Competitive performance the aim as Offaly hurlers head to Waterford

WATERFORD was a big target for Offaly from the minute the National Hurling League Division 1 fixtures were released late last year but they will be very much in bonus territory when they make the trip south on Sunday next.

Offaly's return to the league top flight represented a huge step forward last year but patience is the name of the game as they find their feet against the country's top hurling sides.

Johnny Kelly and company were very happy with the way Offaly competed in their opening round defeat in Kilkenny as they stayed in contention almost the whole way and a snatch and grab win was possible inside the closing few minutes.

Those type of performances are what Offaly are looking for in the league while the possibility of a loss like Sunday's 5-24 to 1-18 reversal at home to Tipperary was always there. There could be more of that in store for Offaly in the coming weeks but there could also be a really big performance in them at some stage and if they were to snatch a win, it would make the league a big success.

Events have conspired against Offaly with a lengthy injury list. They are down some of their best hurlers in Ciaran Burke, Killian Sampson and Charlie Mitchell. Donal Shirley went off injured early on in Nowlan Park, missing last Sunday's game while they left off Cathal King, Adam Screeney and Dan Bourke because of their game load with Fitzgibbon Cup action taking place in between league games.

Tipperary was the correct game to give these players a rest, though they all came on. Even with a full strength team, Offaly's chances of catching the All-Ireland champions were very slim and Johnny Kelly would have taken that selection stance with one eye on the Waterford game this Sunday.

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With games against Galway, Cork and Limerick to come, Offaly are likely to have targeted Waterford as their best chance of getting a win. The injury list has moved those goalposts while Waterford's win over Limerick last Sunday has transformed their league. They were poor enough in their opening round defeat by Cork but bounced back spectacularly with a 1-21 to 0-20 win over Limerick.

That will have done their confidence a lot of good but Offaly will still travel to Waterford with a lot more hope than they did for the short trip to Tullamore last Sunday. They will be under no illusions about the task ahead, that Waterford are at a higher level than them at the moment and that the possibility of a trimming is present for this one as well.

However, Offaly won't have any fear of Waterford and they competed well against them twice last year. They were beaten 0-22 to 1-11 in the group stages of Division 1B, competitive for a lot of the game but running out of steam late on – they were reduced to fourteen men early on after the controversial dismissal of James Mahon and that eventually took its toll.

In the league final a few weeks later in Cork, Offaly were beaten 1-27 to 2-20 by Waterford. That was a very strange game. Waterford led by fourteen points at one stage in the second half, yet Offaly staged a terrific recovery and were not far away from getting right back into it.

Those performances suggest that Offaly can compete against Waterford but they really need a near full strength team to have a real chance of victory. You never know but you would imagine that Offaly are down too many players to pull off the win they desire.

Even if victory is beyond them, the performance is important and Offaly need to compete in every sector. They did make life a bit too easy for Tipperary on Sunday last. Tipp may be at a different level but Offaly were not tight enough at times, standing off their men and giving them room to run straight down their throats. Top players will punish you in this environment and while Waterford are not as good as Tipp, they have definite capacity to hurt.

Johnny Kelly took the Tipp defeat on the chin but he will be demanding a much better performance here, more intensity and every player concentrating on his own job. It may not lead to a win but the players should respond in the right way and give a very good account of themselves.