Trip to Belfast will have major bearing on trajectory of Offaly campaign

A DEFEAT won't prove fatal and there is ample games to recover in but Offaly's fate in Sunday's trip to Belfast will go along way towards determining the trajectory of their National Football League Division 3 campaign.

Belfast has generally not been a happy hunting ground for Offaly and a game there against Antrim represents a very tricky opening for Liam Kearns' side.

Offaly have generally had the measure of Antrim in Tullamore but it has been a vastly different story up north. They gave a very poor display when losing by 2-14 to 1-8 in their last trip there in 2012. They drew up there in 2008 while Offaly have lost in their other journeys to Casement Park in 1994, 1989 and 1986.

In 1994, '89 and '86, Offaly scored 2, 6 and 5 points respectively and the nature of their defeats piled huge pressure on team managements. A first league game won't put massive strain on Kearns and he will get the chance to stamp his mark on the team but the performance is still very important.

The venue this time is nearby Corrigan Park as Casement is closed and the reality is that Offaly haven't won in Belfast. Correcting this would get Kearns and his young team off to a very good start.

We don't really know where Offaly are at the moment. The O'Byrne Cup campaign was promising as Offaly beat Wicklow and a very understrength Dublin but they then conceded a walkover to Louth in the semi-final. The extra game would certainly have benefitted some players while the manner of withdrawal has definitely raised questions for some supporters.

However, it won't really matter in the long term and it will be quickly forgotten if Offaly do win on Sunday – if they don't, it may be a different story but the Antrim game is infinitely more important than any O'Byrne Cup tie.

Offaly's expectations in the National Football League will be grounded. Ideally, they will want to challenge for and win promotion but it is a transitional period. Johnny Moloney is gone for the year and it also looks like Niall McNamee's county career is over. However, Cian Farrell is back from injury to lead the attack, Anton Sullivan is playing some of the best football of his career and Dylan Hyland is growing into a very important forward – Cian Johnson is also back on the panel and if he gets his fitness up to the right level, he will be a very big asset to Offaly.

They did play reasonably well in the two O'Byrne Cup games they played. The players seemed fit and hungry and they were trying to move the ball quickly. The O'Byrne Cup, however, is very much a subsidiary competition and counties have treated it with downright disdain this year, including Offaly.

That won't be the case in the National Football League where every game will be fiercely contested., every point hard earned. Offaly will be anticipating a tremendous battle in Belfast on Sunday and will be naming their strongest possible team later in the week.

While they want to get promotion, they will also be aware of the possibility of a relegation battle and the drop to Division 4. That would be an absolute disaster and staying up is the first priority. Time will tell on where Offaly are. There are a lot of games in the campaign where they can get points but many of these could go wrong too.

This makes the Antrim game so important. A winning start would boost confidence and ease pressure. The result won't dictate anything but it could propel Offaly into either the promotion or relegation battle. It is that big of a game and while Offaly are well capable of winning, it will take a really good display to do so.

Alliance Football League Division 3

Sunday, January 29 – Antrim v Offaly

Belfast 2pm

Sunday, February 5 – Offaly v Fermanagh

O'Connor Park 2pm

Sunday, February 19 – Westmeath v Offaly

Cusack Park, Mullingar 2pm

Sunday, February 26 – Offaly v Cavan

O'Connor Park 2pm

Sunday, March 5 – Longford v Offaly

Pearse Park, Longford 2pm

Saturday, March 18 – Tipperary v Offaly

Semple Stadium, Thurles 2pm

Sunday, March 26 – Offaly v Down

O'Connor Park 2pm