Offaly hurlers face huge test against fancied Galway side

Offaly and Galway may share a border and a mutual history of renaissance in the 1980's, but in hurling terms they share little else in the run up to this Sunday's Leinster championship semi-final. Galway's success in the National League and their consistent rate of club and underage success in recent years has meant that the Tribesmen are very much on the shortlist of contenders for this year's All-Ireland championship, while Offaly's more dormant profile is best reflected by the odds of 250/1 that are currently available about a triumphant first Sunday in September. If the national perception of this game reads as a lost cause, the short term form makes for even grimmer reading from a Faithful County perspective. A fortunate draw with Antrim compares very poorly to a good win over Wexford when paths to this stage are laid side by side, while the disastrous under-21 championship defeat to Kilkenny just over a week ago can only have devastated morale in the camp. As if that wasn't hard enough on the players, a challenge match last Sunday in Páirc Uí Chaoimh against an in-form Cork side ended with another heavy defeat, 3-22 to 0-16. Offaly's time spent hurling in division two illustrated in no uncertain terms how difficult it can be to prepare for top level championship action without playing good opponents in the run up to games. However it's hard to imagine that taking such chances with the fragile self confidence of some of these players was the ideal course of action last week. Either that, or else Joe Dooley and his management team are in the process of the greatest cover up heist since Yellow Sam won by two and a half lengths at Bellewstown in 1975 for Barney Curley. (To any readers unfamiliar with that story, when you have five minutes, google the horse's name and you will find a tale of heartwarming treachery!) This year's National League meeting between the two sides in Pearse Stadium offers some hope for travelling Offaly supporters in that the visitors were competitive for long periods of that match. Particularly pleasing on that occasion was Offaly's high fielding and physicality which measured up well against a decent Galway team. The Tribesmen took their scores with a lot more ease on that occasion and, when a team that is often accused of being a one man show up front scores 1-22 without that one man, then it's difficult to see the Offaly defence curtailing their Galway counterparts in Croke Park. Indeed, Joe Canning's return will also force Joe Dooley into a very difficult dilemma as Antrim highlighted a lot of deficiencies in the Offaly full back line and, if Neil McManus and Karl McKeegan caused problems, the Portumna duo of Canning and Damien Hayes should be eagerly anticipating this tie. The Croke Park setting is another factor that should play into Galway's hands. Galway are arguably the most physically powerful team in this year's championship and they will relish the opportunity to take on Offaly defenders in one on one situations. The large dimensions of the pitch make it very difficult to crowd players out and to rely on the more traditional defensive techniques of hooking and blocking, so securing primary possession will be all important. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the under-21 tie against Kilkenny was how Offaly struggled in this area and a huge onus will be on the two half lines to try to match Galway in terms of clean possessions won. If Offaly are to have any chance of getting a result out of this tie, the league tie from 2008 may be the best indicator as to how a shock result could come about. Quite simply, Offaly must outscore Galway by at least two in terms of goals. Despite not enjoying anything like the same level of possession in matches throughout the league, Offaly more or less matched Galway for goals scored in the seven round robin games and they take on a Galway full back line that can be vulnerable to powerful inside forwards, particularly in the corner positions. This of course puts more onus on the curtailment of Galway at the other end, but that aspect was always likely to play a big part. If, as expected, Offaly lose this Sunday's tie, this year's qualifiers represent the best chance in some time to make significant progress. Unless something very unusual happens in the Munster semi-final between Cork and Limerick, Offaly's next tie will either be against a similar county who should be considered very vulnerable due to their league season (Clare) or alternatively against a county in turmoil, without many of their best players and who could be on the back of a very heavy defeat (Limerick). Even the following round would present a 50/50 chance of drawing one out of Antrim/Laois/Carlow. Whether Offaly win or lose in Croke Park, this year represents the best possible opportunity to reach an All-Ireland quarter-final for some time and if Joe Dooley's three year reign is to be seen as having shown any real improvement then that level must be the benchmark. This is no longer a very young Offaly team who are relatively fresh to the inter-county scene. Players like Joe Bergin, Derek Molloy, David Kenny, Shane Dooley and Michael Verney are all reaching the peak of their hurling career now, while Rory Hanniffy, Brian Carroll and Brendan Murphy have all seen plenty of inter-county action in their careers. The pressure to deliver in 2010 is immense and crucial to that will be a competitive performance at HQ on Sunday. A win is probably a bridge too far given the standard of opponent and the nature of the build-up to this tie. However another late fade out where Offaly lose the last fifteen or twenty minutes by seven or eight points must be avoided. Sometime this year a championship win in a seventy minute hurling match is needed and that cannot happen if this team don't develop the habit of hurling to the bitter end. Odds of 1/12 about Galway for this match suggest that the end will be bitter, but the qualifier draw offers the opportunity for those lemons to be turned into lemonade. The conclusion of Sunday's game will be the best indicator as to whether such a transformation is likely.