Offaly minors set to meet Westmeath in Tullamore
After a horrendous hour in Wicklow, followed a dismal forty minutes combined with a good twenty minute patch in Carlow, the pressure is now on the Offaly minor footballers to put in a good hour against Westmeath this Saturday evening in Tullamore.
Having played relatively unheralded opposition so far, though Wicklow did impress sufficiently to suggest that they might be better than people suspected, Saturday?s match presents a whole new level of challenge for this Offaly minor team. Westmeath underage football is on a high with five schools competing at Leinster colleges A level, while unlike Offaly they were impressive in despatching Carlow when the two sides met in the first round of this championship.
Ian Coffey and Conor Lynam were particularly prolific in that game, having lined out in the two corners and it is notable that once again Offaly are making changes in that area of the field. Lee Dunning of Ballycumber/Tubber comes in for his first start of this championship campaign, with Adrian Murphy moved up to the half-back line where he looked a lot more comfortable for both the county minors and for his club in the Junior Championship last weekend. Derek Kelly switches corners over to the right corner and John Moloney returns to full-back. Donal Ryan can once again consider himself very unlucky to miss out after playing very well on his introduction for the second time in this campaign. It is of crucial importance that Offaly get this line right because Westmeath had Carlow beaten by half-time after Lynam and Coffey ran riot and they will be looking to burst out of the blocks in a similar fashion this weekend.
Midfield will be another crucial area of the field with Ger Egan of Westmeath very capable of covering every blade of grass and indeed getting on the scoresheet. Noel Andrew Graham has been one of the better performers in this minor team so far and he drops back to midfield where it is presumed he will be given the task of tracking Egan?s runs.
Adrian Kelly wins back his starting slot at top of the left after making an excellent impact on introduction against Carlow, while Anton Sullivan continues at full-forward despite performing very well once withdrawn out the field into a deeper role in that match.
The match throws in at 6.30pm on Saturday evening and while a local derby in front of what is expected to be a substantial local support should motivate these players to raise their game, based on form so far, Offaly simply have too much of a gap to bridge with their neighbours and look to be outmatched against a Westmeath team that are widely recognised as among the leading contenders to win the Leinster title.
OFFALY TEAM TO PLAY WESTMEATH: Shane Nally (Ferbane/Belmont); Derek Kelly (Edenderry), John Moloney (Tullamore), Lee Dunning (Ballycumber/Tubber); Darren Coughlan (Clara), Brian Geraghty (Ballinamere/Durrow), Adrian Murphy (Gracefield); Brian Connor (St. Broughan?s), Noel Andrew Graham (St. Vincent?s); Keith Lawlor (Ballycumber/Tubber), Paddy Rigney (Na Fianna) Ruairí Allen (Gracefield); Bernard Allen (Ballycumber/Tubber), Anton Sullivan (Ród Óg), Adrian Kelly (St. Broughan?s).