Offaly hurlers conclude league campaign with a trip to Cork on Saturday

OFFALY hurlers will bring their Allianz Hurling League Division 1A campaign to a close when they travel to Cork on Saturday evening to take on the home side at Pairc Ui Chaoimh at 7pm.

With their relegation back to Division 1B having been confirmed following their defeat to Limerick in their last outing, this will be Offaly's last competitive outing before they begin their Leinster Championship campaign exactly four weeks later when they have a vital home tie against Dublin on Saturday April 18^th, so they will be keen to make the most of this opportunity to test themselves against one of the top sides in the country.

This was always going to be a tough campaign for Offaly going up against all the country's top sides and so it has panned out. However there have been positive signs too and they have been competitive in most of their games. They were in the game all the way against Kilkenny, only losing out by four points, they had their chances against Waterford, kept plugging away against Galway and never really let them out of their sight and they were in touch with Limerick for three quarters of the game until two quick goals helped the Shannonsiders pull away. The game against Tipperary was the only one where they didn't really perform and put in a strong challenge.

Once more they will face a step up in class on Saturday evening against a Cork team which has been flying under new boss Ben O'Connor. After their horror show in the second half of last year's All-Ireland Hurling Final, this could have been a very difficult year for The Rebels but so far they have shown no real signs of scar tissue from that defeat in this league campaign.

They got off to a flying start with victories over Waterford, Galway, Tipperary and Kilkenny, before suffering their first setback in their last outing away to Limerick.

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The reigning league champions are still on course for a place in the league final and anything other than a defeat against Offaly would ensure that they would be back in the final again on the first weekend of April. Even if they suffered a shock defeat to Offaly, they could still make the league final, depending on other results but it means they have something to play for on Saturday evening and won't be holding back against Offaly.

Offaly's recent record against Cork hasn't been good. Their league meetings and All-Ireland preliminary quarter finals meetings have resulted in big wins for the Leesiders and that type of defeat is something Offaly will be trying to avoid on Saturday.

With players returning to the fold in recent weeks, it has strengthened the team and they have had a three week break since the Limerick game to refresh their energies and get ready for this encounter and they will be keen to finish their campaign with a bang.

Some of the younger players will be familiar with each other from their meeting in the All-Ireland under 20 final in 2023, when a Cork team managed by Ben O'Connor overcame Offaly in Thurles.

The focus will be turning very much towards the championship after this weekend and there can be no better preparation for a tough championship campaign ahead than a meeting with a side of Cork's calibre on their own ground. It will give Offaly an idea of where they are at and of how much work they still have to do before that crucial game with Dublin on April 18^th.

It is hard to see anything other than a Cork win on Saturday, particularly as they still have that carrot of a league final place in their sights. They have impressed in most of their games this year, particularly at home, and unless Offaly can produce a performance for the ages, Cork are likely to book that league final place on Saturday night.

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