Offaly footballers face Longford in real six pointer on Sunday

WITH the wheels coming off after an encouraging start, Offaly travel to Longford for a real make or break National Football League Division 3 showdown next Sunday.

Wins over Antrim and Fermanagh have been followed with defeats by Westmeath and Cavan and it leaves Offaly poised on a knife edge in the league.

Meanwhile Offaly hurlers took a giant step towards promotion from Division 2A when a dramatic last gasp sideline from David Nally gave them a huge 0-22 to 1-18 win over Kerry in Killarney on Saturday last With full points from their three games, Offaly are top of the division alongside Kildare. With games to come against Carlow and Kildare, their fate is very much in their own hands and they are now favourites for a return to Division 1 hurling – Offaly hurlers have no game this weekend.

The outlook has a lot more clouds on the horizon for Offaly footballers. They are mid table on four points alongside Westmeath. Cavan are heading for promotion with full points from their four games, Fermanagh and Down have six, Antrim 2 and Tipperary and Longford have one each.

Offaly could go either way and Sunday's game in Longford will determine whether they are in a relegation dogfight or promotion charge – their last two games are away to Tipperary and at home to Down. Longford are in a treacherous position, rooted to the bottom of the table and in desperate need of points. They have been surprisingly poor so far, losing to Fermanagh, Westmeath and Cavan while they picked up their first point last Sunday when drawing with fellow strugglers Tipperary.

A defeat on Sunday will really stack the odds against Longford surviving and this is really a must win game for them. They will fancy their chances. Their track record is good against Offaly, particularly on home turf and they will be looking on this as a game where they can turn their season around.

It has also taken on a new level of importance for Offaly after the last two defeats. While most supporters would have marked the Westmeath and Cavan games down as probable defeats from the minute the league programme was released, they have still piled pressure on the team.

A third consecutive defeat would really bring things to a head and damage the morale of a young team. The stakes are really massive for Offaly here. This game will determine the trajectory of the remainder of the campaign with defeat plunging them into the relegation battle and a win allowing them to dream of promotion.

Offaly's defeat last Sunday raises particular questions. They competed well against Westmeath for an hour and only lost their way in the closing ten minutes. Cavan were a different story. They were clearly much better than Offaly, much faster and stronger and the home side was really blown out of the water. They were honest and they gave it everything they had but it wasn't enough. They weren't very bad and played particularly well in the first twenty minutes but 0-21 to 0-14 still represented a hefty defeat and it would have been a lot worse if Cavan had taken some of their four good goal chances.

It will certainly have told new manager Liam Kearns a lot about his charges and the road that lies ahead. Despite the two defeats, promotion is still on the table as a possibility. It may look a bit of a long shot at the moment but Offaly still have realistic chances of claiming second place.

And the division does look to be a race for second place now as Cavan have been the best team in it by a distance so far and look to be powering towards division 2. They, however, could suffer reverses and there is a lot of football to be played yet.

Westmeath's shock defeat to Down on Saturday opened it up for everyone else, including Offaly. Offaly will have a chance in all of their remaining games, away to Longford and Tipperary and at home to Down. They should be much more competitive in all these than they were against Cavan and three wins is a possibility.

It is unlikely, however, that they will win all three and the really big priority is to stay up in Division 3. Offaly's wins over Antrim and Fermanagh gives them a great chance of doing that but they will need more points.

Sunday's trip to Longford will determine a lot for Offaly. It is a 50-50 game and Offaly should be capable of producing a performance. If ever there was a six pointer, this is it and it will really define Offaly's league campaign.