Who will form the last four in SHC race?
Ballygunner manager Jason Ryan with Pauric Mahony before their match with De La Salle. The Gunners face Passage in the quarter-finals of the senior hurling championship at Walsh Park on Saturday. Photo: Maurice Hennebry
The battle for the News & Star Cup well and truly takes shape this weekend as the final four will be revealed. The four group winners face the victors from the preliminary quarter finals - will the one week break prove crucial, or will there potentially be upsets on the cards? We can hardly wait to find out.
Ballygunner go into this game with five wins on the spin and an average winning margin of 20 points. Passage on the other hand have played six, and won four. In truth, only one of those victories has been convincing - at a canter against Ferrybank. The Gunners look as good as ever from the evidence of their group outings - and with Patrick Fitzgerald returning to the fold last time out and Pauric Mahony also set to come back, their strength in depth knows no bounds. Passage carry some threats of their own but truth be told it would be one of the shocks of the national club campaign were they to overturn the 11-in-a-row champions. Passage have put it up to Ballygunner in the past and they’ve done well to reach the last eight, but it’s incredibly difficult to foresee anything other than a Ballygunner victory. I’ve been seriously impressed with new addition Eoin Cuddihy to the Gunners attack, while Dessie Hutchinson has also shown glimpses of his brilliant best. Passage were given an almighty scare by the Brickey Rangers, a side the Gunners hit 4-26 against. Mark Fitzgerald and his colleagues will have to be at fever pitch and hope the Gunners are having an off day to pull off a giant killing. With the best of respect, I don’t see that happening.
Mount Sion have been reminiscent of the great Sion teams of old from what I’ve seen of them so far this season. Five wins out of five and improvement with each passing week - Jamie O’Meara has got them in fine fettle. Austin Gleeson was excellent against Fourmilewater last time out, as was Adam Regan, while Martin O’Neill is arguably the best free taker in the county. Make mistakes against Mount Sion and you’ll undoubtedly be punished. Fourmilewater’s display against Abbeyside further franks their form, but they won’t have it all their own way against Clonea. Clonea are dogged, determined and never seem to know when to quit. They scraped past Dungarvan but their big men stepped up when needed most. Kieran Power is a colossus at the back, while James Power has been electric in front of goal - his second versus Dungarvan was a superb finish. Billy Power has shown exactly why he’s been involved at inter-county level on many occasions and Robbie Flynn has also caught the eye. I’m expecting a real physical battle here and on their day, Clonea are more than capable of mixing it with the best. Mount Sion should progress and look best poised of anyone to lay a glove on Ballygunner in the long run, but I can’t see them coasting on this occasion. Clonea poured everything to get to this point, but this one looks a bridge too far. Sion by five.
Lismore have been one of the most enjoyable teams to watch in this year’s championship. Only Mount Sion have managed to get the better of them and their young players have really stood up. Jack Prendergast, Ben Cummins, Ben O’Sullivan and many others have been immense and there’s a really talented spine there that will realistically only get better as the years go on. We haven’t seen anything of Maurice Shanahan yet owing to injury but others have stepped up in his absence. As for youthful exuberance, the same could be said of De La Salle. Their star men, Reuben Halloran, Jack Twomey and Conor Keane are all showing their talent - but they’re complimented by a mix of experience they can call upon in the form of Thomas Douglas, Jake Dillon and many more. This is probably the toughest game of all to call of the quarter final match-ups. Both sides will feel they belong in the last four, but that means nothing here. Lismore look a side on a real upward trajectory as do De La Salle - who themselves probably fall in the sleeping giant territory. Lismore to shade it, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if extra time was required. It also wouldn’t surprise me if De La Salle are in the hat. It’s the hardest call of the week.
This will be an excellent game to watch because you have two teams that hurl with a real sense of freedom and this should make for a shackles off, old school, free flowing game. Fourmilewater’s second half display against Abbeyside was outstanding, Sean Walsh and Jamie Barron at their best will always give you hope of beating anyone. Fourmilewater are quick, hard-working, well balanced and economical in their decision making. There’s a lot to like about them. Since their two one point losses earlier in the campaign, they’ve won three of the next four. However, they do possess a weakness in starting slow and good teams will often put you away if you dare to do so. Roanmore haven’t set the world alight just yet but they’re still rightfully carrying the favourites tag. When they click, they can be devastating. Billy Nolan has been brilliant from what I’ve seen of him, while Lee Hearne and Gavin O’Brien’s displays have also been noteworthy. Roanmore won a league meeting of these sides by a whopping 33 points. While that’s not something I’d often not read much into - even after their heroics last time out, surely that’s too big a gap for Fourmilewater to close. Fourmilewater had to empty the tank good and proper to get over the line against Abbeyside and this young team are yet to face a side as physically powerful as the Sky Blues. Roanmore to progress as there is room for improvement for them which I think we will see, but Fourmilewater will be right on their tails coming down the home straight.
