Offaly hurlers begin league campaign with difficult trip to Ballycran

OFFALY begin their Allianz Hurling League Division 2A campaign when they make the long journey to Ballycran to take on Down in the opening round on Sunday next.

It is a stern opening test for The Faithful County and they will be hoping for a good performance to get their campaign off on the right footing.

Offaly won promotion from Division 2A in 2021 after a strong league campaign and they competed in Division 1 last year.

That was a big step up in standard for Offaly and while they competed well in some games, they also suffered some big defeats and ended up in a relegation play off against Antrim, where they probably produced their most disappointing display of the campaign and ended up making the return straight back down to Division 2A for this season.

They have played three games in the Walsh Cup as a warm up for Sunday's league opener and there were promising signs for new manager Johnny Kelly. They began with a trip to play Kilkenny, also under new management this year, and Offaly competed well in that game, before eventually losing by a four point margin. They hosted Wexford in round 2 and again were competitive for much of the game and came out on the wrong side of a three point defeat. Their final game was at home to Laois and Offaly struggled in the first half and trailed by 10 points at one stage, but a spirited second half revival, aided by some experienced players coming in as subs, saw Offaly sneak home winners by a one point margin in the end.

The boost from that comeback should send Offaly into Sunday's game in good spirits and they will be keen to get off to a positive start. But they will be well aware that Ballycran is a difficult place to travel to. Only last year they were pushed all the way by Down in the Joe McDonagh Cup before getting the win by a five point margin. And there are also recent memories of the Christy Ring Cup semi-final defeat to Down on penalties in 2020, so Offaly won't be taking anything for granted heading to the Mourne County.

Down concluded their Kehoe Cup campaign last Sunday with a four point victory over Wicklow. That was their fourth game in the group and they lost the previous three to Meath, Carlow and Kildare – Kildare winning that competition by winning all four games.

Down might have been disappointed to finish so low down in that group but they have the benefit of four competitive games over the course of January to prepare them for the league and that can't be overlooked. And with home advantage in the league, which they didn't have for their Kehoe Cup games, they will be a more formidable opponent.

And it must be remembered they got to the final of Division 2A last season having topped the group with four wins and one defeat and only missed out on promotion when losing the league final to Westmeath.

The breakdown of the five league games is favourable for Offaly this year as they have three home games and just two away. Both of those away games are long trips to Down and to the opposite end of the country, Kerry, and potentially they are also the two most difficult opponents Offaly will face. Of the home games Carlow are likely to provide the biggest test for Offaly, as they have done in the past, but if Offaly are to harbour hopes and making an immediate return to the top division they have to win those home games against Derry, Carlow and Kildare, and it will then some down to how they fare in their two away games to see if they make the Division 2A final, where the winner will secure promotion to Division 1. The way the league is structured this year, the top team in the group goes directly into the final, while the second and third placed teams meet in a semi-final, so Offaly's first priority will be a top three finish and from there it's knock out hurling.

The Joe McDonagh Cup will be the main focus for Offaly this year and the league will give them a good guideline of how they are progressing for that as four of the other five teams in Division 2A are also in the Joe McDonagh Cup. The one difference is that Laois, who are competing in Division 1 of the league, are also in the McDonagh Cup while Derry are in the Christy Ring Cup.

Offaly begin that campaign in early April at home to Laois and as it turns out Offaly's remaining fixtures are a reverse of their league fixtures with the same counties with home games against Down and Kerry and away games against Kildare and Carlow.

It will be important for Offaly to get off to a good start. A win in your first game gives a county momentum and can set you up for the remainder of the league. With a home game against Derry, perceived as the weakest of the six teams in the group, to come the following weekend, it could put Offaly in a strong position when they head to Killarney at the end of the month for that difficult clash with Kerry.

For now all the focus will be on Ballycran on Sunday next and Offaly will travel in confidence aiming to come home with two valuable league points.

Allianz Hurling League Division 2A games

Sunday February 5th – Down v Offaly, Ballycran, 2pm.

Sunday February 12th – Offaly v Derry, O'Connor Park, 2pm.

Saturday February 25th – Kerry v Offaly, Fitzgerald Stadium Killarney, 2pm.

Saturday March 11th – Offaly v Carlow, O'Connor Park, 2pm.

Sunday March 19th – Offaly v Kildare, O'Connor Park, 2pm.