Underage county football teams set for action this week

By Kevin Egan

One of the unfortunate consequences of the split season is that championship games come with such relentless frequency at this time of year, it makes it impractical for ordinary Offaly supporters to get out and support each of the county’s championship sides.

Few people would argue that straight knockout championships are the right way to go for grades that are ostensibly about the development of players, but a guaranteed run of games comes at a price, and that price is the likelihood that casual supporters will hold fire until it gets much closer to a do-or-die situation.

As a result, underage teams – an exception will be the U-20 hurlers, who will go into the summer with a world of expectation on their shoulders – tend to play their games in front of family, friends, and not much more.

It looks like a particularly strong renewal of the Leinster U-20 football championship this year, with a handful of teams that will have designs on success at All-Ireland level.

Meath were All-Ireland minor champions three years ago so on that basis alone have to be deemed among the front runners for every prize. Kildare were All-Ireland U-20 champions last year and have a fair smattering of those players back for another tilt at provincial and national honours, while Dublin tend to improve immeasurably between minor and U-20 level, and have actually been installed as favourites for this championship in some quarters.

Outside of the top three, there is a strong argument to say that Louth are next in the pecking order, so Offaly haven’t been well-treated by the draw. In a four-team group, Kildare will be expected to finish top while Louth will be hopeful of taking the other quarter-final spot, at the very least. Offaly have just one home game – that against Kildare, which would be a tough one to win, home or away.

Realistically, that makes this Tuesday’s away game at Stabannon Parnells (7.30pm) into a must-win contest. Recovering from a defeat here to finish in the top two would be incredibly difficult, so even a draw in this game would be a decent first step in this championship.

Last year’s team saw the last of the All-Ireland medallists make their final appearance at this level, so it’s not a panel that is weighed down with star names, but the same would have been said of the Coláiste Choilm seniors, who went on to make serious progress in the Leinster Schools SF 'A' championship.

A few more members of Ken Furlong’s group have shown up well at freshers level, and while there are a good few players at this age that have opted to go with the U-20 hurlers instead of playing football, recent challenge match results would suggest that they’re not without hope.

Minor footballers

If ever a championship got tougher in a short space of time, it’s the run for the county minor footballers this year. A home game against Longford on Wednesday is followed by a tip to Portlaoise to play a highly-rated Laois team a week later, and then a spin up to Dublin to play a very impressive Dublin side.

After a few quiet years, last year’s Adam Mangan Cup hinted at Offaly turning something of a corner when it comes to underage football, so while it will still be a year early for most of those players, this is another side that like the minor hurlers, might do a little bit better than they would have done at U-14 and U-15.

In the spirit of the development, there are All-Ireland 'B' and 'C' championships later this year so getting drawn into what looks like a very tough group might be no bad thing here.

If Roger Ryan’s side can get out of the group with this type of experience behind them, they’ll be in good shape going into the knockout stages, and even if they don’t, there will then be attainable silverware on offer.

The Shannonbridge man did a fine job last year of winning the games that were there to be won with a relatively unheralded group, and it’s likely that he and his selectors have raised the bar in terms of expectations for 2024. Time will tell, but it’ll be worth spinning over to Faithful Fields on Wednesday evening (throw-in 7.30pm) to see how they fare.