Limerick host Offaly in crunch group fixture in Tailteann Cup

THE Limerick senior footballers take on Offaly in round two of the Tailteann Cup this Saturday, May 18, at 3pm in Mick Neville Park, Rathkeale.

Down defeated Limerick in the opening round of the competition on a final scoreline of 1-20 to 1-6 in Newry last weekend. Limerick will be looking for a reaction against Offaly on the back of their 14-point defeat.

Limerick senior football manager Jimmy Lee believes this is a very important game for his side. “The onus is on us to get up and drive on. If we can carry the good bits that we did on Saturday and convert the chances, we'll be there or thereabouts,” he said.

After London hammered Offaly on Saturday, 2-20 to 0-12, the game between Limerick and Offaly takes on a greater significance this weekend. The winners will be in a strong position to advance to the knockout stages of the competition.

Jimmy Lee will be looking for a big improvement in his side's shooting this weekend. “I thought we did a lot of good stuff out there, but the final product wasn't there. It was a bit short.

“We dropped six shots short in the first half and when we dropped the six short they went down and scored. To be fair to the lads, they don't go out to do that and that's reality of it. We've got to reset and we've got to learn from it and I've every belief in them lads that they will do it.”

Limerick will be looking to get their first win of the year as the Shannonsiders didn't manager to record a victory in either the McGrath Cup or the Allianz League.

Offaly and Limerick met earlier in the year in Division 3 where the ‘Faithful’ county won out on a final scoreline of 1-10 to 0-12. Given how competitive that game was, it has to give Limerick some confidence that they can pull off a result in Rathkeale.

“Down were always going to be a challenge and they're favourites to win it. Hopefully by the end of the group, we will win the last two games. That's what we will be expecting. We set a target.”

Down already look like strong favourites to finish top of Group Four in the Tailteann Cup. The team that finishes top of the group advances directly to the Tailteann Cup quarter-final.

The four teams that finishes second across the four groups, along with the three best third-placed teams and New York will reach the preliminary quarter-finals.

London, Offaly and Limerick will all be hoping to reach the knockout stages of the competition. Iain Corbett has been struggling with injury this year and that has been significant blow for Lee's charges considering the squad lost 19 players from the 2023 squad at the start of the year.