Can Passage get senior hurling championship defence underway with a victory?

The 2013 JJ Kavanagh and Sons County Senior Hurling Championship in Waterford had an exciting finish, when Passage came from seven points down with as many minutes to go plus stoppage time to beat Ballygunner by three points, and in doing so won the championship for the first time in their history.

The 2014 championship starts this weekend and it promises to be another exciting one.

Although Passage won the title last year, the competition in the past few years has been dominated by De La Salle and Ballygunner and the early indications are that the two city sides will once again be the teams to watch this year, but hot on their heals are a host of other clubs who wont be too far behind them.

Since 2007, the county champions at senior level have had red in their jerseys and the question is will it happen this year again or will we see one of the eight clubs that does not have red on their shirt come out on top.

When the draws were made for the championship were made earlier this year, its possibly fair to say that the fixtures committee did not have to think too long about what game should be the one that will get this years championship under way.

De La Salle who have won three championships since 2008 and Lismore who have not won the championship since 1993 but who are never too far away when it comes to finding a home for the Waterford News and Star Cup is clearly the stand out game on paper.

De La Salle could well be without a number of players for this weekend. Stephen Daniels is still not ready to return to the side after picking up a serious knee injury while playing a challenge game with Waterford against Offaly last year, and there is some that are suggesting that he may not make many appearances this year in the white and red shirt.

They are also set to start without Eoin Madigan and Jake Dillon if recent reports prove correct and if this is the case then for the Gracedieu Club minus the three-o then it will be a big ask.

However, they have a host of quality players in their team and we could see the likes of John Mullane, Kevin Moran, Shane McNulty, Eddie Barrett, Shane Ryan, Paudie Nevin etc. upping their game a gear or two to make up for other absences in the team.

If De La Salle could be set to start without established players, so too could Lismore.

Maurice Shanahan picked up an injury with Waterford in the National League and it remains to be seen if he is fit to line out this weekend. If the towering Lismore forward is not available, then it will be a blow to the Heritage Town sides chances.

However, they have started without Maurice Shanahan in the past and while they may not have won every game he missed, many of their other players really upped their game in his absence.

Players like Ray Barry could well step up a gear or two if Maurice Shanahan does miss out, and in Shanahan’s older brother Dan in the side, you can always expect him to do something special if supplied with good ball.

Lismore are without Chris O’Gorman this year after he transferred to neighbour’s Ballysaggart, but they will be able to call upon the likes of Paudie and John Prendergast as well as Seanie and Stephen Barry.

They are under the guidance of Sean Prendergast this year. He as everyone knows has a wealth of coaching experiences and has been a success where ever his travels took him in recent years and some are saying that he would not have taken on his own club side if he did not think they could be up there challenging.

If Maurice Shanahan does line out in this game, and De La Salle are missing the three players mentioned above, then Lismore are in with a good chance of winning this game. If Shanahan does not start, then the pendulum will be swinging in De La Salle’s favour even if they do start without the players that are mentioned that could be set to miss.

Two games are down for decision at Fraher Field on Saturday evening.

Mount Sion and Tallow get the ball rolling at 6-30pm and it is followed by the clash of Ballyduff and last years Intermediate champions Ardmore at 8pm.

Anthony Kirwan was in charge of the Monastery Men last year when they reached the semi finals and he is in charge again this year and they will be hoping that they can go a step further.

The two sides have met a number of times in recent years and in these games there has been different outcomes each year, with one year the sides having to settle for a share of the spoils.

Tallow appeared in the county final in 2011 where they lost to Ballygunner in Walsh Park. They are a side that are hard to make a prediction about from week to week as you can never tell what side will show up. In recent years we have seen players that many would regard as backs playing in attack and players you would regard as forwards playing in defence.

Last year the players did appear to be playing in their best positions and they made the quarter finals of the championship, even if some would suggest it was done so controversially.

They will be looking to former inter county players in the likes of Thomas Ryan, James Murray, Aidan Kearney and Paul O’Brien for much of their guidance this year but will also be looking to some of the younger players coming through.

I am sure that for Mount Sion when Tony Browne is involved in his first play of the evening he will be acknowledged for his contribution to Waterford hurling over the past twenty three years by all inside the ground.

They will be looking to the likes of Ian O’Regan, Eoin McGrath, Sean Ryan, Stephen Roche, Peter Penkart and Martin F O’Neill for much of their guidance. Reports suggest that Martin O’Neill has not fully recovered from an injury picked up last year and it remains to be seen if Ian Galgey who also picked up an injury last year will play any part in the early games of this years Club Championship.  

Results in previous years between these two sides would suggest that this game could go either way, but Mount Sion get the nod to start the year with a win.

In the second game on Saturday evening is another that could go either way, but at the end of the day I can see Ballyduff Upper come out on top.

Ardmore are back in  the senior grade after a number of years playing in the Intermediate grades. They won a brilliant western final last year beating neighbours Clashmore and then went on to beat Dunhill who were relegated from the senior ranks a year previous. The final score on the score board on that day told a false story as the gulf between the sides was much bigger than what the score board suggested. They then went on to fight out a close battle with Youghal in the Munster Club Quarter Final, but had to settle for second best.

They have played two games in the senior football championship in recent weeks loosing both.

While Ardmore have some good young hurlers coming through, they will once again be looking to Seamus Prendergast for the bulk of their scores again this year while at the other end of the field, younger brother Declan will be key.

Clinton Hennessy has not played any football game for Ardmore yet this year and it remains to be seen if he will be available to the hurlers. If he is not between the posts, then it could prove to be a long hard year for the Round Tower men.

Ballyduff will have Stephen Molumphy back in their colours again this year after missing much of last year due to work commitments and he will prove to be a major plus for their hopes. Whether Adrian Power will be available to them for any of their games remains to be seen.

Minor stars from last year Mikey Kearney and Cian Leamy will also prove to be vital to the village side’s hopes, as will the Kearney’s, Kevin Casey and the ever green Tom Feeney.

On Sunday afternoon, two games will be played at Fraher Field and one in Walsh Park.

Abbeyside and Fourmilewater meet in the first game, a repeat of a quarter final last year where Abbeyside emerged victors rather comfortably.

There is some that are suggesting that Abbeyside will come out on top again this weekend, but Fourmilewater will have a big say in this.

Fourmilewater have Shane Walsh back in action after missing much of the action in the National Hurling League games and from what we have seen in The Nire’s two games in the football championship over the past two weekends he looks to be back to the Shane Walsh of old.

Liam Lawlor played in the win over Ballinameela in the football championship but missed last weekend’s win over Saint Saviours and it remains to be seen if he will be involved this weekend.

Jamie Barron and Conor Gleeson will also be key to Fourmilewater’s chances as could well be the likes of Thomas and Maurice O’Gorman and Justin Walsh.

For Abbeyside as the championship progressed last year they got better and better, but came unstuck at the semi final stages.

They will be hoping to put together a run of wins from as early as possible this year as they wont want to leave it to the last game in the league as they did last year when had to beat Dungarvan.

Patrick Hurney was outstanding for them in many of their games last year and they will be hoping he can repeat this again this year.

Don’t write out a draw in this game, but for me Abbeyside should come out on top, but Fourmilewater as we have seen when wrote off in the past are able to pull off a result and if they were to do so here, it would not be the surprise some would suggest it would be.

Ballygunner and Dungarvan clash in the main game on Sunday.

These two sides have appeared in the last two county finals but both had to settle for second best on the day.

When they met at the quarter finals of last years league part of the championship, Pauric Mahony was in inspired form. The looked to be coasting to victory at the break, but they pulled up somewhat in the second half and in particular the last quarter which allowed the Old Boro to come back at them. A brace of late goals for Dungarvan on that occasion but a gloss on the score board in so far they were concerned (1-19 to 2-13).

Ballygunner will be the early favourites in the eyes of many to lift the Waterford News and Star Cup in October and with the Mahony’s, the two Stephen O’Keeffe’s, the Hutchinson’s, the O’Sullivan’s etc. to choose from its easy to see why many will see them as favourites.

Dungarvan have James O’Connor over them this year and he will be hoping to bring to them the experience he picked up coaching teams in Cork.

Jamie Nagle will be their big name player this year, but Ryan Donnelly has started the year well and he could have a big year for them. Others that could have big parts to play for them this year will be the Curran Brothers, Gavin Crotty, Shane Kearney and Darren Duggan. Michael Kiely has also joined them from Saint Mary’s this year. He impressed in the yellow and maroon shirt in the past two years but there is a big step up from Junior to senior so it awaits to be seen how he will fair with his new club.

Ballygunner get the nod to win here, but Dungarvan will make it tough for them.

The final game of the weekend sees the Champions Passage take on Roanmore in Walsh Park.

The city side has struggled since they came up from Intermediate and were closer to a relegation battle than to winning a place in the quarter finals.

Last year they beat An Rinn in a relegation play off, and the early suggestions are that they could well end up in a similar battle this year.

Gavin O’Brien is their top tallies man but can they continue to rely on him to see them over the line. David Barrett is also a score getter for the city side but they will need more players putting up good scores in every game they play or their stint as a senior club will sooner rather than later come to an end.

Passage will be able to call on the panel that won them a first ever title last year again this year. Noel Connors and Eoin Kelly may be their marque players but they have the likes of Eddie Lynch, Jason Roche, Mark Wyse, Killian Fitzgerald, Eoin Connors and Conor Carey again to call upon while Sean Hogan who was a panel member with the Waterford minors last year and who came into the Passage team as a sub a number of times last year, getting some crucial scores, including an important goal in the county final will be a year older this year and could be a regular in the side.

The champions should open with a win here, but Roanmore could make them work very hard for that win.

 

Weekend Fixtures:

Lismore V De La Salle on Friday at 7pm in Fraher Field

Abbeyside V Fourmilewater on Saturday at 6-30pm in Fraher Field

Ballyduff V Ardmore on Saturday at 8pm in Fraher Field

Abbeyside V Fourmilewater on Sunday at 2pm in Fraher Field

Dungarvan V Ballygunner on Sunday at 3-30pm in Fraher Field

Passage V Roanmore on Sunday at 7pm in Walsh Park