Offaly minor footballers approach Leinster final with optimism and confidence

THERE is plenty of grounds for optimism as Offaly begin the final count down to Wednesday's 2020 Leinster Minor Football Championship final against Meath in Navan.

Like the minor hurlers in their Leinster final against Kilkenny, Offaly find themselves in the role of underdogs. The word of mouth about Meath was good from the start of the year and they showed their potential when beating Dublin in the first round and following it up with wins over Laois and Westmeath.

However, there is justified optimism in Offaly that they can take this title. The reason that there is a bit more hope about the minor football prospects than the minor hurling ones is mainly historical. While Offaly have struggled against Kilkenny at all levels for a long time now in hurling, the footballers have begun to compete against counties like Meath and Kildare. Like the hurling, there is a long road ahead, plenty of pitfalls but Offaly football does look to be turning a corner.

The similarities between football and hurling are considerable. There appears to be a change of attitude among young players in the county – one where they not only want to play county football or hurling but are also willing to live the lifestyle and do the training that is required for this.

In football, Offaly is fortunate to have three very good managers over their senior, U-20 and minor sides. Senior manager John Maughan, U-20 boss Declan Kelly and minor supremo Ken Furlong are all singing out of the same basic hymn sheet when it comes to instilling pride and passion in the players.

The young footballers and hurlers are certainly contributing to the new mood of hope in Offaly and the minor football team have performed really well.

Unfortunately, their previous form counts for nothing here. Any momentum that their wins over Wicklow and Kildare generated has been lost because of the long Covid-19 lockdown. This is a new game and in many respects it is a step into the unknown for both counties.

Some players will have improved and progressed during the last six months, and others may have gone back or lost form. Management will have learnt a certain amount from training and challenge games but the Leaving Certificate has also complicated preparations and Offaly won't truly know where they are until the white heat of championship battle on Wednesday.

They have done very well to date. They beat Wicklow by 2-9 to 0-9 in their first game. It wasn't as simple as the score line suggests but Offaly were full value for it. The sides were level well into the second half but Offaly finished powerfully for the win.

Against Kildare, they came through their toughest game of the year as they won by 2-10 to 2-7. They were the better team on the day and probably should have won by more but it was still a very big win for them. Offaly's record against Kildare hasn't been great at underage level in recent years and beating them was very significant. Offaly led by 2-6 to 1-3 at half time and had to withstand a fierce Kildare rally in the second half. They dug deep, however, and they got home.

The big thing for Offaly was that these were the type of matches the county has lost in the past in various grades. Even when things went wrong, they continued to work hard and try and do the right thing. It got them out of a tight corner and they were able to let their football do their talking in the wind up.

They come up against a very formidable Meath team and their form was absolutely compelling. Their 1-15 to 0-7 win over Dublin in the first round was particularly impressive and they followed up with excellent wins over Westmeath, 3-11 to 0-7, and Laois, 2-10 to 1-7 to book their final place.

Their form has been more impressive than Offaly but that is mainly because of their win over Dublin. They are a highly rated side and there is no disputing the merit of the favourites tag for them.

Yet Offaly have to be given a very good chance. They have really began to compete with Meath at various levels in the past few years. They have been very close to beating them in big senior and minor championship games and it is clear that there is not much between the counties.

Offaly have a huge amount going for them. While the long delay was not ideal, it has benefits in that it is now summer football while Offaly also have two dual players, Cormac Egan and Patrick Taaffe. Originally the minor hurling final was fixed to be played first, now it is reversed and the minor football management won't be upset at that.

Tullamore man Cormac Egan is one of their star players. He has blistering pace, power and a level of energy that is rare. His direct running and willingness to take on opponents has terrorised opposing defences and he will be doing the same against Meath. Elements of his game have to develop more – he could shoot more and sometimes passing is a better option than taking on his opponent but he is an exciting talent and he is one of the players who has really developed physically during the lockdown.

Offaly have a number of players who are likely to play county senior football. Egan has that potential while John Furlong looks to be a certainty for that level and Harry Plunkett also has many of the raw ingredients – Plunkett is on the mend from a broken leg. Full forward Keith O'Neill is another with real potential. He has been scoring very well and it is about time that a Clonbullogue footballer came through and made it at county senior level – they have had a lot of outstanding underage footballers in recent years but none have had a real senior county career, due to a variety of reasons.

Centre back Cathal Ryan is another who could make that step up and he is developing the whole time. There are others who could come up as well and Offaly have a lot going for them. It is an exciting time for Offaly GAA and the development of these young players and others is helping create this buzz.

Like the hurlers, there is also a fear that it can go horribly wrong. Again, this is based on past experience along with Meath's form last year. Again, however, there does appear to be something different in this team. There is a great attitude and obvious desire. The initial priority is for Offaly to be competitive, to be at least close. The feeling that this team can give a really good account of themselves in unavoidable.

MATCH ANALYSIS

BACKROOM TEAM

Manager - Ken Furlong (Tullamore);

Selectors – Cathal Daly (Tullamore) and Stephen Lonergan (Birr).

STAR MAN

John Furlong – A son of the manager and the latest product of a legendary Tullamore clan, he should play a lot of senior county football.

KEY PLAYERS

Cathal Ryan, Harry Plunkett, Cormac Egan and Jamie Guing.

KEY BATTLE

Midfield will decide a lot here. Offaly have two of their best players in midfield in John Furlong and Harry Plunkett. They are a very compatible mixture with Furlong capable of covering a lot of ground as well as working very hard. Plunkett has those ingredients too and has real flair, capable of the unexpected. Offaly must at least break even here.

BIGGEST FEAR

Like the hurlers, it is that Offaly won't perform and will be well beaten. Again, there is no evidence to suggest that it will be the case with this group but it has happened Offaly teams in the past.

VERDICT

The impression remains that Offaly can pull this one off and win a first Leinster minor football title since 1989. The county is crying out for success and this team has that potential. At the same time, you can't go against Meath at the moment. They have played very well in their three games and there has been a lot of talk about them in Meath. Offaly, however, have an excellent chance.

Verdict – Meath.