Full focus was the promise, and the players delivered

THE BELIEF that Tipperary would be the stand-out team this summer has been shaken somewhat by their early form, with a dramatic late point saving their championship bacon on Sunday.

They may still win Liam despite their indifferent start, but we were still waiting for a team to step up and signal outright favouritism.

For me that question was answered by Galway who gave Kilkenny as comprehensive a beating as has been witnessed in Brian Cody’s reign, and they will no doubt be our biggest Wexford Park test to date for Davy Fitzgerald.

I love the atmosphere around provincial towns on championship day, and Tullamore was no exception on Saturday, with great banter amongst the fans on the approach road to the impressive venue.

I encountered my old friend and olden-day foe Joe Dooley close to the ground and, whilst appreciating that the Faithful were underdogs, the Offaly legend felt there were signs of improvement and was hopeful that his team would at least be competitive.

My way into the ground was made all the easier by virtue of a pass from Liam Og McGovern Senior. A couple of weeks ago the Glynn Junior team played the Anne’s and were well down at halftime. On ringing for an early second-half update I was informed that the chances of a comeback had received a slight setback with the introduction of Liam Og McGovern from the subs’ bench.

Regardless of the tactical problems he posed for Glynn, everyone was delighted to see the young man back from injury as mirrored by our supporters’ response when he appeared back in a Wexford jersey on Saturday evening.

Davy had promised full focus on this game and regardless of the quality of opposition, let there be no doubt that Wexford were excellent on the evening. Our touch, movement and fitness were in a different league to the midlanders, emphasised by the move that saw Simon Donohoe pick out Aidan Nolan for a superb goal.

We had performances all over the field, allowing us the opportunity to rest some legs prior to the visit of the All-Ireland champions.

I felt we could win but never envisaged a 24-point victory. It served to further underline the progress made over the past couple of years.

I can honestly say that once we had the points secured it gave me no pleasure to see Offaly disintegrate almost to the point of shambles as I appreciate the great work Kevin Martin has done, and I just hope that he can pull things together in time to put in a last-match performance.

Granted, they were reduced to twelve men eventually, but the game was well gone before the first dismissal. I still hold that relegation from Leinster won’t help in rebuilding Offaly and up to this they have performed well this year, although the second-half did challenge my relegation beliefs.

We now need two points from our last two games to reach a Leinster final, and my honest belief is the Kilkenny game will possibly be our best chance to secure them.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no doubt we are playing well enough, and have the ability, to go toe-to-toe with the westerners and I know Davy believes it, but I was hugely impressed with the men in maroon last weekend.

Despite only taking over completely in the last 15 minutes, I felt they dominated the game and Kilkenny only really stayed close by virtue of Galway’s wastefulness.

They have an incredible spine to the team with a ferociously strong half-back line. Pádraig Mannion was man of the match and we have to be very careful not to leave Gearóid McInerney unmarked when we play with the extra defender. Their forward threat speaks for itself. Canning, Whelan, Conor Cooney; need I say any more?

But you know something, we’re not half bad either and with a packed Innovate Wexford Park and Davy’s plotting, Micheál Donohoe will know he has a game.

The last couple of weeks have set things up nicely for the summer.