Offaly seniors need a victory that makes a statement
By Kevin Egan
Last year, it was Dublin and London who gave Offaly the toughest days out on the football field. On Saturday afternoon in Tullamore (throw-in 2pm), it’s New York who will look to extend the Faithful County’s dismal record against large urban opponents, backing up the success of the New York hurlers in the Lory Meagher Cup last weekend.
Not unlike the London game last year, this Tailteann Cup fixture looks on paper as if it should be straightforward for Offaly, but Laois supporters might have said the same last year, until New York took an 0-11 to 1-7 lead midway through the second half, with Laois down to 14 due to a red card at that stage.
Any Irish team, with a full National League and championship programme behind them, should be able to finish stronger than a New York side that had one game against Galway to prepare for this fixture, but Offaly’s issues with depth were again evident in the defeat to Laois last weekend in Newbridge.
Dylan Hyland is carrying an injury so he was restricted at the final 15 minutes; Ruairí McNamee came on board with six minutes to play – albeit the Rhode man packed a lot into his cameo appearance, scoring 1-1 and conceding the decisive penalty; and Aaron Kelleghan will be recorded as having played, but a substitution in the fourth minute of stoppage time is unlikely to ever change the flow of a game.
Regardless of what happens against New York, or for the remainder of this championship, adding real depth to the panel over the next six months will be the single biggest challenge for management in advance of what will be a tough campaign in Division Two of the League, as expecting the same core group of players to start and finish the vast majority of games is not realistic against teams like Tyrone, Cork and Meath.
For the moment, even allowing for the noticeable dip in form since the league and the Leinster championship, Offaly should have enough to come through a tricky contest. With Westmeath slipping up against Limerick and Kildare almost getting reeled in from 15 points ahead against Sligo, no team is sprinting clear of the chasing pack in the Tailteann Cup, but for Offaly to get back into the list of contenders, a statement performance will be required in Tullamore.
*See here for the Offaly starting team and subs for the New York game.