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.
