Positives for Offaly despite defeat as Kildare clash looms

By Kevin Egan

Good enough, isn’t good enough. That was the overwhelmingly clear message from last Sunday’s National League action, where the Offaly footballers and hurlers each played well for substantial periods of their respective games, but still came away empty-handed for their efforts. The thinner air you breathe at a higher altitude proved to be a little hard on the lungs.

Taking the footballers first, if ever there was a game where you could be as optimistic or pessimistic as your nature allowed walking out of the ground, this was it. Against a Louth team that was broadly similar to the side that made history in last year’s Leinster final, Offaly competed strongly and showed a real two-point threat, which looks like it will be more and more vital in the year ahead.

Keith O’Neill stepped up and took on a leadership role in an attacking sector that has been decimated with injuries; Ciarán Murphy and Dan Molloy showed promise as newcomers; and when kicking the ball was an option, Offaly did so accurately and effectively. From a purely forward-looking perspective, there was plenty to be happy about.

On the other side of the ledger, there were entries too. The issues regarding use of the bench continue. Out of the 16 teams in Division One and Division Two, Offaly were the only one not to use at least three subs last weekend, and Offaly went farthest into their game (59 minutes) before using their first replacement.

This is a nuanced argument in that when league points are on offer, it’s hard to look past the players that are tried and trusted, even if they’re not necessarily having the impact you’d like. But then, this management team didn’t give out too many playing minutes to non-starters in 2025 either, and it's very hard to build up confidence and belief in a full panel when this is your policy.

Survival in Division Two the 2026 National League is obviously a key goal, but there will be football played in 2027 and 2028 as well. For some of the new recruits like Eoin Dunne, Conor Dunican, Marcas Dalton, Harry Plunkett and Harry Goulding to have an impact in the future, they’re going to have to get on the pitch in meaningful games sooner rather than later.

On the field, retaining possession on the kickout while playing into the wind in the second half proved almost impossible, and the extra bit of quality that Craig Lennon brought to O’Connor Park was effectively unstoppable. Louth scored 11 times while playing into the wind, Offaly scored five times after the interval – Lennon was a huge factor in that crucial difference with his ability to break tackles and open up the Offaly defence.

It’s also notable that while Offaly kicked four good two-pointers, they did so from six meaningful attempts from range. A two-out-of-three strike rate from open play when kicking from outside of 40 metres is probably not sustainable in the long run.

The prognosis for the county in the second half of the league campaign is a little bit more positive, in that there are some – not all – of the players on the present injury list who might be available for selection. In the short term, however, Saturday’s trip to Newbridge is the one game where a positive result might be obtained.

Kildare will be in high spirits after taking an unexpected point away from Healy Park, but that result was largely down to a poor finish from Tyrone rather than an exceptional Kildare display, and of course Offaly beat the Lilywhites in two of the three meetings between the counties in 2025.

Darragh Kirwan is out so their attack leans heavily on Alex Beirne and if Offaly can find a way to hold their own on the kickout battle (no simple thing, admittedly), then this is a game that can be competitive.

Being realistic, Offaly could play exceptionally well and still lose both games against Tyrone and Derry with a little bit to spare and Cork are physically very strong with a deep panel, so a bad match for a team that struggles to finish games strongly. The clash with Kildare is the one to put everything into the tank, then to step back and build for the run of home games at the end.