Tipp prove too strong but scoreline harsh on Offaly

By Kevin Egan

Two weekends in, Offaly’s wait for a first league win in both codes continues and while it might sound harsh, it's probably fair to say that there’s no obvious end to that wait in sight.

As a contest between the two sides promoted from Division 1B last year, this Sunday’s trip to Walsh Park (throw-in 1.45pm) was probably one of the more winnable games on paper - even allowing for the fact that Waterford won both meetings between the counties in 2025.

But with Offaly going into the match on the back of a heavy defeat to Tipperary while Waterford have been energised by beating Limerick, and with the Ballygunner contingent likely to start coming back into consideration for selection, it’s hard to be overly optimistic.

Nonetheless, there were some encouraging aspects from last Sunday’s clash with Tipperary. Johnny Kelly and the management team are to be applauded for their approach of not starting four players who had played Fitzgibbon Cup during the week, albeit Patrick Taaffe (University of Galway) was started. Though Kelly could reasonably say that Daniel Bourke, Adam Screeney and Cathal King have already got plenty of intercounty senior hurling behind them, Taaffe could use the experience that bit more.

Either way, playing time was shared around and those with the most demands on their energy were treated with respect for their other sporting goals.

Not every referee would have made the penalty/black card decision for Ben Miller’s foul, even if it was probably correct by the rules, while both Tipp goals in the first half were eminently preventable as they came about from Offaly players losing possession of the ball.

Had those goals not been conceded, Offaly might have found it more acceptable to tip over a couple of points rather than chase goals from early in the second half, and it wouldn’t have taken a lot for the final margin to be a lot more palatable. In short, it wasn’t as bleak as the scoreboard suggested (Tipperary 5-24 Offaly 1-18).

The approach of using three big physical targets in the full-forward line (Brian Duignan, Oisín Kelly, Ciarán Cleary) didn’t really go according to plan as while Cleary won one free that Eoghan Cahill converted and Brian Duignan’s goal also came off a long ball in his direction, a lot of good deliveries were sent in on top of Cleary at 14 and the vast majority of them were turned over and cleared by the Tipp defence.

Duignan and Kelly both looked more involved and more of a threat when they came outfield too, having struggled to get involved inside, so expect this experiment – one that was entirely worth trying in a league game in early February – to either be binned, or brought back to the training ground for serious refurbishment.

Realistically, whatever faint chances Offaly might have of avoiding relegation probably hinge on winning both of the next two games, and both Waterford and Galway are probably in better shape in 2026 than was the case a year ago.

Nonetheless, the experience of playing the last two games will stand to this group, and Offaly should also be further on in summer for having run this gauntlet.