There is still a lot to be played for in the Waterford Senior Hurling Championship this weekend.

It is the weekend that the Final round of games in the league stages of this year’s County Senior hurling Championship are down for decision.

Already five side are through to the last eight of the competition and just after 8pm on Sunday night next not only should we know the eight sides that have reached the quarter final stages of this championship, we will also know the make up of the draw as the top team in Group one will play the fourth team in group two, the second team in group one will play the third team in group two with the top two teams in group two playing the third and fourth placed teams in group one.

We could also have a fair idea of what four sides would be expected to reach the last four of the competition, but we would have to wait a little longer to see how that draw will be work out as it is an open draw.

On Sunday evening next we will also know what two sides will have to play off to determine which of them will retain their senior status going into 2014 and which sides drops back to the intermediate for 2014.

As things stand, De La Salle, Fourmilewater and Ballyduff Upper are through to the quarter finals from group one, with the last place to go to either Tallow or Lismore, while in Group two, Passage and Mount Sion are through to the last eight with the final two places to be fought out between Abbeyside, Ballygunner and Dungarvan.

When it comes to relegation, Roanmore are in the play off from group two, while the group one place in the relegation play off will be filled by the looser of the game between Lismore and An Rinn.

De La Salle V Tallow

De La Salle are safely through to the last eight of this years county senior hurling championship and have secured top spot in group one and therefore there is nothing much at stake for them in this game apart from maybe retaining their one hundred present record in the championships.

Some may be wondering will they give some of their fringe players or players that have come on during the course of different games this year a run from the start in this game or if they will go out and play their strongest possible team from the off and keep things going as they are up to this point.

Tallow were in the county final two years ago, and big things were expected of them going into the future after that final despite a loss to Ballygunner. Last year they were very disappointing, and although they started this year with a win over An Rinn, defeats against Fourmilewater and Lismore followed but they will take great heart from their draw against Ballyduff last weekend.

De La Salle as already pointed out are in the quarter finals and they can be joined by Tallow this weekend should they beat De La Salle. The Bride-siders would also reach the quarter finals if they were to draw this game and near neighbours Lismore were also to loose, or if the two from the far west of the county were to end their games with a share of the spoils.

Ballyduff Upper V Fourmilewater

These two sides have already qualified for the quarter finals of the championship and are going to finish in the mid table positions in group one meaning there is little to be got for either side from this game.

Both sides have struggled with putting out their best team this year. Ballyduff Upper has struggled with players away this year, but they did have Stephen Molumphy available for the last two games against their near neighbours Lismore and Tallow. It remains to be seen if he will be around this weekend. If he is available, could it then be taken that he will not be available for games later in the year when they would need his influence in the team more?

Fourmilewater have had more than their share of injuries to content with this year. Shane Walsh has missed a great portion of the year for both club and county and is a loss. However, they have made up for it somewhat this year by been able to call upon minor star Conor Gleeson and he has helped out with his quota of scores in the games he has played, taking some of the pressure off another of their inter county players Jamie Barron.

Over the past four or five years, when these sides have clashed, there have been some terrific battles fought out. Who for example will forget the battle in 2009 when they clashed in Lismore and Fourmilewater held a double digit lead heading in the last few minutes of the game only for Ballyduff to fight back to win the game.

With both sides expected to be short a number of their better players, it would be unfair to expect this to be a classic but it could well prove to be a good game to watch.

Lismore V An Rinn

This could be a terrific game as there is so much to play for.

Both sides heading into the weekend are in the bottom two positions in group one. Lismore have one win, that coming again Tallow while An Rinn have yet to record a win.

If Lismore were to win here or even draw and Tallow were to loose, they would take the final place from group one in the quarter finals.

If however, An Rinn were to win they would end on two points along with Lismore and would avoid a relegation play off, which would be contested by Lismore on the head to head between the two sides.

An Rinn lost Donie Breathnach last week at half time with an injury and their in suggestions that he could well miss this game and maybe a number of other games over the course of the weekend. If he is out it will come as a major blow to An Rinn chances of securing their place in the senior championship next year.

Lismore have a very experienced team. In the likes of Maurice and Dan Shanahan they have real match winners. Through in the experience of the likes of Dave Bennett and James O’Connor who could start on the bench for the Heritage Town side.

With both sides having to win, this could well prove to be one of the most fascinating games this weekend.   

Passage V Ballygunner

When the draws were made for this years county senior hurling championship, I don’t think they could have thrown up a better final round of fixtures than what we have this week, especially with the way results have panned out.

Passage are through to the last eight of the championship after their win over Mount Sion and would secure top spot in group two if they were to collect the brace of points on offer in this game.

Ballygunner went into last weekend’s game with Dungarvan knowing that if they lost they would be out of the championship, but they did not loose, so they are still in with a shout of taking on of the four places in the quarter finals from this group.

They turned on the style, especially in the first half when they proved too strong for Dungarvan in much of the opening thirty minutes.

While Dungarvan came back at them in the second half and only three points separated the sides after the hour, you can’t but feel that Ballygunner could have won the game by more.

All the pressure is on Ballygunner going into this game. They know that once again they have to win and that they cannot leave it up to others to help them.

The Gunners have never lost to their rivals from Passage with whom many play football together with Gaultier. If Passage were to win here, Ballygunner would have to hope that Abbeyside can beat Dungarvan at the same time in Fraher Field. A draw would also do Ballygunner if there was to be a winner found at the game in Fraher Field.

Abbeyside V Dungarvan

There is two things guaranteed heading into this weekend, the county board are go have a good gate here and that the gate men will be making a lot of use of their foot for about an hour before this game.

The sides clashed last year and drew and attendance of nearly two thousand to the Fraher Field. For this game, I would expect that figure to be mushroomed, and don’t thing that there will be much room to spare in the Stand at Fraher Field and that there could be a considerable gathering on the banks at the other three sides of the field.

Last year the two sides had to settle for a share of the spoils and if the sides were as evenly matched this weekend, it would hardly come as a surprise.

Dungarvan were in last years County Final, and were expected to be challenging again this year, but if they are to do so, they will know that a win and nothing else will be needed here.

Often a side would be happy with a draw, and if this game was to end in such a manner, last years championship runners up would finish up on four points, a tally that would often be give you the last semi final spot, but it would not be good enough for Dungarvan who would loose out on a quarter final spot even if Ballygunner were to loose in Walsh Park on the head to head between the two.

Abbeyside are going to be confident heading into this game. They had a big moral boosting win over Roanmore last weekend, a game that saw Patrick Hurney register five goals, and had many afterwards wondering if he was the first player in Waterford to hit five goals in a senior championship game within the county.

However, Dungarvan are a much different proposition. They may have lost last weekend and they may have lost games this year that they were expecting to win, and they may have lost players which helped them reach last years county final, but they wont want any geeing up in the dressing room for this game or in the week leading up to the game.

A win for whichever side will see them advance to the quarter finals. If the game was to end in a draw, Abbeyside would qualify for the quarter finals, while a draw might be good enough for Dungarvan if Ballygunner were to loose in Walsh Park. If Abbeyside were to loose and Ballygunner were also to loose, then Abbeyside would qualify for the quarter final as a result of winning the head to head between the two clubs.

Mount Sion V Roanmore

This is another game where there is little to be fought for this weekend. Mount Sion are through to the quarter finals as things stand as a result of three wins in their first three games of the year, but they could secure top spot in group two if they were to win and Passage were to slip up against Ballygunner.

Roanmore are in a relegation play off regardless of the outcome of this game. They have had a tough time with injuries since coming up to senior in 2010 and last weekend they were without a host of key players again.

How many if any of these will be back this weekend remains to be seen. One thing is certain, if they are to win, they will need them all of they are to win but most crucially they will need them in more in their relegation play off with either An Rinn or Lismore if they are to retain their senior status in 2014.

Last weekend Mount Sion was without a number of players for their game with Passage. At least three of these players will not be back for this game, as they are expected to be out for the year. Will they be able to call upon Austin Gleeson after his sending off in a recent Minor game, I am not sure? You can’t but feel that the Monastery men even if they were without the players that they were missing last weekend would be too strong for Roanmore in this one but you can never tell.

Fixtures

Group One on Saturday – All games at 7pm

De La Salle V Tallow in Fraher Field

Fourmilewater V Ballyduff Upper in Cappoquin

Lismore V An Rinn in Ardmore

Group Two on Sunday – All games at 7pm

Dungarvan V Abbeyside in Fraher Field

Mount Sion V Roanmore in Carriganore

Ballygunner V Passage in Walsh Park

 

League Tables

League Table J J kavanagh & Sons Senior Hurling Championship Group 1

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff	Points
De La Salle	4	4	0	0	93	50	43	8
Fourmilewater	4	3	0	1	58	60	-2	6
Ballyduff Upper	4	2	1	1	74	75	-1	5
Tallow	4	1	1	2	61	77	-16	3
Lismore	4	1	0	3	83	73	10	2
An Rinn	4	0	0	4	49	83	-34	0

League Table J J Kavanagh & Sons Senior Hurling Championship Group 2

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff	Points
Passage	4	3	1	0	88	71	17	7
Mount Sion	4	3	0	1	78	72	6	6
Abbeyside	4	2	0	2	97	79	18	4
Ballygunner	4	2	0	2	80	74	6	4
Dungarvan	4	1	1	2	83	71	12	3
Roanmore	4	0	0	4	54	113	-59	0