Offaly intercounty teams facing into busy schedule of games

Niall Furlong, a member of the Offaly U20 football squad

placeholder image — Niall Furlong, a member of the Offaly U20 football squad

Offaly supporters will be racing all over the place to games in the coming weeks.

OFFALY county teams are facing into a packed schedule of games over the coming weeks. With U-20 and minor footballers and hurlers out in action in the coming days, it will be a hectic few weeks for supporters as they race all over the place.

First into action is the minor hurlers who travel to Ashbourne in Meath next Saturday, March 23 to play the home county in their first tier 2 group 1 game – their second game is against Antrim on neutral turf in Louth's training ground in Darver on Saturday, March 30, a game which is down to clash with Offaly U-20 hurlers and that really should not be allowed to happen. They are away to Wicklow on Saturday, April 20 and at home to Westmeath on Saturday, April 27. The top two teams qualify for preliminary quarter-finals.

On Tuesday, March 26, the Offaly U-20 footballers will get their campaign underway with a trip to Stabannon Parnells to play Louth in their opening group 1 game. A highly rated team never recovered from a surprise defeat up there last year, and Offaly, who have been motoring well in challenge games, will be trying to get off to a winning start. They follow up on the following two Tuesday evenings at home to Kildare and away to Longford. The winners of this group will go into the semi-finals with the runner up in a quarter-final.

The minor footballers open their group 1 campaign at home to Longford in Faithful Fields on Wednesday, July 27. They play Laois in Portlaoise on Wednesday, April 3 and are away to Dublin on Saturday, April 13. The group winner will go into a semi-final, second into a quarter-final and the third into a preliminary quarter-final.

Most interest will focus on the U-20 hurlers and they are out in action with a trip to Parnell Park to play Dublin in group 1 of tier one on Saturday, March 30. They are at home to Galway on Saturday, April 6. The three teams will all qualify for the knockout stages with the group winners straight into the semi-finals.

Offaly senior footballers are away to Laois in the Leinster championship on Saturday, April 13 while the senior hurlers begin their Joe McDonagh Cup campaign in Laois on Sunday, April 21, followed by Westmeath at home on April 28, Meath away on Sunday, May 5, Kerry at home on May 19 and Down away on May 26.