Capital punishment on Offaly's wish-list

Nothing excites the Offaly footballers more than the chance to knock out the heavyweights. Last year's win over Meath - the then All-Ireland champions - added further strength to their reputation as the county you probably don't want to meet when your aspirations are high in the championship.

Dublin have managed to avoid the Offaly obstacle in recent years. Back in the early 1980s, Offaly defeated them in two Leinster finals in the space of three years before Dublin established a streak of four successive victories. In 1992, the last time they met, Dublin came out winners again. None of that will count for much in Croke Park on Sunday. Dublin will be as wary as ever, knowing Offaly have the ability to derail their plans for a Leinster title before it gets to the final stage. And few counties have less fear of the blue jersey than Offaly.

"Well, it wouldn't be in our nature to fear anyone," said Ciaran McManus, the now familiar face of Offaly's midfield. "But we definitely don't fear Dublin. They are coming into form at the moment and the hard ground does suit them, but we've wanted to meet them for a couple of years and now we're glad to get the chance."

Although McManus has yet to play against Dublin in the championship, he is no stranger to some of the Dublin players. In his time with UCD, he has played either with or against many of the Dublin panel in the course of the county championship and the Sigerson Cup.

"Everyone knows Dublin have real title hopes this year and they did tear Longford apart in the second half. I think it's going to be a very high-standard game and we'll have to play even better than last year when we beat Meath.

"And we were quite poor in our first game against Laois, but then we've never beaten them by more than a couple of points. It was just a job, a game we wanted to win, and we've had three weeks to improve. This is what it's all about, a big match in Croke Park where everybody wants to play. So we can't wait."

The first run against Laois did give the younger players the chance to experience the scale of playing in Croke Park and McManus feels that will help. With players like Ronan Mooney, John Kenny and James Brady all missing for Sunday's game, Offaly will rely more on younger faces such as Ger Rafferty, Karl Slattery, Alan McNamee and Gary Comerford - all of whom made their senior debuts against Laois.

Those younger players also got the chance to see Dublin up close in the league match last November, which Offaly won handily enough by four points. "Of course, that game will have little bearing on Sunday," said McManus. "It did show the young players we can compete with Dublin, but the championship is always going to be different."

The experience last year, although falling short of a Leinster final, served the team well, especially as it was the first year for manager Padraig Nolan. "I remember the replay against Kildare particularly well. We were well up in the first half and should have put them out of sight. Kildare hit back at us and maybe we did panic a bit. But we learnt from that. We didn't deal so well with the turning point last year, but I think we are better prepared this year."

McManus feels his own game is coming into form. He didn't start particularly well against Laois and although he did make his usual contribution from placed balls, he knows there is more to come.

"I was suffering with a hamstring injury after the Sigerson Cup this year, but right now I feel my fitness is coming back. Laois provided a good test for us in our first game and now we're ready for the bigger test."

There is one memory McManus is eager to wipe out. That summer of 1992, the last time Dublin and Offaly met in the championship, he was standing on the hill in Tullamore and witnessed a crushing 11point defeat. "It was almost embarrassing," he said, suggesting he is eager to make help some sort of amends.