Brian Cody admits that Offaly ran his Kilkenny side far too close for comfort when they met in the Allianz League quarter-final.
Today’s clash at Nowlan Park (3pm) comes 23 years after the Faithful County last got the better of the Cats in the Leinster championship.
The margins of some of the defeats in that period have been wince-inducing: 31 points in 2005, 18 in 2008, 26 in 2014 (Sky Sports’ first live game).
That’s why the two-point defeat in Tullamore in March, when added to the opening-game win over Dublin, seemed like a significant result.
Kilkenny may be a team in transition and have lost many members of what is considered by some as the greatest team to play the game, but Offaly’s failure to compete after the 1998 All-Ireland final win left a dark cloud over the county.
Cody’s men are overwhelming favourites to win their second game of the new round-robin championship but whatever happens there is a feeling that, with double All-Ireland winner Kevin Martin at the helm, Offaly are at last headed in the right direction.
"I've always felt that Offaly have had real good potential over the past number of years and they've shown that at different times," Cody told RTÉ Sport.
"They’ve shown a bit more consistency in the league this year.
"We played them in the quarter-final and to say that we did well to come out of there with the win is exactly the truth.
"We barely survived it. It was a really good game, a really excellent competitive game.
"They have some excellent players and they are going to play a huge role in the Leinster championship. Anybody who thinks otherwise is wrong as far as I'm concerned.
"Obviously the set-up is very good. Kevin Martin is in charge, an outstanding player for Offaly and a truly passionate Offaly man.
"They have things going well and everyone who they'd like to have available is available to them and that matters. They are just very good players."
Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Joey Holden, Padraig Walsh, Paddy Deegan; Conor Delaney, Cillian Buckley (capt), Paul Murphy; Conor Fogarty, James Maher; Martin Keoghan, TJ Reid, Richie Leahy; John Donnelly, Walter Walsh, Luke Scanlon.
Offaly: Eoghan Cahill;Tom Spain, Sean Gardiner, Ben Conneely; Damien Egan, Pat Camon, Brendan Murphy; David King, Shane Kinsella; Joe Bergin, Conor Mahon, Oisin Kelly; Dan Currams, Colin Egan, Shane Dooley.
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