Sars & Barrs face Munster ties
It may very well be the 3rd weekend of November but there is no let up in the action. There are 4 Cork clubs in AIB Munster championship games - all away from home, plus 2 county finals and a bit more beside.
AIB Munster Senior Football QF
St Finbarr’s v Clonmel Commercials on Saturday at 1.15pm in Clonmel
“Look we did celebrate as you must after winning a county title against our great rivals Nemo, but we got back at it and we are happy enough with our preparation for Saturday,” explained St Finbarr’s selector Ian Keeler.
Ian also said they know Saturday is a tough test. “Clonmel have a good record in this championship and we had a look at them in the county final last Saturday and they were very impressive.”
“Their running game and ability to take the chances they can create are some of their strong points. We have our homework done now it’s just a matter of getting the focus right and I know the group we have will do that.”
It has been a tough few weeks for the Clonmel club with the untimely passing of Philly Ryan whose son Shane is their goalkeeper and their win last Sunday was dedicated to his memory.
A few years ago, they came to Cork and beat Nemo in this championship and with the game being played on their own pitch, they will not fear the ‘Barrs.
Michael Quinlivan, Seamus Kennedy, Cathal Deely, Ross Peters and Peter McGarry are big players for the 2015 Munster champions.
The ‘Barrs have put in 3 good weeks prep and having finally beaten Nemo in a final, there is a belief that they are well capable of extending their season.
The depth is their squad is important as evidenced in the county final when two subs were among the scorers with Cillian Myers Murray getting the winner.
Darragh Newman, Billy Hennessey and Dylan Quinn are solid in defence Ian Maguire and Brian Hayes have the capacity to dominate in midfield and if they can do that, Steven Sherlock, Ethan Twomey and William Buckley could prosper in attack.
It won’t be easy but the ‘Barrs get the nod to win.
AIB Munster Senior Hurling SF
Sarsfields v Ballygunner on Sunday in Walsh Park at 1.15pm
Having beaten Na Piarsaigh in the QF you sensed that Ballygunner cannot wait for this game to come around given that Sars defeated them in last year’s final.
Their manager - probably more renowned for his football exploits - Jason Ryan said as much. “We are still hurting over last year’s loss so we will get back at it straight away now for the semi-final.”
By contrast Sars manager Johnny Crowley was much more relaxed. “Ah well what’s done is done; you draw a line in the sand, which we did after losing to Na Fianna and you move on.”
Just like the ‘Barrs, before the week was out after the final they were back at it. “Sweat session (which was needed) on Thursday, chat and a good hurling session on Saturday and at it since.”
The one difficulty was getting challenge games. “Almost impossible as some counties were not finished and two we had arranged were lost because of the weather, but look the in-house games have been very good and we are okay.”
Johnny knows they face a huge task especially in Walsh Park. “In terms of development they are much further down the line than we are. They looked comfortable in the QF and that without Pauric Mahony but we are happy how we are going and will give it our best shot.”
Mahony is expected back for Sunday and along with Dessie Hutchinson, Harry Ruddle, Mark Hartley, Michael Mahony and Patrick Fitzgerald they bring a wealth of experience to the team.
Sars themselves are not short on that score with Conor O’Sullivan and Daniel Kearney still delivering on the big day. Daniel Hogan, Jack O’Connor, Colm McCarthy, Luke Elliott, Cian D’Arcy, Ben Graham and James Sweeney have all made important contributions.
The last time they met in Walsh Park, Ballygunner won comfortably and are favourites to win this one and with a game under their belts they might just do that.
Co-op Superstores Intermediate A Hurling Final
Bandon v Aghabullogue in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday at 3.30pm
A hectic few weeks for this amazing group of Aghabullogue players who manage to combine both codes equally and for good measure throw in a few soccer games as well.
The opposite for Bandon who have been waiting a number of weeks for this game and that inactivity might not help them.
The West Cork side though have been impressive in reaching the final with former Cork player Michael Cahalane leading the way with his scoring exploits 0-12 in the QF win over Erin’s Own and then 0-5 out of 0-10 in the semi-final win over Sars.
Cahalane gets good support from Jack Cullinane, Darren Crowley and Mark Sugrue.
The dual players are so vital to Aghabullogue: Paul Ring, Matthew Bradley, Sean Furey who plays football with Cill Na Martra, John Corkery, Colm Gillespie and Luke Casey are all well versed in the art of winning.
The big question is will all the games catch up with Aghabullogue especially after the last two weeks were football dominated - if it does will Bandon be in a position to take advantage?
I am of the view that winning is a habit and Aghabullogue will continue in that vein.
The match is live on C103.
McCarthy Insurance Group Intermediate A Football Final replay
Ballinora v Ilen Rovers in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday at 1.30pm
Neil Lordan’s late 2 pointer, a pressure kick if there was ever one, took this game to a replay and the manner in which that was achieved it will give Ballinora confidence that they can finish the job this time around.
Ilen looked like they had the game won but lost their way coming down the stretch and their inability to close it out might hurt them on Sunday.
Ballinora had hurling last week and in a way that will help them especially as they won, so with confidence high they look well equipped to win.
The match is live on C103.
AIB Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship
Ballinhassig v Upper Church Drombane on Sunday in Thurles at 1.15pm
A 1st outing at this level for both clubs as with tradition counties that reach the All-Ireland Final the clubs from the participating teams receive byes into the Munster semi-final, a move that the council should be commended for allowing more time to complete the championship.
No real advantage then to either side but it’s been a few weeks since Ballinhassig played but on the plus side, the injuries they had to contend with over the last few weeks will have hopefully cleared up.
For their part Upperchurch were involved in the senior football up to a couple of weeks ago losing to Clonmel in the semi-final, that after beating Carrick Swans in the hurling final and like Ballinhassig secure senior status for next season.
The Tipperary side were returning to senior having last that status 3 years ago, and their winning margin in the final was more emphatic than 6 points.
The Shanahan brothers Paul and Kieran, Gavin Ryan, Toby Corbett, Paddy Phelan and Conor Fahey were key players in that win.
Ballinhassig were really tested in the Cork championship. At one stage they were on the brink of elimination but showed tremendous spirit held their composure to win their final group game which sent them direct to the semi-final and from there they grew in confidence.
The final was a ding-dong battle but when the need was greatest they thrived helped by a top class display from MOTM and captain Ger Collins - he scored 1-11 in the win over Ballincollig.
There is a nice balance to their team led by goalkeeper Patrick Collins, with a nice mix of youth and experience Fintan O’Leary, Conor Desmond, Charlie Grainger, Michael Collins, Eoin Lombard, Evan Cullinane and the effective O’Sullivan brothers Darragh and Adam have been big players.
The wide open spaces of Semple Stadium should also suit the Cork champions who have a lot of pace on their team.
Reports would indicate that the standard in the Tipp final was not great but that will count for very little on Saturday and this is a hard championship to win and like the Juniors, Cork’s record is quite good and I would expect Ballinhassig to have enough to win, but it could be close.
AIB Munster Junior Hurling Championship SF
Kilbrittain v Knockaderry on Saturday in Knockaderry at 1.15pm
A month after winning the Cork title, Kilbrittain make their championship return with a trip to Knockaderry who have had a QF win over Kenmare Shamrocks in a game that went to the wire just like their win over Doon in the county final, so the message here is they win tight games.
Kilbrittain were tested by Glen Rovers in the Cork final but were deserving winners.
In the QF, Kenmare were ahead 2-14 to 1-10 on 55 minutes when led by former inter-county star Tom Condon, they rallied and Rob Egan (top scorer 0-7), Liam Molyneaux, Mark Danaher, Brendan Guiry and Kieran Storin, Knockaderry got the job done and will take heart from that display and with home advantage will be hard to beat.
Kilbrittain though are also battle hardened and Thomas Sheehan, Luke Griffin, Philip Wall, Mark Hickey, Ronan Crowley and Josh O’Donovan all impressed not only in the final but throughout the campaign displaying a level of consistency that stood to them when the Glen rallied late on.
Cork clubs have an excellent record in this championship and Kilbrittain will be determined to maintain it, they will face a tough test and hopefully they can get the job done.
Elsewhere
If that wasn’t enough to keep you going there’s a number of interesting games in both the county junior hurling and football championships down for decision.
The football semi-finals are on Saturday will see a highly rated Donoughmore side, even though they rode their luck in the Muskerry final, take on Nemo Rangers third team in Glenville and while they will be favourites you never underestimate a Nemo team especially with the talented Ross Corkery on board.
Páirc Uí Rinn is the venue for the meeting of Kilmacabea and Charleville who knocked out last year’s runners-up Ballygarvan with 3 time All-Star Darragh Fitzgibbon coming straight from the ‘celebrations’ to clip over a point could they cause another upset. Both games have 3pm starts.
The first of the hurling semi-finals will see a local derby of sorts in Kanturk on Sunday at 2pm between Kilshannig and Newmarket. Both are probably more renowned for their football exploits but this is an intriguing looking encounter with Newmarket slight favourites.
With St Finbarr’s into the Senior Final, Cork Intermediate champions Ballincollig play Moycarkey-Borris in the Munster camogie decider in Mallow on Saturday at 1pm.