Offaly hurling boss Johnny Kelly sees Saturday's All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final against Tipperary as an opportunity for his players to test themselves against one of the best teams in the country.

The local derby at Glenisk O’Connor Park is essentially a free shot for Offaly after the heartbreak of their Joe McDonagh Cup extra-time defeat to Carlow in Croke Park almost three weeks ago. They have nothing to lose against opponents who are one of the favourites to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup, despite missing out on a place in the Munster SHC final following a surprise loss to Waterford in their final game of the round-robin series.

“We were bitterly disappointed to lose the Joe McDonagh Cup final. But we’ve had time to digest it and get ourselves ready for what’s going to be another big challenge. We needed those three weeks to prepare,” Kelly told this week's Offaly Topic.

“I know the Tipp lads very well from living across the bridge from them in Portumna and from my time as manager of Borris-Ileigh. They are an exceptional team when they get going. They were very disappointed with their performance against Waterford the last day and you can be sure there will be a reaction from them.

“But this is where we want to be. It’s an opportunity to see what we’ve learned this year and to see if we can compete with these top teams. We’ll see a lot more of them when we play in Division 1 next year. Tipp are a traditional hurling county who are among the top three or four teams out there.

"This game will show us where we’re at.”

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