Antrim clash a test of where Offaly stand in pecking order

By Kevin Egan

The final whistle wasn’t long gone in Portlaoise at the end of the Offaly hurlers winning the first leg of a double header at the expense of hosts Laois last Sunday, when word filtered through the crowd about Carlow’s win over Waterford.

From the perspective of solidarity with those other counties that are on the fringes of Liam MacCarthy status - those could make a legitimate claim to be unfairly treated by a system where they are frozen out of their own provincial championship, a group of which Offaly had been a longstanding member - it was great to learn that despite coughing up an early six-point lead, Carlow had come again to earn a fully-deserved win.

From the perspective of Offaly’s promotion chances, it’s a result that on paper at least, should open the door a little bit wider. Of course, it also opens the relegation trapdoor a little bit wider too. The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away.

Perhaps most importantly, however, it was a result that would indicate that maybe Offaly’s home draw with Carlow, while still a case of a point dropped given that Offaly were two points ahead going into stoppage time, perhaps represents better form than was first thought.

The result could well make Division 1B a very competitive battle ground for the next month and more, which is another positive spinoff.

At the start of the campaign, it was hard to look beyond Waterford and Dublin for the two promotion slots and it wasn’t beyond the bounds of possibility that Offaly’s trip to Fraher Field on the weekend after St Patrick’s Day might be a dead rubber.

Now the Déise are under huge pressure. It would be a huge shock if they didn’t bounce back with a comfortable win over Laois at home this weekend, but their next game – a trip to Mullingar - just got a lot more interesting, particularly as Westmeath’s first round defeat was influenced by their lack of an opening round fixture, and they might turn out to be better than a nine-point loss in Belfast would suggest.

For the next two Sundays, Offaly teams will play host to Antrim teams in games where a win would well and truly open up the possibility of a meaningful promotion bid. The hurlers are first up this weekend, and with the added spice that comes from Davy Fitzgerald taking charge of the Saffrons, the TG4 cameras will set up in Glenisk O’Connor Park to cover what should be a fascinating contest.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that this has been a dreadful match up for Offaly teams in recent years. The last five competitive games, the only ones played since 2015, yielded four defeats and one draw. That draw also felt like a defeat as Antrim nabbed two stoppage time goals in Tullamore five years ago, salvaging a result that should have been completely out of their reach.

The same can be said of this game as can be said of a lot of games that Offaly will play against similar opposition in 2025.

The long-term projections for the two counties would suggest that by 2030, the Faithful County should be clear favourites against the Ulster county. But right now, Antrim are a team with a solid spine of seasoned, physical and capable hurlers, and a group that will be fired up by the possibilities that are opening up thanks to their manager, who historically tends to get a big bounce in his first couple of years in charge of teams.

It was hugely encouraging to see the Offaly hurlers learn as the game progressed in Portlaoise last Sunday. Poor execution can happen to any player, but the shot selection and the general decision making in the first half was poor. That was transformed after half-time, albeit scoring was made much easier by playing with the breeze.

Dan Ravenhill played much more like he can with a fine array of points, putting a tough outing against Carlow behind him, and Colin Spain performed well after getting his start. There were significant improvements in the area of discipline, which was no doubt a huge focus, given what happened eight days previously.

The failure to create enough goal chances, not to mention to convert the ones that did arise, continues to be a concern. It also felt a little bit like last year’s Joe McDonagh Cup final in the sense that there was a marked reluctance on behalf of the management to go to the bench, with David Nally the first reserve called into action after 67 minutes.

There have been Offaly football and hurling teams in the past where that would go unremarked in the local media, because it would be unsaid, but tacitly understood, that the depth wasn’t there to warrant giving three or four substitutes large chunks of playing time. That is plainly not the case with this group.

Across Division 1A and 1B last weekend, Tipperary and Antrim were the other teams that were in control of their games with an hour played. Liam Cahill used four replacements by the time the clock passed 60 minutes, Davy Fitzgerald used three. The kitchen doesn’t need to be on fire in order for a fire extinguisher to be a good idea.