No changes on Offaly minor football team for big knockout clash

THERE are no changes on the Offaly team for Thursday evening's big Leinster Minor Football Championship quarter-final clash with Meath in Navan.

As expected, management have kept faith with the team that started in last week's preliminary quarter-final win over Wicklow – a game that Offaly controlled for long periods, almost threw away in the closing ten minutes and then put in a powerful extra time to pull away for the win.

The team will have to produce their best display of the season to survive and are underdogs for this one. A highly rated team, they showed plenty of promise on their way up through the development squad system but haven't ignited yet in this campaign.

After opening round losses to Dublin and Louth, they beat Laois to qualify for the preliminary quarter-finals where they were the better team against Wicklow but almost exited – Wicklow should have been awarded a late penalty that would have won the game if converted.

Offaly have shown flashes of real promise. They made a blistering start against Dublin when they opened them up but fell to pieces and were a beaten team before half time. They controlled the first half very impressively against Wicklow and remained in the driving seat until the last ten minutes.

We are inclined to forget the youth of minor teams now. They are U17, a big difference from the old U18, and it is very easy for games to get away from young players at this level. At the time time, the impression that this team has performed below their capabilities is impossible to escape. Whatever about capabilities, they have certainly performed below expectations and it is win or bust tonight.

They still have a lot going for them, some genuinely exciting players with perhaps a handful of them capable of going on to play for Offaly seniors. For whatever reason, they haven't clicked yet and it is difficult to do that when a gun is to your head but those are the questions being asked of these young players and they have to go and do it now.

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.

Players such as Patrick Duffy and Aaron Daly have produced outstanding individual displays in some games, others have produced spells of fine football and it will be very interesting to see how Offaly perform in Navan and respond to the questions that are being asked – the game has a 6.30pm throw in. The evidence so far suggests that it won't happen but this team remains capable of something special and a shock cannot be ruled out.

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OFFALY: Jack Ryan (Doon); Caden O'Beirne (Tullamore), Daniel Stoyanov (Clara), Cormac Farrell (Edenderry); Patrick Duffy (Tullamore), Tadgh Kelly (Kilclonfert), Stephen Byrne (Raheen); Eamon Maher (Ferbane), Eoin Rouse (Tullamore); Aaron Daly (Clonbullogue), Dylan Dunne (Clara), Isaac Ryan (Clara); Tony Furey (Edenderry), Cian McNamee (Rhode), Ruari Woods (Belmont). Subs – Max Kruger (Gracefield), Cathal Weldon (Bracknagh), Charlie Duffy (Edenderry), Cian Duffy (Doon), Darragh Stewart (Tullamore), Dermot Crombie (Rhode), Tomas Carroll (Erin Rovers), Paddy Burns (Daingean), Jason Curley (Rhode).