Minor championship races down to knockout stages
De La Salle's Shane Power and Roanmore's Eanna McHugh will clash once again in the JJ Kavanagh & Sons Minor hurling championship at Walsh Park this evening as the race for the cup reaches the semi-final stage. Photo: Maurice Hennebry.
Last week’s final round of League fixtures in Division 1 of the All County Minor Hurling Championship saw just one fixture of the four taking place as the results would have had no bearing on the line ups for the knockout semi-finals due to take place this week.
In Division 1 second and third teams De La Salle and Roanmore will meet in the semi-final in Walsh Park this Tuesday evening at 6.30 pm and this promises to be a real cracker of a game between two sides with real championship ambitions. When the teams met in the League stage in Gracedieu Roanmore were coming in on the back of a big away win over Mount Sion and looked to follow up with a win over De La Salle. The home side had other ideas and driven on by the Power brothers, twins Shane and Conor, both county minors, as well as strong players such as Toby Ryan and Matthew Mullally the home side came out on top by 0-20 to 2-11.
Roanmore will dispute the justice of that result and will seek to put things right here with strong players such as Alex Furlong , Caolinn Reville, Eoin Burke, Dylan Murphy and Stephen Cooke to call on. It should be a very close game with Roanmore capable of reversing the league result here.
The second Division 1 semi-final takes place in Walsh Park tomorrow evening at 6.15 pm with Mount Sion taking on defending champions Ballygunner with the two clubs having met in last year’s final. Once again Ballygunner will field a very strong side having come through to the knockout stages unbeaten. The Gunners will have county minors Fiachra Cooney, Ollie Fives Mark Hartley and Cormac Spain to call on while Mount Sion will be looking for big displays from their county men, Tommy Kennedy, Tadhg Corcoran and Bradley Penkert. Ballygunner are strong favourites to retain their title but if Mount Sion hit form they can run them close.
The Division 2 championship semi-finals take place this evening with Erins Own and Passage meeting in Ballybeg and St. Saviours/Ferrybank taking on top side Lismore in Fraher Field at 8 pm. Given the league results involving these teams the results could go either way.
De La Salle v Roanmore 6.30pm Walsh Park
Dungarvan v Brickey Rangers 6.30pm Fraher Field
Erin's Own v Passage 6.30pm St. Saviours, Lismore v St. Saviours/Ferrybank 8pm Fraher Field
St Patrick's V St. Marys Juvenile 6.30pm Lemybrien, Clonea V Micheal MacCraith Tramore 6pm at Dunhill
Affane/Cappoquin/Tourin v St. Molleran's 6.30pm Bushy Park
Mount Sion v Ballygunner 6.15pm Walsh Park
Ballyduff Upper v Abbeyside-Ballinacourty 6.30pm Cappoquin St. Oliver’s v Fourmilewater 6.30pm Fraher Field, Cois Bhride v Clan na Gael 8pm Fraher Field
An Ghaeltacht v Ballygunner 6.30pm Stradbally
Stradbally v Portlaw / Ballyduff 6.30pm Kilmacthomas, Naomh Brid v Ardmore 6.30pm Clashmore
Micheal MacCraith Tramore v Clashmore/Kinsalebeg 6.30pm Dungarvan GAA
