FOR THE SECOND successive week, Michael Fennelly had to pick his Offaly team up off the floor after they suffered a heavy defeat to All-Ireland contenders.<\/p>\n
Offaly\u2019s ambitions are a far cry away from challenging for the Liam MacCarthy \u2013 they won\u2019t even be competing in the top tier come the championship. The Faithful are newly promoted to the Joe McDonagh, having lifted the third tier Christy Ring title last season.<\/p>\n
They also won promotion from Division 2A in 2021, which guaranteed them a spot in the 12-team Division 1 that is split between two groups.<\/p>\n
Offaly drew the short straw when they were drawn in 1B, with Laois and Antrim placed in 1A.<\/p>\n
Even a round-robin game to look forward to against either of those counties would give Offaly a genuine opportunity to pick up some points.<\/p>\n
Instead, they\u2019ll be doing well to finish within 10 points of any team.<\/p>\n
They lost to Galway and Cork by a combined 36 points. They still have Clare, Wexford and Limerick to play. With the championship throwing-in mid-April, most teams are seeking to hit form far earlier that previous years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very steep learning curve,\u201d remarked Fennelly.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the team that\u2019s progressing and has been promoted, it does very little to be honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re in survival mode and you\u2019re shipping big defeats and I feel for the boys, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s overly fair on them but that\u2019s the system and the structure that\u2019s there and we can\u2019t do anything about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me it\u2019s two to three steps from where we\u2019re at being honest about it. You\u2019re not going from Division 2A to another group, you\u2019re gone two or three divisions above it. They\u2019re just at a higher level than us at the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day we are gearing towards the Joe McDonagh in the summer, that\u2019s going to be massively competitive. But the speed of our play needs to increase and that doesn\u2019t happen overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to see things improving for them much over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Antrim are competing well, having ran both Kilkenny and Dublin close over the past two weekends. They finished on five points in last year\u2019s league, after beating Clare and Laois, and drawing with Wexford.<\/p>\n
Darren Gleeson admitted his frustration after the game at their failure to pick up any points, but at least the Saffrons have shown they belong at this level. They\u2019re a county on the rise, with emerging young talent have given several strong performances against more established counties.<\/p>\n
For Offaly, that\u2019s where they want to get to. But it\u2019s no quick fix.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they are enjoying competing against these great players who we saw on TV, are winning Munster titles and Leinster titles and going on to challenge in semi-finals and finals,\u201d said Fennelly. \u201cBut you couldn\u2019t be doing this every day. It can be deflating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Waterford recorded their biggest ever league win over Cheddar Plunkett\u2019s Laois on Sunday. For a team dumped Dublin out of the championship in 2019, Laois have regressed significantly.<\/p>\n
Waterford scored seven goals and left another handful behind them, while also firing over a remarkable 31 points. In years gone by, Liam Cahill might have sent out a second string outfit, but the Deise need to get their key men up and running as the Munster campaign looms.<\/p>\n