THE FOUR County Under 21-football Shield decider in Tinryland last Tuesday told little other than it was a final trial in bitter conditions, and of little indication as to how Carlow will fare against Offaly in the main event in Tullamore on March 6 – the game moved back from it original date of February 21.

The change means that a number of 21s will be obliged to face Wicklow in the NFL at a Wicklow venue on the following afternoon, while if the 21s played on the original date then two of their ranks, Alan Corcoran and Eddie Byrne would probably not have been available to the hurlers who face Antrim in Belfast in their opening league game on the same day.

The pressure in Tinryland came from the management as much as Wexford, and of concern would be the distribution accuracy, but then conditions, and a soft pitch, were not exactly ideal for smart delivery.

Suffice to say Carlow won with some facility, even with the final scoreline a mere 1-7 to 0-7, but there was more movement from the home team which suggests better to be expected on Saturday week.

The scoreline was of little significance other than to bolster Carlow confidence for the Tullamore sortie, but there was a determination to suggest they will mount a challenge which will be hard halted.

Carlow's under 21 history is littered with broken dreams; two years back hammered by Kildare and nothing better since, but skipper Shane Redmond dismisses history as of little consequence to the crew he captains.

Sidelined because of eye-laser surgery until relatively recently, the towering Tinryland player reckons preparations have been going fairly well. 'The Friends of Carlow competition has been influential in our build-up - it's much better than having friendly matches week after week. '

'Because of the work of the county board in keeping most of us together from under 14s has been a huge benefit in what we have here now,' declaring that Carlow, as a result, is now more of a team than a collection of individuals.

The Tinryland senior is of no doubt that there is no such thing as the perfect preparation: 'that's the nature of any team and in any competition; you'll have ups and downs, and we've had a fair share of them too, but it makes the team stronger. Sure, we've come through the hard times and taken a beating from Dublin but we'll come back stronger for it. His parting words - watch out Offaly.

The Shield final would have been a poor indicator for the Offaly game, what with lights, the cold, and soggy surface, yet selector Noel Doyle exudes a confidence which, if shared by the players, will see Offaly out of the champoionship, even on their own patch.

'We need games like these to try out a few players and combinations,' remarking that a few would have been tired from the Longford game the previous Sunday. 'It was an important game, even if the performance was not great, but going in against Offaly we really need to pick it up.'

The Rathvilly selector knows the expectation for the present squad is high around the county: 'perhaps a little too much pressure on them. It's mainly the minor team which got to the Leinster final, so the expectations are huge, but we're working hard and if the players can believe in themselves we can beat Offaly and go a lot further in the championship; it's belief, as the seniors showed last weekend against Longford - the football is not a problem.'

Carlow: Ricky Keating (Eire Og), Barry John Molloy (Rathvilly), Shane Redmond (Tinryland), Jeffrey O'Donoghue ( Rathvilly), Alan Corcoran ( St. Andrews), Paul McElligott (Eire Og), David Kinsella (Palatine), Brendan Murphy (Rathvilly), Darragh Foley (Kilbride) 0-1, Eoghan Ruth (EO), Denis Murphy (MLR) 0-2 one free, Murtough Ware (EO) 0-1, Jordan Lowry (do) 1-0, Martin Clowry (N. Eoin), Daniel St Leger (KC) 0-3 one free. Subs: David Bambrick for Brendan Murphy; Cathal Coughlan for Lowry; Eddie Byrne for Ruth; Cormac Walsh for Foley; Gary Nolan for O'Donoghue; Con Murphy for D. Murphy; Richard Mahon for Ware.

Wexford: Myles Roche, James Breen, Chris Lane, Aidan Jones, André O'Brien, PJ Carroll, Alan Cowman, Killian Kehoe, John Leacy, Richard Dunne, 0-2, Darragh Cullen, Conor Carty, Kevin O'Grady 0-5, Jamie O'Grady, Tommy Foley. Subs: Michael O'Regan for Cullen; Matthew Crowdle for Carroll; Michael Furlong for Jones; Brendan Halpin for Jamsie O'Grady; Seamus O'Sullivan for Carty.