Offaly face Westmeath in battle for intermediate camogie quarter final place

OFFALY face a crunch tie against Westmeath on Saturday next in their final group game in the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship with a place in the championship quarter finals at stake.

Effectively this final group game at TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar at 2pm on Saturday is a straight shoot out between the two sides for a place in the quarter finals with Cork and Galway having already claimed the other two places in the knock out stages from this group.

Offaly are bidding to make a quick return to the senior ranks having being relegated last year and Saturday's game will determine whether those aspirations can be maintained beyond this weekend. But it certainly won't be easy against a Westmeath side which will be hungry for success themselves, having made the All-Ireland semi-finals in this championship last year before narrowly losing to Meath.

Both sides have had similar campaigns so far, winning two and losing two of their four games. Both victories came against Clare and Wexford, while they both suffered defeats against Cork and Galway.

Offaly began their campaign with a good win over Clare in Banagher, winning comfortably by 1-18 to 1-8. They then travelled to Cork for the second round but suffered an agonising one point defeat, 0-15 to 1-11.

They bounced back from that defeat with a comprehensive victory over Wexford at St Brendan's Park, Birr, winning by 3-14 to 0-4. In round four they hosted Galway in Banagher on Saturday last and again suffered a narrow defeat, 3-12 to 1-16, having made a great fightback in the secon half.

Westmeath began their campaign with a home game against Cork in Mullingar but went down narrowly, 2-15 to 2-13. They got back on track in the second round when travelling to Wexford and winning by 1-16 to 2-8.

Their third round game saw them travel to Athenry to face Galway but they came away defeated on a scoreline of 1-17 to 2-7. On Saturday last they warmed up well for next Saturday's game with a big victory over Clare in Mullingar, winning by 4-13 to 1-6.

This is David Sullivan's first year as Offaly manager and he has a good mixture of experienced players and some youth in his squad.

Offaly probably would have looked to make more of an impact on the legue earlier in the year but only managed to win two of their five matches, though it should be pointed out that two of the defeats were by one point margins. It must be said also that a lot of players were tried out during the league as Offaly looked ahead to the championship.

And that seems to be bearing fruit as Offaly have been very competitive and are now on the brink of claiming a place in the knock out stages, which would have been one of their goals at the start of the campaign. They have registering good scores in their games thus far and go into the game with a better scoring difference that Westmeath, so a draw would see them progress on Saturday.

Westmeath are coming off the back on a very good league campaign. They topped the group which included Offaly in Division 2A and went on to capture the league title when defeating Derry in the final at Croke Park by 4-8 to 0-16, so they are on the quest for a championship double.

When the sides met in the opening round of the league back in February, Westmeath emerged with a one point victory at Lakepoint Park, 4-11 to 3-13, while they only defeated Offaly by a point in the Leinster senior camogie championship in 2023.

So Offaly will be well aware of what they need to do on Saturday but will take encouragement from their displays so far in this championship.

Offaly have good experience in defence with players like Deirdre Cashen, Orla Gorman, Orlagh Phelan and Alana Roddy and that could be invaluable in a game like this. Clodagh Leahy led the way in the scoring stakes against Galway last Saturday with eight points, three from play, while players like Grace Teehan, who scored Offaly's goal last Saturday, Becky Bryant and Ellen Regan add power to the attack.

It is a do or die clash for both sides and that should ensure a real championship encounter with everything on the line. It is also a clash of neighbours and home advantage will be of some help to Westmeath but won't deter Offaly. They will know that extending their season beyond this weekend depends on the outcome of this game, so will be going all out to claim their place in the knock out stages. Their performances against the big two in the group. Cork and Galway, will give them encouragement and with the experience they have on board, they are capable of doing enough to claim the victory and advance to the knockout stages of the championship.