Footballers get off to an impressive start

The black storms that appeared to be gathering over Offaly football dissipated last Sunday as the county side put in a very solid performance to overcome Cavan in the first round of the league. With four very tough away fixtures on the schedule for this year, there was huge pressure on this Offaly team to give themselves the best possible start and they did that with a consistent seventy minutes of football during which time several younger players emerged with great credit, while the senior stalwarts also managed to remind the crowd of their long-standing ability. Bernard Allen, unsurprisingly, made the headlines with his performance and rightly so, however the most encouraging aspect of his display was his eagerness to make runs and offer himself in a position where he could win the ball. Half backs, midfielders and half forwards all know how frustrating it is to work with inside forwards who are unable or unwilling to put themselves in a position where they can be found with a long delivery and Allen was outstanding at making runs into positions where the ball could be played into him. That kind of footballing intelligence was also on display at the other end of the field, where Seán Pender had a very good day against Seanie Johnston of Cavan. Johnston will feel that Offaly's dominance at midfield meant that he was working with scraps and that may be the case, but Pender's tight marking and discipline when contesting possession ensured that it was a very bad day at the office for the Cavan star. Offaly haven't had a top class corner back since Cathal Daly played for the county and while it's way too early to suggest that Pender has reached that class, he is certainly making the number four jersey his own right now. Lively displays from Anton Sullivan and Graham Guilfoyle ensured that the Offaly attacked thrived despite Niall McNamee clearly suffering from the after affects of his flu, while Ciarán McManus was a force of nature, covering ground and winning plenty of turnover ball while still finding the time to kick four excellent points. Cavan's awful attempts at ball winning and tackling ensured that they were never competitive, however Tom Cribbin was entitled to the satisfaction he expressed after the game with where Offaly are right now. Wins for Tipperary and Wexford in this division proved what people suspected before the start of the league – home games are absolutely crucial, and while Offaly can't secure promotion simply by winning games in O'Connor Park, they could play themselves out of contention by dropping points. Wexford come to town on Sunday week and a second win would put Offaly in a great position for the tough tests that are to follow. Offaly hurlers also enter their league campaign under something of a cloud after a very flat opening to the season and a hugely worrying Fitzgibbon Cup round robin stage during in which only Shane Dooley featured for any of the sides expected to reach the business end of the season. However chances of a similar turnaround here are probably quite slim, as Páirc Uí Chaoimh has been a graveyard for Offaly hurling in recent years. Four league matches and one championship qualifier between the two counties took place in the last decade and the closest that Offaly came was a seven point defeat four years ago. This current Cork team might not carry the same aura as their strong teams in the mid nineties, however Denis Walsh has still done a lot of work in rebuilding what was an ageing Cork side and with a wonderful draw in the league where they won't have to travel any farther than Wexford means that they won't want to spurn a glorious opportunity to reach a league decider. David Kenny's unfortunate injury in last Sunday's Walsh Shield final overshadowed the hurling that went before it, and as a result there hasn't been too much said about the fact that Carlow undoubtedly enjoyed the best of that game. There won't be too many tears shed over whether or not Offaly manage to win a Walsh Shield or not, but yet another game where Offaly were outplayed in terms of modern possession hurling must be a huge concern. Whatever about the result on Sunday afternoon, Offaly badly need to start developing a competitive style of play and to establish regular roles for players like David Kenny, Rory Hanniffy and James Rigney. These are three of the best hurling prospects in the county but right now nobody could say with even 70% certainty what position any of them will play come the championship. That's all very well for fringe players, but these are the central figures around which Offaly must build their season and such uncertainty, even now, is a concern. This weekend also sees the Under 21 championship begin to gather momentum with three games down for decision at the weekend. Already this year there have been wins for St Manchan's Gaels (Ballycumber/Tubber), Durrow and Shamrocks, while Gracefield and Clara suffered heavy defeats. For many teams in this competition it will be a case of try to get past the first fixture and hope that things come together with time. While the difficulties of fitting in a competition like this are obvious and genuine, there is little or no point to running it off as if it were a blitz at a time when few teams have had time to train. If the competition was instead played off in October, most players would have few if any other commitments, while it could be played as an under-20 tournament in order to allow for players to reveal themselves to county management for the following year. Now would be the perfect time to make this switch, since the 2012 under 21 championship could be played nine months from now. In the meantime, let's just hope that the games at the weekend do justice to a competition with great potential, even if it's not being given a full chance.