (0-1-0); D Fee (0-0-1), M Nolan, J Carlin (0-0-1); D Healy (0-0-1), J Kirwan; P O’Toole (0-0-1), C O’Brien (0-1-4); O McGraynor (1-0-3, 1f), K Quinn (0-0-2), E Darcy (1-0-2). Subs: C Deering for Fogarty (44 mins), J Prendergast (0-0-1) for Kirwan (55), M Kenny for Darcy (68).OFFALY: C Melia; S O’Toole Greene, D Dempsey, L Pearson; C Egan, D Egan, M Dalton (1-0-0); J McEvoy (1-0-4), J Hayes (0-0-3); K Higgins, K O’Neill (0-0-4, 1f), A Leavy; D Hyland (1-0-0), S Tierney (1-0-0), J Bryant (0-0-2). Subs: H Plunkett (0-0-1) for Tierney (41 mins), R Egan (0-0-1) for Higgins (44), C Murphy for McEvoy (49-51), N Poland for Bryant (61).Referee: S Lonergan (Tipperary).