Tailteann Cup final berth in reach for Offaly but complete focus required

A TERRIFIC opportunity has opened up for a rejuvenated Offaly senior football team but Monday's Tailteann Cup semi-final draw creates its own very real danger for them.

Offaly got the draw most supporters would have wanted when they were pitted against fellow Leinster men Wicklow with Down and Fermanagh clashing in an Ulster slug-fest in the other semi-final – the games will provide an attractive double bill in Croke Park on Saturday next.

The squad of players and team management deserve massive credit for the way they have turned things around after a fairly horrific few months.

Seven successive defeats in Division 2 of the National Football League and relegation was unpalatable but not a huge surprise considering the extent of their injury crisis – even with that, points did slip through Offaly's hands and there were enough opportunities there to have salvaged their status.

The championship defeat by Laois, however, deflated everyone and it was a fairly abject surrender by Offaly. They just weren't in the right place for it and while players got some criticism, a large volume of it was reserved for joint managers Declan Kelly and Mickey Harte.

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They looked to be “dead men walking” at that stage and it was difficult to envisage Offaly getting much joy out of the Tailteann Cup. Their record in second tier competitions has been fairly dire over the years, though something did flip last year when they made the quarter-finals and missed a chance to beat Kildare there.

The previous year Offaly had been beaten by London and Limerick and we feared that their attitude might be back to that. Somehow, almost miraculously, however, Offaly have managed to turn their season around and it is a run that could change a whole lot for the county.

First of all, the players have stood up to a man and showed they are made of the right stuff for county football. They have clearly worked hard and have responded very positively to the guidance of their team performance coach Paul Kilgannon on the training ground. There has been a collective circling of the wagons by everyone in the squad and Offaly now find themselves just one game away from a final of a competition that could really transform this team going forward.

It would be a great competition for Offaly to win and the rewards are huge: Firstly the Tailteann Cup winners will be assured of competing in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship proper next year and it would be great to see how Offaly fare there. And then there is the more intangible stuff about the positive impact it may have on both current and emerging players.

The run has also changed things for the team management. After the Laois disaster, you would confidently have put your money on Offaly having new management this year – had Offaly had a poor Tailteann Cup campaign, Kelly's and Harte's reign would have been over and the search would have been on.

As things stand, their chances of being there next year have improved dramatically – assuming that Harte has the energy to give it another year: certainly, if they reach the final, the option may be in their own hands and if they win it, the deal will be done.

The results are the results and it is just great to see the way Offaly have turned things going. They steadied the ship with a solid first round win over Clare and really got going with an excellent display when surprising favourites Down in Tullamore.

They performed very well in last Saturday's win over Wexford. They trailed by six points after playing against the wind in the first half but conceded five two pointers and a lucky goal. They had an 11 point turnaround in the second half for a five point win and the way they won it was really impressive.

They are moving very well, have found their old flair and pace again and their performances are on a different planet compared to the rubbish they played against Laois when they went back into their shell and were ultra cautious, playing the ball back and forth. The quality of their football has been a joy to watch and Offaly now have a great chance of extending their season into the second week in July and forcing the local club championships to be put back.

They now find themselves in new territory. We feared the worse against Clare and we presumed that Down would beat them with a degree of comfort. The Wexford game was treated as no more than 50-50, because of their edge in physicality, but now Offaly will be favourites and there will be an expectation that they will win.

That tag is justified, those expectations are reasonable but Offaly will need to be on their game to advance. Wicklow may have remained in Division 4 of the National Football League but they are fit and playing very well in the Tailteann Cup. They have beaten Offaly before and they will also be happy with this draw, glad to be playing Offaly and not one of the northern teams.

They will believe that Offaly represent their best chance of progress and they are very dangerous opponents.

Beaten by Laois in their first game, Wicklow have got going with some very good wins, beating Limerick, Tipperary and Antrim to make the semi-finals. Their confidence is high, like Offaly's, though there is a difference in the formline.

Offaly's victories were over Clare who will be in Division 3 next year and Down and Wexford who are in division 2. Wicklow lost to division 3 opponents in Laois and Limerick, Tipperary and Antrim will all be alongside them in Division 4 next season.

It is important to note that but the Offaly squad can't let this get into their thinking. It means there is a huge opportunity for Offaly to make the final but they will only do so if their heads are in the same place and performance levels at the same height as recent games. Anything else will leave them sitting ducks and this is always a possibility for Offaly.

The players will like playing in Croke Park. They cut Kildare open in the National Football League Division 3 final there last year, several of them won an All-Ireland U20 football title there and the ground just suits them and the way they play football.

We will know after a few minutes where Offaly are. Against London and Limerick two years ago, we knew after ten minutes they were in bother; we could see after a few minutes of every Tailteann Cup game this year that they would perform anyway, whether that would be good enough for a win. As long as complacency isn't allowed to seep in, there is no way Offaly won't go after this in the right way and all things being equal, that should be good enough for the win.