Offaly minors look to build on promise as SFC kicks off

Less than two months after St Mary's of Edenderry and Gallen Community School appeared at Croke Park in All-Ireland finals, students from there and indeed all over the county will be looking to take one step towards getting back to the famous Jones Road venue when they take on Meath in O'Connor Park tomorrow afternoon. Expectation levels in the county are high after a very successful spring for the team, both for the players as individuals with their schools, and in the Leinster minor league with the county. Offaly secured two wins and a draw in three games before getting eliminated on scoring difference, though Meath too will be happy with their campaign, reaching the final and losing to Dublin. So while John Ryan and his players will be delighted to have home advantage for this tie, Meath will be very tough opponents and they also have the benefit of a tough, competitive fixture under their belts. Meath opened their Leinster championship campaign with a 1-11 to 0-11 win against Longford at Pearse Park and while Offaly also have a win under their belts, it's fair to say that the 8-30 to 1-0 win over Kilkenny didn't really test the players, or help the management team to find out more about the strengths and weaknesses of their charges. In fact over the last ten years, nine of the teams that beat Kilkenny in the first round went on to depart the championship at quarter final stage, which shows the value of a competitive first round tie. Just two years ago Meath suffered for playing Kilkenny when Offaly beat them by a point at Navan in their first meaningful match. One can only hope that the tables don't turn on that result this Saturday. Players to watch out for in the Meath ranks will be their powerful box to box midfielder Adam Flanagan, centre-back Shane McEntee, free-scoring wing-forward Cillian O'Sullivan and full-forward Eamonn Wallace, who is also a national sprinting champion and so will test the speed of the Offaly full back line. Indeed there are few if any weak links in the Meath side, as evidenced by the fact that Jason Dowdall, who played such a crucial part in St Mary's success, is touch and go to get a starting place. There may be plenty of optimism surrounding this Offaly team but a tough game awaits and supporters who make their way to O'Connor Park for this fixture could be in for an outstanding battle between two very capable young teams. Edenderry face Tullamore The Offaly senior football championship also gets underway this weekend with five games down for decision, while the lopsided nature of the groups means that Tubber must wait to get their season underway. Indeed it seems strange that the county board didn't choose to extend an invitation to either St Brigid's or Shamrocks to fill the vacant slot at senior. Bye weeks are no good to anyone, while the absence of the threat of relegation could allow certain teams to coast through this year. The games that are down for decision this week all make plenty of appeal, however. Champions Edenderry face a tough battle against Tullamore, who are expected to go very well under the guidance of Phil O'Reilly this year. The Blues are still one of the most well-balanced and capable teams in the championship and some their younger players such as Michael Brazil and John Moloney have made great steps forward in the last twelve months. Edenderry's victory in 2011 will give great belief to a team like Tullamore, not that the Town ever lacked self-belief, and this fixture should be one of the most informative of the round. Rhode may be more vulnerable than usual in the absence of Niall McNamee, but this is still a very young Ferbane team and while their 2011 minors have the potential to bring about a revival of fortunes for the West Offaly club, it's surely at least a year or two too soon to be putting the club's fate in their hands. However, around the middle third of the field, Ferbane remain very fit and strong so if they can prevent Rhode from running up a big total, they might get close enough to the Village. In group one, Clara's local derby against Ballycumber tonight (Friday) could be a very interesting battle, though Clara should still be too strong for their neighbours. Ballycumber have had countless chances to make a breakthrough and to step up to the next level in Offaly and they seem to always fall into that middle third - not contesting relegation, but not reaching the last four either. They won't contest relegation in 2012 because no-one will, but neither is there any real reason to believe that they will make the step up. Gracefield did make great progress in 2011 but they've often struggled to get results against Erin Rovers and this fixture has the makings of a very tight battle, albeit one where both teams could easily negate each other. If ever there was a game where eight or nine points could be enough to win, this is it. Finally we have the meeting of St Rynagh's and Walsh Island, who will be adjusting to life without Brian Connor. Walsh Island have a very competitive first fifteen but when they start dipping into their reserves, the lack of depth becomes very obvious. Rynagh's have some of the best young footballers in the county and while playing division two league games is probably not the best preparation, they could give the Island a very tough time of it.