Plenty of cause for optimism as Offaly prepare to face Waterford

 

KEVIN EGAN previews this Saturday’s All-Ireland SHC qualifier clash between Offaly and Waterford at O’Connor Park, Tullamore (throw-in: 7pm).

 

Offaly’s 2013 NHL campaign suggested that “more of the same” was on the agenda for this season, and the poor form of the minor hurlers in their championship outings against Laois and Dublin didn’t exactly do much to foster a feel-good factor among the hurling community in the county.

However, a wholehearted and dogged victory for the U-21 hurlers in O’Moore Park followed by an encouraging display against Kilkenny in the Leinster SHC has changed the mood of most supporters, leading to that most unusual of feelings in the run up to tomorrow evening’s clash with Waterford – genuine, well-founded optimism.

A fundamental part of the nature of a typical Offaly GAA supporter is their sense of hope and belief, even when logic would dictate that such hope is fanciful. Yet, this time around, there are genuine reasons to believe that Offaly have a great chance of recording an upset victory in O’Connor Park. First and foremost, both sides were beaten in their provincial quarter-final ties, but Offaly should take plenty of heart and encouragement from their efforts against Kilkenny, even if some players will feel that there is room for improvement on an individual level.

Waterford, in contrast, must be wondering what might have been after they let a great chance for victory slip away against Clare. They made a disastrous start before taking control of the second quarter of the tie to lead at the break. In fact they could have been out of sight by the time Clare came back into the game with 15 minutes left, were it not for some shocking wides in the early stages of the second half of that fixture.

Now that Limerick have taken Tipperary out of the equation, this Munster championship is wide open and if Waterford had qualified to hurl Cork this Sunday afternoon, they’d feel that a provincial title would be well within their reach. That sense of regret simply has to play on their minds.

Offaly are also in a better place personnel wise, with Cathal Parlon’s injury balanced out by the availability of Derek Morkan, who missed the Kilkenny game. Waterford are still short several potential starters and while their defensive unit is very strong – in fact their half back line is arguably one of the best lines in the country – they would be a much stronger side up front if they were able to call on players like recent retiree John Mullane and the injured Shane Walsh. That’s before the long term absence of players like Stephen Daniels, Philip Mahony and Stephen Molumphy is taken into account.

Rumours have surfaced during the week that Eoin Kelly has been called into the squad for this tie on the back of some excellent club form for Passage and, if this turns out to be true, he will probably play some part in the game. However, even allowing for his proven ability, the lack of inter-county training this spring should mitigate against his ability to play a full part over 70 minutes.

All of these facts conspire to put Offaly in a position where there is plenty of expectation on their shoulders and where many analysts almost expect a home win – quite a turnaround from earlier in the year, when Offaly struggled in Division 1B and Waterford were picking up good results in 1A. At that stage few people would have entertained the idea of Offaly causing Waterford real problems.

The challenge for Ollie Baker and the players is to realise that a very different approach will be required if a victory is to be secured in this game, yet to still maintain the intensity and ferocity that caused Kilkenny so many problems in O’Connor Park.

First and foremost, there will have to be a more cerebral approach applied when it comes to defensive play. Against Kilkenny the Offaly defenders lived on the edge of legality, while slipping over the line on more than a few occasions. No doubt the fear of conceding a goal loomed large, but against a less potent forward line they need to be able to defend legally. Giving up a three pointer against Kilkenny would have been fatal and while nobody wants Waterford to get in for goals tomorrow evening either, the Déise would be very happy to tap over frees and subject Offaly to death by a thousand cuts. It would also be hugely damaging to go a man down due to a red card and, by any rational analysis, Cathal Parlon was lucky not to be sent off last time out.

Secondly, the aforementioned Waterford half back line is the foundation for all their best work and Offaly need to do a much better job of getting control of their own puckout this week. Brian Hogan was in good form a fortnight ago but his influence was still minimal in an attacking sense. If Michael 'Brick’ Walsh is allowed to collect as much possession as Hogan did, his playmaking ability will ensure that Offaly’s full back line have to deal with plenty of good, targeted deliveries throughout this tie. So much of Waterford’s fortunes are connected to the form of Walsh at No. 6 that Offaly need to get on top of this sector early, either by crowding him out or else establishing dominance in the air.

The return of Dan Currams could be critical here, not as a potential centre-forward, but for the possibility that he could slot in at the edge of the square, allowing Colin Egan to be restored to the half forward line, where he is a tough opponent for any half-back.

Finally, Offaly need to do a better job of picking off points from out the field. Four goals masked some very poor productivity in that area against Kilkenny; and five of the six starting forwards failing to raise a white flag from play simply cannot be repeated this week. This is the time for players like Ciarán Slevin and Seán Cleary to step forward and prove that they are worthy of a place in the starting XV, now that their championship debut is behind them and they have a feel for the pace of senior hurling at the top level.

In one sense, the pressure of expectancy is far from ideal – however these players have worked long and hard for the Offaly jersey, many of them having toiled for several years now with precious few meaningful victories to show for their efforts. Tomorrow night represents a great chance to get just such a win on the board, to get a little bit of momentum going and to further capture the imagination of the Offaly sporting public.

This is exactly the kind of game that they’ve prepared for, and for once, not alone can the public travel in faith, they should do so with real belief.