Offaly hurlers aim for quick return to top flight

ANY lingering doubts about Offaly's desire to return to the top flight of the National Hurling League were dispelled in the second half as they spectacularly turned the tables on Kerry in the Division 2 semi-final last Saturday.

Their 0-23 to 0-19 win sets up a renewal in the final against Kildare this Sunday in Portlaoise with a place in Division 1 on offer for the winners.

It leaves Offaly with a very conjested fixtures special and they were certainly off the boil in the first half against Kerry but a really good second half display saw them get the result.

Offaly trailed by 0-13 to 0-10 at half time and were lucky to be that close. Playing against the wind, Offaly struggled in all sectors and were fortunate that the Kerry forwards had a very bad day at the office, shooting twelve wides. Most of those were from scoreable positions and the Munster men should very easily have went in with a six-seven point lead at the break.

As it was, Offaly were very content with a three point interval deficit and they got motoring in the second half. They were level, 0-14 each after 42 minutes and were clearly the better side from here to the final whistle.

There had been doubts about Offaly's appetite for Division 1 hurling as well as concerns about their very heavy game load in the coming weeks.

Offaly got some bad beatings in Division 1 last year, culminating in relegation and there is no evidence to suggest that they will fare any better there next year. There is some outstanding talent coming up from last year's All-Ireland minor finalists but it will be at least another couple of years before players from that can establish themselves at senior level.

There was a lot to admire in the way Offaly went about their business in the second half last Saturday: the way they found their form and the desire they showed.

They are down some key players with long term injuries. Oisin Kelly, Ross Ravenhill, Padraig Cantwell and Eimhin Kelly are all on the casualty list and Offaly face into a very busy schedule of games.

The league final will be followed immediately by the Joe McDonagh Cup where Offaly will be out for three weekends in a row before they finally get a week off. Games are great for bringing on players but recovery is crucially important and they can't afford any more injuries to key players.

The chances of going through a five match Joe McDonagh Cup campaign without injuries are slim but Offaly are clearly working hard and determined to do well.

Now that they are in the Division 2 final, they will be going all out to win it. They drew 2-17 to 0-23 at home to Kildare two weekends ago and will be hoping to play better here.

A distastrous third quarter when Kildare outscored them by 0-10 to 0-1 almost condemned Offaly to a thought provoking defeat. They rallied powerfully to get their noses back in front near the end and would have held on but for questionable time keeping by the referee – Kildare's equalising point came from a free over a minute past the announced four minutes of injury time.

Offaly will be aiming to keep their work rate high for the whole game on Sunday and they will also be trying to concede less than twenty scores.

Promotion to Division 1 is not the big priority for Offaly this year. That is the Joe McDonagh Cup but now that they are within touching distance, they will want to get there. They do have to keep one eye on the Joe McDonagh Cup opener against Laois but a defeat against Kildare will damage confidence and expect Offaly to get fully up for this. If they do, they are well capable of winning.