Offaly senior hurling manager plans on using U-20 stars as no decision made yet on Walsh Cup refixture
IT could be a busy year for some of Offaly's brightest young emerging hurling stars as some of them will be asked to combine chasing Leinster and All-Ireland U-20 glory with senior duty.
Offaly senior hurling manager Johnny Kelly confirmed after Sunday's aborted Walsh Cup game against Galway that he plans on using some of them during the National Hurling League and into the Joe McDonagh Cup campaign.
The Portumna man has used a number of Leo O'Connor's U-20 squad in the Walsh Cup games against Laois and Galway – they were beaten 2-18 to 0-18 by Laois last Thursday and were heading to a comprehensive defeat, trailing by 4-14 to 1-11, when Sunday's meeting with Galway was abandoned in O'Connor Park because of a dense fog.
Cathal King, Dan Bourke, Donal Shirley and Adam Screeney have all featured in the two games to date and will be pivotal figures for Offaly as they bid to retain their Leinster U-20 title and win a first ever All-Ireland at this level. Luke Watkins, Sam Bourke, Charlie Mitchell and Joe Hoctor also played in last year's U-20 campaign and the Walsh Cup this year but they are out of underage ranks this year.
Offaly performed brilliantly last year to reach the All-Ireland U-20 final. Members of the minor side who were so unlucky to lose to Tipperary in the 2022 All-Ireland final combined with older players to provide a potent mix, though a more experienced Cork side proved too strong in the final.
Tubber man Shirley missed last year's U-20 campaign because of injury but has recovered and has quickly come into Johnny Kelly's plans. He is also eligible for U-20 next year as is Adam Screeney while Dan Bourke and Cathal King are in their last year at this grade. Screeney made his senior debut when coming on at half time against Galway, though, referring to the heavy fog, Kelly quipped: “Adam is great but I couldn't see him out there, not because he is small but I couldn't see him.”
Another of the 2022 minors, Dan Ravenhill will also be on the Offaly senior hurling panel when he recovers from a meniscus tear and managing the game load of these young players may result in some delicate discussions between Johnny Kelly and Leo O'Connor.
Offaly have been drawn in group 1 of Tier 1 in the Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship with Dublin and Galway and will open their campaign on March 30 against Dublin, playing Galway on April 6. The three teams will qualify with the third team playing a tier 2 team in their first knockout game on April 27, the second team playing a quarter-final on May 8 and the group winners going direct into the semi-finals on May 15.
Offaly play their last group game in Division 1 of the National Hurling League on March 17. Their group also includes Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Cork and Clare. The bottom two teams go into Division 1B of a restructured league next year and it will be a major shock if Offaly don't fill one of those positions. They begin their Joe McDonagh Cup campaign against Laois on April 20-21 and also face Westmeath, Kerry, Down and Meath in the following weeks. The top two teams qualify for the final on June 8.
The All-Ireland U-20 hurling final is on June 1-2 and it is from the end of April on that any possible conflicts over players could arise, depending on the progress of the two teams, but the two managements will be attempting to work together.
Having surpassed expectations by reaching the All-Ireland U-20 final in 2023, possibly ahead of schedule, anything will be possible for them this year while there will be real hope about their prospects next year.
The U-20 hurlers is a big priority for Offaly GAA but after losing the Joe McDonagh Cup final agonisingly to Carlow in extra time last year, getting back into top flight championship is also a big ambition for the county.
Johnny Kelly is aware of the focus on U-20 but he can only look at the senior squad and he plans on using the U-20 players who impress him, stating that they are now seniors.
He said: “We have a really good relationship with the U-20 management. We have to because it is a small county and we can't be at odds with each other but they are in this senior panel because they will make a difference, they are really good hurlers. The goal is to win the U-20 Leinster championship but also to win the Joe McDonagh final and get back to it first of all but if those players are good enough, they are definitely old enough. They are senior players now.”
No decision has been made yet by Leinster GAA on a refixture of Sunday's match. There had been some speculation immediately afterwards that Offaly may concede the result as they couldn't have caught Galway in the remaining time and even Kelly agreed that the defeat would probably have been in the region of ten points.
However, he instantly said they would look for it to be played again when asked. “We will look for it to be refixed. It is another game so I think so. We haven't done much on the field yet so every game we get will help us in preparation for the league.”
Galway won't be one bit enthused at making a second trip back to Offaly but the result can't stand as the match wasn't finished. Galway are fixed to play Laois next Sunday in group 3 and Leinster GAA have confirmed that the Offaly v Galway match won't be played this week because of frost. With the semi-finals fixed for January 21, the only avenue to play it is midweek between then and January 14 but we will have to wait and see what happens.
Sunday's game was an unsatisfactory one because of the fog. With Offaly and Galway warming up in O'Connor Park, a decision was taken by the referee David Hughes to proceed with it at 1pm. As the ball was thrown in at 1.30pm, the fog had worsened again, after improving briefly, and at half time, it was clear that they would be lucky to get it finished.
He eventually called it off in the 56th minute after speaking to members of both management teams. When it was suggested that it was crazy to try and play a game in such adverse conditions, Kelly said:
“Absolutely but that is the pressure we are put under by the powers that be to get these pre-season games played.. It is a tight window at this time of year and that is the squeezed nature of it with Fitzgibbon Cup coming up soon, league coming up and they are trying to get these Walsh Cup games played but player safety has to come first, irrespective of the score. The semi-final is fixed for Sunday, January 21 so if it is to be played, it will have to be midweek between then and January 14 but no decision has been made on a fixture yet.”
For Kelly, it is all about games and getting on the field ahead of a very challenging National Hurling League Division 1 campaign.
“Offaly is in a different sphere to Galway at the moment. We haven't any field work done at all because of conditions. The rain over the winter period and we have focused on gym work. It is only now we are back on the field and starting to build a bit of pace to play together.
“We got caught for a few scores today which we would be disappointed in but overall, the last two games is about building. We brought on Donal Shirley there today, an 18 year old at wing back, Cathal King, another 18-19 year old at corner back. We have other guys then, Cillian Kiely, Oisin Kelly, Dan Ravenhill, Ross Ravenhill, Brian Duignan to come back into that. Big physical players that we will need as it goes on. Hopefully over the course of the league these guys will come back and our focus then is on the Joe McDonagh.
“The goals were disappointing and the goals continue to be a problem for us so we need to look at that. We are no fools like that. We haven't any work done on the field yet, this week was the first time we got onto the pitch. The reality is the weather was so wet, any night we trained over the last 3-4 weeks, we just couldn't get onto the pitch. That is through no one's fault, Faithful Fields is a great facility but when I am talking about rain, it was actually torrential down there. We are a little bit behind the curve as regards any training sessions on field and that showed last Thursday night against Laois who were well motivated for the game. No panic stations here, we are blooding a good few young fellows and hopefully, the experience they get in this pre-season competition, they will realise there is a step up in physicality obviously. Bring that together with some of the older guys who have to come back and hopefully we will see them on the field soon. There is a good strong team there.”
While defeat was going to be Offaly's lot if they had got the game finished on Sunday and the only issue at stake was the margin, Kelly was happy that they did play with more structure and purpose than in Portlaoise a few days earlier.
Asked was it fair comment to suggest that there was more method in their play on Sunday, he replied: “Absolutely, without a doubt. Without giving away any secrets, we caused an awful lot of our own headaches last week by over playing the ball back in our defensive third. We got turned over by Laois who were really motivated. We moved the ball that little bit quicker there today which is what we need. “
He admitted that it was difficult to get over last year's Joe McDonagh Cup final loss to Carlow.
“A final is a final and it is always disappointing to lose. The nature of it on the day was the thing we took a while to get our head around. On that day against Carlow, we had 20 wides in normal time and ended up having 27-28 wides. You can't win when you have that many wides but these are a brave bunch of young fellows that are working really hard and there is a good conveyor belt of young players coming through so hopefully over the course of this year that will come to fruition.”