FOR THE pundits this was a straightforward enough affair. Offaly's form in the league combined with Westmeath's lengthy list of absentees meant that there could only be one team heading for a Leinster Championship quarter final date with Wicklow in the middle of next month. Those opinions may have to be revised after Offaly were forced to stage a late comeback to earn a second crack at Westmeath.

There is widespread appreciation of the progress Barney Rock has made with Westmeath, but with many of their most promising youngsters still to be fully integrated into the senior panel, their day was believed to be still a way off. Offaly, with their strength in midfield increasingly complemented by improved forward and back divisions, seemed all set to continue on their road to a long awaited provincial football final.

The expectation persisted with the bulk of the 11,000 strong crowd in O'Connor Park, Tullamore, yesterday, despite the considerably slower start made in this second preliminary round match by the home side. When Tommy Lyons's side went in at the break trailing by seven points to three, it was clear that prompt action was required if a major upset was to be prevented.

Not that Offaly had exactly been outplayed in the opening period.

In a half which boasted 41 frees, there was little flowing football produced. What passing moves there were came mainly from Offaly, for whom Ciaran McManus and Anthony Kelly were both excellent when carrying the ball.

From the outset, however, their greatest single failing quickly become apparent with McManus firing wide, Colm Quinn hitting the post and Vinnie Claffey drawing a save from Dermot Ryan. The misses left Offaly scoreless after 10 minutes of play.

By then they trailed Westmeath by two points, both the product of solidly struck Tom Cleary frees. As Offaly were repeatedly penalised for minor infringements, it was the youngster's reliability that remained the difference between the two teams for the bulk of the half.

The number of frees going Westmeath's way prompted dark mutterings from some quarters that the referee, Pat O'Toole, had been sent from Longford with a mission to repay Offaly for the humiliation inflicted on his county in the previous round. However, the official granted plenty of chances to Offaly to put points on the board from close and medium range if only they had been able.

Matters were not helped by the fact that McManus, their preferred free taker on the day, was carrying an ankle injury, but there was still no excuse for some of the wides produced by Peter Brady and, from play, Vinnie Claffey.

The number of chances squandered was all the more surprising given the strength of the pair's build up play, and while Roy Malone struggled to make an impression at full forward, the two experienced corner forwards dominated much of the contest without ever reaping a commensurate reward.

At half time, Westmeath had a four point advantage, but the fact that they had scored only one point from play offered considerable hope to their opponents. Paul Conway and Tom Ormsby had both done themselves credit for Westmeath through the opening half, winning much of the possession that subsequently resulted in frees, but as the second half progressed it was Offaly's half back line, where Finbarr Cullen was commanding, that came to dominate.

Despite tightening up at the back, however, Offaly still struggled to score themselves. A combination of continuing sloppiness and a couple of outstanding saves from Ryan hampered their recovery until, with five minutes remaining and still two points behind, it seemed the task might be beyond them.

After Claffey reduced the deficit to a single point with a free, it was a moment of tiredness on the part of Westmeath in injury time that allowed Offaly to get back on terms. The ball was given away inside Westmeath's half and with defenders' legs visibly failing them, Claffey cut through the middle on a 25 yard run before sending the ball over. More like that early on and it would have been a very different game.

The teams are scheduled to replay next Sunday in Mullingar, but Rock, who reckoned he was short of 10 players for one reason or another. Yesterday, is hopeful that he will be given an additional week to recover from the strains of playing three championship matches on consecutive weekends.

Westmeath county board chairman Seamus Whelan made it clear that they would put a strong case to the Leinster Council this evening and would expect a fair hearing from the council".

"In the other dressing room, though, Offaly manager Lyons gave a taste of the opposition they will face when he remarked that "that's fine, I'll oppose it. The dates were all set out in advance and it isn't our fault that they drew with Wexford."

If only his team were so ruthless.