Kerry to provide major test for fragile looking Offaly in league semi-final

THE big priority is the impending Joe McDonagh Cup but Offaly senior hurlers will have a major point to prove when they meet Kerry in the National Hurling League Division 2A semi-final in Tullamore next Saturday.

A 2-17 to 0-23 draw with Kildare last Sunday denied Offaly a place in the final and means that they have to play Kerry now to remain in the hunt for promotion – Kildare await the winners in the final.

It leaves Offaly staring a gruelling fixture list in the face. If they beat Kerry, the league final will take place the following weekend and it will be straight into the Joe McDonagh Cup as they host Laois on the weekend of April 8/9.

That will be followed by Kildare away and Down at home on successive weekends and it is only then that they will have a break with the final Joe McDonagh Cup game at home to Kerry on May 6-7: the final is on May 13-14.

It is a very tough schedule of games with plenty of banana skins. They could have badly done with a break this week and that was why last Sunday's game was fought with an intensity that would not usually be present where there was an escape chute of a semi-final.

Kildare's equalising point came over a minute beyond the stipulated added time and the final whistle should have been blown but Offaly were the architects of their own misfortune. Ahead by three points at half time, they completely lost their way for twenty devastating minutes in the second half. They were miles off the pace in this spell as Kildare outscored them by 0-10 to 0-1 and while Offaly rallied superbly to get their noses in front late on, they ultimately paid a dear price for their inadequacies after the restart.

It meant that the draw felt like a defeat and it leaves Offaly with major challenges ahead as manager Johnny Kelly deals with a mounting and critical injury list. Midfielder Ross Ravenill broke his ankle while forward Eimhin Kelly pulled ankle ligaments on Sunday last. Forward Oisin Kelly is out for the season after getting a cruciate injury on his other knee – he missed last season with a cruciate injury. Defender Padraig Cantwell is a long term absentee with a knee injury and forward Brian Duignan is recovering from an operation on a finger.

Hopefully none of them will be as serious as those but with such a heavy schedule of games, Offaly can anticipate more injuries and players missing game time.

At the very least, there will be games where they will be tired and off the boil and it all leaves Offaly looking very fragile at the moment.

Kerry will provide a real test for them here. It took a brilliant late sideline from David Nally to give Offaly the victory in Killarney a few weeks ago. They also just barely beat them in a high scoring Joe McDonagh Cup shootout in Tralee last year and there is very little separating those counties.

In a sort of perverse way, it may not be a bad thing if Offaly actually lost to Kerry. It would give them a much needed break and allow them to focus on their big priority of the year, which is the Joe McDonagh Cup. Getting back into the top tier of the championship is way more important than going back to Division 1 of the National Hurling League.

Offaly were not able to compete there last year and the evidence of this league campaign siuggests that things would not be a whole lot different next year. The problem with a defeat and not winning promotion is that it will damage morale and it will increase the pressure on the squad.

They will be going all out to win but they do have to keep an eye on the championship. While they would still have to contend with Kilkenny and Galway in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, Offaly would relish the chance of seeing how they would fare against Wexford and Dublin. Both those counties are well ahead of them at the moment but they are the target for them while Antrim and Westmeath are also in the championship.

All of that, however, is a story for another day. Now Offaly face into a big game against Kerry. Their forwards have a particularly big point to prove here. They only managed two late goals from play in the second half last Sunday and it will be interesting to see what their response will be.

Offaly will be favourites on home turf but this is likely to be a tight, tough game of hurling. They should be able to scrape through but they are vulnerable and a defeat would be a very mild surprise.