A win is so vital this weekend for so many in Waterford S.H.C.

This weekend see the staging of the third round of games in the JJ Kavanagh & Sons County Senior Hurling Championship and for some clubs it is a weekend that could well make or shape their year.

Three games are down for decision at Walsh Park, two in Fraher Field and one for the Ballyduff Upper venue which the County Board have to be congratulated on.

At Walsh Park Abbeyside and Ballygunner get the weekend’s proceeding under way on Saturday evening.

Ballygunner are having a bit a mixed year up to this point. They lost first time out to Mount Sion at the Keane’s Road venue but last time out they recorded a comprehensive win over Roanmore at the same venue.

Abbeyside are having a poor year when it comes to hurling. They lost heavily against Passage in their first game of the year, but they did better last time out against Mount Sion, even if the final outcome was the same, a win for their opponents.

Ballygunner this weekend are reported to be carrying some injuries going into the game and it remains to be seen what team they will put out.

Wayne Hutchinson is believed to be back in contention for a place in the team from the start but to counter this Philip Mahony is set to miss out on the game.

There is also some good news for Abbeyside. They are set to welcome Richie Foley into the team from the start and if this proves to be the case it will give the ‘Village’ men a massive boost heading into the game.

On form shown going into this game it is hard not to back Ballygunner in this weekend. A second win for them should all but secure their place in the last eight of the competition, while for Abbeyside, a third defeat in three games could make it very difficult for them to reach the last eight, and could well find themselves in a relegation dog fight.

Two games are fixed for the Keane’s Road venue on Sunday afternoon.

First up is the meeting of Roanmore and Passage.

Roanmore in their two games to date have lost heavily to Dungarvan and Ballygunner and they cannot afford to loose too much more ground.

In the two games that they played to date, it was clear for all to see against Dungarvan that Gavin O’Brien was not fully fit and was taken off in the second half and he played no part in the game with Ballygunner.

He came on as a sub for Waterford in the Munster Championship against Clare suggesting that he is back to full fitness which will be welcome news for his Club side that depend on him a lot.

Passage have played just one game in the championship to date. They had a good win over Abbeyside in the first round of the championship. Last time out their game against Dungarvan was called off following a death in the Dungarvan Club.

They however have kept themselves busy in recent weeks. They played in the Saint Molleran’s Tournament reaching the final last week where they beat Drom and Inch from Tipperary.

From what we have seen to date, Passage would have to get the nod to win here, but Roanmore will make it difficult for them.

The third game at Walsh Park this year is the meeting of Mount Sion and Dungarvan. Mount Sion last year against the odds having made a poor start to the championship reached the semi finals of the championship and look like a side that could go as far if not further this year.

They have a nice blend of youth and experience and although he has not played in the championship yet this year, if the need arises they can call upon Ken McGrath if needed.

Dungarvan as we all know have a very young team, and have added to their panel this year.

They reached the County Final last year and will be looking to do the same this year. However, to do so could well prove to be a difficult task.

You cannot but feel that this is a game that both sides could have done without this weekend. Both sides have some excellent prospects that are sitting their Leaving cert and it remains to be seen if they will put their studies behind them on Sunday afternoon and line on in their respective Blue and White colours.

Mount Sion have recorded wins over Ballygunner and Abbeyside in this years championship while Dungarvan in their only game played so far have beaten Roanmore. In that game they sent on Patrick Curran for his debut at this level and he did not disappoint. It remains to be seen if he will start from the start this weekend.

In previewing this game for ‘The Munster Express’ this week, I gave the nod to Dungarvan to win. In doing so, I forgot about the number of players from Dungarvan that are sitting their leaving cert. If the players sitting their leaving cert from both sides were to sit out this game, it could change things slightly. If the players were to sit out the game, Dungarvan might be hit a little harder and therefore Mount Sion would be given the nod to win, but if the Dungarvan players were to play, I will stick with my prediction made in my previews.

Two games are down for decision at Fraher Field on Sunday afternoon.

First up is the meeting of Ballyduff Upper and An Rinn.

Both of these sides are yet to win in this years championship and for the side that looses here, it could well prove to be a long year.

An Rinn have lost to Tallow and De La Salle in their games played to date. Conceding goals appears to be a problem for the 2012 County Intermediate Champions of late, which is bound to be a worry to them.

Ballyduff Upper are set to be minus Stephen Molumphy in this game. It is known with a while now that he is to go on a Tour of Duty with the Army and he will be a massive loss to the side from the North East Cork and West Waterford Border.

They also have Cian Leamy and Mike Kearney doing their leaving certs and if it’s a case that all three are missing it will be a major blow to Ballyduff.

They have played just one game in the championship to date which resulted in a five point defeat against De La Salle.

An Rinn have spent a lot of time recently involved in Football. They hosted the Comortas Peil Competition recently and reached the final where they lost out to a good Gweedore side that retained the title won twelve months earlier. It remains to be seen now how much work have they put in with the hurleys in the past week.

As pointed out above, they have conceded a lot of goals this year in the championship (three against Tallow and four against De La Salle), but one thing going for them into this game is that Ballyduff Upper do not hit many goals. They do however every now and again go on a spree and could hit three, four or five in a single game.

This could be a close game, and could well be An Rinn’s best chance of recording a win in this year’s championship. However, Ballyduff get the nod to record their first win of the campaign.

The second game at Fraher Field on Sunday afternoon sees De La Salle take on Fourmilewater.

When the sides clashed at the same venue last year, it was Fourmilewater that came out on top, which will give them confidence going into this game.

Fourmilewater are set to start the game without Jamie Barron who was red carded in his sides’ last game against Tallow. He will prove to be a major loss to his side. However, they can bring in duel inter county minor Conor Gleeson in his place. He has come on in his sides wins over Lismore and Tallow this year and made a telling contribution.

The news regarding Shane Walsh also appears to be good. He missed last week’s game with Clare. It is reported that he was not far off full fitness for that game and the extra week will have done him good.

Also set to return to the side is Thomas O’Gorman. He tasted his first serious test last week when he lined out with the County Senior Footballers. He had not played since The Nire were beaten in last year’s County Final and his return will be seen as a big plus for the Fourmilewater outfit.

De La Salle are unbeaten in this years championship after winning against Ballyduff and An Rinn. They will know that tougher test lie ahead however.

They are once more set to play without Stephen Daniels who is a huge loss to them this year.

In their games to date, they also played without other members of the back lines that won last years county final and it remains to be seen if they will figure this weekend.

This could well prove to be the game of the weekend, and attract a reasonable crowd to Fraher Field.

It is one that will go down to the wire. Both sides as we know are set to be short first choice players. The question to be answered is which will be affected most.

If De La Salle can put out as near as full strength side without Stephen Daniels, you would be expecting that would come out on top, with a small margin to spare, but they could well be pushed all the way by Fourmilewater.

The last game of the weekend takes place at the Ballyduff Upper venue. I am sure that the question will be asked when was the last time that the Ballyduff Club last played host to a Senior Hurling game. I am sure someone along the way will have the answer.

The meeting of near neighbours Lismore and Tallow could attract a good attendance to the village in the far west.

There is a great rivalry between the two clubs and the players from both sides would be expected to bring the best out of each other.

Tallow in their two games played to date have beaten An Rinn but lost to Fourmilewater last time out.

Lismore have played just one game, loosing to Fourmilewater. Their second round game was called off following a death within the Ballyduff Club.

Tallow last year were heavily criticised for the way they played, but this year from what we have seen are playing a better brand of hurling.

They however are set to be minus Aidan Kearney who was red carded in the game against Fourmilewater and he will be a big loss to his side’s chances.

Lismore are a side just like Tallow are a side knocking on the championship door for some time, but their long wait to raise the Waterford News and Star Cup goes on.

They have gone close on one or two occasions in recent years to ending the famine, but on the day things went against them.

There is no doubting the ability that both sides have. The O’Brien’s Thomas Ryan, James Murray and Robert O’Sullivan (if not sitting his leaving cert) are going to be crucial to the Bride-Siders.

For Lismore, they will look to the Shanahan’s Maurice and Dan as well as Jordan who played well against Fourmilewater. They will was the likes of Chris O’Gorman, Dave Howard and the Barry’s to be at the top of their games.

Playing as they can, and taking in the fact this game is a local Derby, on any given day, little would be expected to separate the sides on a given day, but you would expect that Lismore would come out on top.

JJ Kavanagh & Sons Senior Hurling Championship Group 1

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Diff	Points
De La Salle	2	2	0	0	50	27	23	4
Fourmilewater	2	2	0	0	35	29	6	4
Tallow	2	1	0	1	30	28	2	2
Lismore	1	0	0	1	16	17	-1	0
Ballyduff Upper	1	0	0	1	16	21	-5	0
An Rinn	2	0	0	2	21	46	-25	0

JJ Kavanagh & Sons Senior Hurling Championship Group 2

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Diff	Points
Mount. Sion	2	2	0	0	41	35	6	4
Dungarvan	1	1	0	0	30	12	18	2
Passage	1	1	0	0	27	17	10	2
Ballygunner	2	1	0	1	40	31	9	2
Abbeyside	2	0	0	2	35	48	-13	0
Roanmore	2	0	0	2	23	53	-30	0

Fixtures:

Saturday:         Abbeyside V Ballygunner in Walsh Park at 7-30pm

Sunday:            Ballyduff Upper V An Rinn in Fraher Field at 2pm

                        Roanmore V Passage in Walsh Park at 2pm

                        Dungarvan V Mount Sion in Walsh Park ay 3-30pm

                        De La Salle V Fourmilewater in Fraher Field at 3-30pm

                        Tallow V Lismore in Ballyduff Upper at 7pm.