Joe Errity has stressed Offaly aren't looking beyond Saturday's Leinster MHC opener against Carlow at Dr. Cullen Park.

Until recently, this would have been viewed as an easy fixture for the Faithful County, but their decline, coupled with Carlow's rise, makes it a tough game to call. Indeed, Carlow are many people's favourites to win after beating Offaly en route to winning the Leinster League title last month.

"We played them in the league semi-final. Look they beat us and deserved to win it. They performed better than us. They got a goal in the last minute but they were on the ascendency at that stage so it was disappointing," the new Offaly minor boss is quoted in the Tullamore Tribune.

"We didn't have our full outfit available and I'm not sure about Carlow. We still thought we would have had enough there to get the victory but it didn't turn out that way."

The former Birr and Offaly All-Ireland winner added: "Carlow, Westmeath, Laois and all these teams are after making huge strides so it is up to us now to try and combat it. The days of going into these matches as a formality are gone out the window because they have progressed so far.

"Carlow hurling is on a high with Mount Leinster Rangers and with their U21's beating Dublin last year. They deserve to be where they are." Tweet

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