Offaly footballers looking to keep up momentum against Antrim

FOR the second Sunday running Offaly will welcome Antrim to Glenisk O'Connor Park next Sunday, this time for an Allianz Football League Division 3 encounter.

The footballers will be hoping to emulate the feats of the hurlers who scored a convincing 15 point victory over the Glensmen last Sunday and another win would put them well in the mix for promotion.

Offaly have made a very promising start to their campaign under joint managers Mickey Harte and Declan Kelly and will be hoping to maintain that momentum next Sunday.

They began their campaign with an impressive 1-17 to 0-13 home win over Sligo, which gave everyone a great boost. They followed that victory with a trip to O'Moore Park, Portlaoise to face the home side and Offaly gave another impressive display as they overcame Laois by 2-19 to 1-17 to leave them joint top of the table after two games with full points.

The most pleasing thing for many people has been the level of Offaly's performance. They have put up good scores in both games and seem to have adapted well to the new rules and the confidence gained from two big wins will set them up well for Sunday's encounter with Antrim.

Antrim have had two close games thus far with one win and one defeat. They started with a home game against Clare in Corrigan Park and came through with a hard earned 1-9 to 1-6 victory, which got their campaign off to a good start. They travelled to Ederney to take on Fermanagh in round two and were just pipped in a close game, 2-16 to 3-12.

The sides met in round two of last year's league in Corrigan Park and Antrim came out on top by one point, 2-5 to 1-7. Offaly were seven points behind early on but fought back well in the second half but came up short in a game they could have won.

This year they have home advantage and they will hope to put that to good use and make amends for last year's setback.

Offaly and Kildare are the only two teams to have full points after the first two rounds of games and another win on Sunday would leave Offaly thinking of promotion rather than fending off relegation as was the case last year. With a trip away to Fermanagh the following weekend, winning their home games will be very important and on the basis of what they have shown so far, they are well capable of doing that.

As mentioned they have been scoring well and it's worth noting that of their 2-19 against Laois, none of their scores was a 'two pointer', which makes it more impressive. The scores have been spread around well also and they will feel that they can build on the progress they have made and gain even more confidence.

Antrim will provide Offaly with a good test. They can be a difficult side to play against and after getting that good win over Clare will be disappointed to have missed out against Fermanagh and will be very keen to get back to winning ways, so Offaly will have to be on their toes.

Teams are still getting used to the new rules but the general consensus so far is that they are providing a better spectacle for spectators and that is a good thing.

Offaly will be very keen to keep up the momentum they have built up from their opening two games and if they repeat the type of performances they have produced in those games, they are more than capable of picking up a third victory on the trot on Sunday.