Make or break time for Offaly underage football and hurling teams

THE next week is very much a make or break time for Offaly GAA teams with big knockout games for the minor footballers and hurlers and the U20 hurlers.

Those three teams along with the senior hurlers are the only ones still in contention for top tier championship honours – the senior footballers were a top seed in the Tailteann Cup and that draw takes place on Wednesday afternoon while the U20 footballers lost heavily to Westmeath in the second tier Andrew Corden Cup final on Tuesday evening.

The U-20 hurlers look to be the only realistic chance of annexing a Leinster championship in 2025. The senior hurlers were well beaten, 2-25 to 1-14, by Galway in their second game last Saturday. After running Dublin very close in a first round defeat, they now have a week off before travelling to Nowlan Park to play Kilkenny, followed by games away to Wexford and at home to Antrim.

Their target is to stay up and it could very well boil down to the last game between them and Antrim to decide who makes the drop into the Joe McDonagh Cup. It is hard to envisage Offaly getting anything in Kilkenny and they will be targeting Wexford for a morale boosting win but even if that was achieved, they may still have to beat Antrim to survive.

It was always likely to emerge this way and the key for Offaly is to stay in the top flight this year. They have made terrific progress in the past couple of years and are building in the right way. The first target for Offaly is to narrow the gap between them and Dublin and Wexford. They have clearly done that with Dublin, pipping them in the league and going so close to them in the championship, when they played well enough to win but couldn't close it out.

Wexford is a very realistic target for them and while the Slaneysiders have operated at a much higher level than Offaly in recent years and will be warm favourites on home turf, they are very much in Offaly's sights.

The U20 hurlers travel to Newbridge on the bank holiday Monday, May 5 for the Leinster quarter-final and they need to produce their best performance of the season. This general squad were pipped by Tipperary in the All-Ireland minor hurling final three years ago while they have several survivors from the team that won Leinster and All-Ireland U20 hurling titles in such breathtaking style last year.

With all that going for them, Offaly are many people's favourites to retain their titles this year but have to click into gear now. They lost to Galway and had an easy win over Laois in their top tier group and haven't found top form yet. With every team qualifying, that was okay and they achieved their main objective of qualifying for the quarter-final rather than the preliminary quarter-final but there are no safety nets from here in.

Injuries have handicapped Offaly so far. Adam Screeney is only getting back from a groin injury, though his movement when introduced in Saturday's defeat by Galway suggests that he is beginning to come right. His Kilcormac-Killoughey club mates, Ter Guinan (hamstring) and Daniel Hand (shoulder) are still out and Offaly are somewhat vulnerable at the moment.

They still have the capacity to improve very quickly and a win in Newbridge could get them going. It has been a very energy sapping year for some of their best players – Donal Shirley and Dan Ravenhill have nailed down places on the senior team while James Mahon came on as a sub and Liam Hoare and Brecon Kavanagh were unused subs against Galway.

It's a delicate balancing act and Offaly will also have to beat Kilkenny and, probably, Galway to win Leinster which is a big ask. The only game in town, however, is Dublin at the moment and any fragile display could be punished. Offaly are favourites for this one and you would expect them to perform but they have to go and do it now. This is arguably their most important game of the year and a win could change everything for them.

While the jury is out to an extent on the U20 hurlers, there is way more pessimism about the title prospects of the minor footballers and hurlers.

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The minor footballers have been an enigma this year and travel to Navan on Thursday evening for a quarter-final against Meath, where they will be definite underdogs. Offaly have stumbled into this stage, losing to Dublin and Louth in the group before qualifying with a win over Laois. They looked good in the first half of their preliminary quarter-final win over Wicklow last week and were still in control heading into the last ten minutes when leading by 1-12 to 0-8.

Then they almost threw it away, conceding two goals and Wicklow really should have had a penalty to win it when their full forward Pat Kehoe was taken out of it by Offaly goalkeeper Jack Ryan but a free out was given for over-carrying. That was a hugely contentious decision and Offaly definitely got the rub of the green there before recovering their composure and playing well in extra time to win convincingly by 3-20 to 2-13.

There had been optimism about the prospects of this team before the championship started but it hasn't been reflected in their displays. We do tend to forget the youth of minors, who are U17s, are still physically developing and learning the game – games can get away from a team very easy at this age but they travel to Navan with a major point to prove.

It is hard to escape the impression that Offaly should be playing better than they are. Four or five of this team have the potential to go and play senior county football but as a unit, it hasn't happened for them. A combination of factors are responsible for this but Offaly need to produce their biggest and best display of the season by a mile to survive now – they do have that in the tank but they have to reach a new level now and Meath will be very hard to beat.

Offaly have played flashes of excellent football but not on a consistent basis. They do have a lot going for them. Tadgh Kelly has been marshalling the defence well, Eoin Rouse's return from injury has really changed things for them at midfield while Dylan Dunne and Cian McNamee are two very exciting talents up front. Dunne has been particularly brilliant and is the attacking fulcrum of the team while McNamee has also oozed quality, taking some great scores, though he perhaps needs to pass the ball a bit more in some situations, rather than taking on his man every time.

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Players such as Patrick Duffy and Aaron Daly have produced outstanding individual displays in some games and it will be very interesting to see how Offaly perform on Thursday and respond to the questions that are being asked.

There is not the same pressure on the minor hurlers as there was little talk about their prospects from the start of the year but they have also reached the point of no return, travelling to Portlaoise for a preliminary quarter-final against Laois on Saturday next.

The minor hurlers have done what has been asked of them so far, beating Meath, Wicklow and Antrim to qualify out of their second tier group. They fell away to a disappointing 4-15 to 2-17 defeat to Westmeath in their final group game last Saturday and this earned them the runners-up spot and a more difficult preliminary quarter-final against Laois.

That may be no harm for them. Saturday's defeat gave them plenty of things to work on and they will be under no illusions about the chances of a defeat ending their campaign this weekend. Offaly have worked hard at improving their game under manager Brian Carroll and impress as a very honest, determined group, albeit with obvious limitations. There is no real feeling that this team can win a provincial title but the target has always been to make the quarter-final proper and play a top tier team.

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Last year's team did that and then gave a very brave display when losing to Wexford. The current squad will be similarly hoping for the opportunity to see where they are against Dublin, Galway or Wexford – Kilkenny are already assured of a semi-final berth and the winners of Galway and Wexford will join them there this weekend. The game in Portlaoise, however, is a real banana skin, a 50-50 one and it will take a huge Offaly display to win.