Eight teams bid for last four spots
BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR
SPORTSEDITOR@KILKENNYOBSERVER.IE
St Canice’s Credit Union Kilkenny Senior Championship Quarter-Finals
Four intriguing encounters lie ahead this weekend as the St Canice’s Credit Union Kilkenny Senior Championship reaches the Quarter-Final stage. Current Tom Walsh cup holders, O’Loughlin Gaels are in action on Sunday in UPMC Nowlan Park as part of a double header that see’s surprise packages, Mullinavat and Erin’s Own get things underway at 1:30pm, with the clash of Dicksboro and the County champions two hours later.
Ahead of Sunday’s double bill, Saturday has two mouth-watering clashes of its own, which begins in Callan with the meeting of Thomastown and Shamrocks Ballyhale (Throw-in 1:30pm). Later tomorrow afternoon, Tullaroan will face-off against Bennettsbridge in what could be a real shoot-out in Castlecomer, (Throw-in 4:30pm).
CRESTS THOMASTOWN & SHAMROCKS
So, first up is the Thomastown vs Shamrocks clash in John Locke Park. Noel Doherty’s charges had settled in to life at the top table of club hurling on Noreside, and looked every inch a seasoned senior side, but a trio of defeats on the bounce have sharpened the focus of the current All-Ireland Intermediate champions. Having started their campaign well, the Town have suffered losses to Glenmore, Dicksboro and most recently Mullinavat in the shield final. As usual, much will depend on the performance of All-Star nominee, John Donnelly. Undoubtably one of the best hurlers on the island over the last 12 months, the Kilkenny star will want to continue his brilliant form and push his club as far as possible
Fellow Donnelly’s, Stephen and Robbie will also need to keep the scoreboard ticking over for their side and will relish the prospect of tackling the illustrious Shamrocks Ballyhale. Thomastown have a great mix of youth and experience, and are led brilliantly by Peter McDonald from midfield. The energetic Connellan’s, Luke and Peter will bring plenty of drive to the team, as will the dynamic Zach Bay Hammond.
Tomorrow’s opponents will know the threat that Thomastown pose as they seek to get back to the top on Noreside. It’s been somewhat of a stuttering season for Shamrocks, and they had to dig deep last time out against The Village to avoid the relegation decider. Richie Reid referenced this after they win over Brian Cody’s team, and talked about how TJ and Adrian Mullen were just two of the players that took to the field with injuries to help out, when ordinarily they would have sat the game out, but needs must, and both those players will hopefully be all the better for the rest before this weekend’s quarter final.
Two players that impressed against James Stephens were Killian Corcoran and Niall Shortall. The former was a real presence in the engine room while the latter showed real class in his movement and score taking. The nippy forward was a constant thorn in The Village defence and that performance should give him plenty of confidence ahead of the Thomastown clash. With Joey Holden back in the fold at full back and Colin Fennelly racking up the air miles to and from Dubai, James Meagher has probably as strong a hand to choose from as he’s had this season. Paddy Mullen also put in a decent shift in the last round, and hit a couple of booming scores also, and his presence could be vital in Callan tomorrow afternoon. Eoin Cody looked very sharp and took a couple of good scores and will face another battle against Noel Doherty’s defensive unit. Shamrocks half back line looks strong and they will hope that this trio continues to hurl with authority and class.
TULLAROAN & BENNETTSBRIDGE
Canon Kearns Park will provide the setting for the encounter between Bennettsbridge and Tullaroan. Both these sides will have design’s on making a county final and as mentioned, this could be a real shoot-out. When the ‘Bridge click, they can be an awesome outfit, but clicking on a consistent basis has been a big problem for Tim Dooley’s panel. With a spine of Blanchfield’s running through the side, they also have a sporting chance in games. County star David usually operates from the’6’ position and keeps a close on all things defensively, while hitting the long range free’s and is more than adept at striking over from distance in open play. Kevin has been one of the standout midfielders in the county for the last couple of seasons, which has earned him some minutes in the black and amber. There will definitely be more intercounty appearances to come. The eldest of the brothers, Liam will cause problems for most defences and brings a real physical presence and a goal scoring threat. His experience will be vital in the clash with The Sash.
Don’t be fooled, there’s more to this Bridge side than the Blanchfield’s. There are a couple of Cleere’s that know where the posts are, and in Nicky, they have a reliable placed ball specialist. The ‘other’ midfielder is usually Hugh O’Neill and he is another that loves to tag on a score or two and is the perfect partner for Kevin Blanchfield. Other prominent attacking threats include Sean Morrissey and Ciaran Brennan, both will also relish the physical tussle with Padraig Walsh and co. Get past The Sash defence, and one of the most impressive netminders this season, Paull Buggy awaits, and he has been terrific in the games to date. This Bennettsbridge side are in decent shape, thanks to Dan Shanahan’s training and will still be motoring at the long whistle.
Tullaroan have been maturing as the season progresses. Like The ‘Bridge, The Sash are built around the Walsh’s. Padraig rules the roost from centre back and despite retiring from the county scene, is still one of the classiest hurler’s on Noreside and is normally good for a score. Shane is a real talent and one of the main scorers in this exciting team, both from the placed ball and play. Current Kilkenny defender, Tommy adds some muscle to the rearguard and will not give an inch to his man, who will know whose marking him.
Keeping Shane Walsh company in the attacking third will be a quartet of scoring forwards, that have shown plenty so far this season. Led by Mossy Keoghan, who is always buzzing round annoying defenders, he has the young and talented Dylan Simpson and Gearoid Dunne and the more experienced John Walton, providing an equal dose of menace. Simpson, especially has been thriving under Ken Coogan during this campaign and will certainly test the ‘Bridge defence tomorrow. Those in attendance in Castlecomer will be in for a treat if both teams play to form.
MULLINAVAT & ERIN’S OWN
Sunday’s first action at headquarters see’s senior league shield winners, Mullinavat take on Erin’s own. The Vegas Boys have been a real breath of fresh air and don’t look to have any inferiority complex about them. They don’t care for bigger, more prominent, successful opponents, they just play what’s in front of them. On Sunday it’s the men from ‘Comer that will be in opposition to Colm O’Beirne’s outfit. His opposite number, Joseph O’Callaghan has somehow pulled Erin’s Own from the seemingly inevitable relegation final to this last eight clash.
The ‘Vat will look to key men Ger Malone, John Walsh and Oisin Knox as they try to reach the last four. In their shield victory over Thomastown, Malone and Knox shared 0-12, while Joe Gahan (0-5), Adam Mansfield (1-1) and Conor Walsh (0-3) contributed magnificently to their win. Erin’s Own defied the odds to send Glenmore to the relegation decider and hit an impressive 5-14 in the game held at Pairc Sheamuis Stiophan. The scoring of Jack Buggy (2-6); Michael Brennan (2-1); Chris Korff (1-1) and Conor McMahon (0-3) saw O’Callaghan’s charges make quarter finals and, they will fancy their chances of progressing, especially with stalwarts, Conor’s Fogarty and Delaney ploughing their furrow for the cause.
O’LOUGHLIN GAELS & DICKSBORO
The last of the quarter final battles, and the second part of Sunday’s double-header see’s the Tom Walsh holders and seemingly rampant O’Loughlin Gaels pit their wits against Dicksboro. No doubt, Michael Walsh and his management team will have been working on a plan to try and stifle O’Loughlin’s, but it looks to be a tall order for the Palmerstown outfit. Their opening round win over Graigue Ballycallan will have given them some confidence ahead of this tussle, but in truth, Dicksboro were home and hosed by the short whistle. Cillian Buckley was in commanding form for the men in maroon, while Harry Shine (0-7), Matthew Kelleher (1-2); Cillian Hackett (0-4) and Liam Moore (0-3) all put in impressive shifts as they ran out 13-point winners in Freshford.
Brian Hogan’s troops are unbeaten entering Sunday’s clash, and he will be hoping his side continue to show the hunger and desire to defend their Tom Walsh crown, and this last eight game is another step on that journey for the St John’s Park team. The first piece of silverware was collected when they put Tullaroan to the sword in the league final, but as the saying goes, ‘The league’s for playing, the championship’s for winning’. Luke Hogan and Owen Wall were hugely impressive for the champions, while their newest recruit, Fionnán Mackessy put in his best display in the Gaels jersey to date.
The likes of Paddy Deegan, Huw Lawlor and Mikey Butler will all be determined to get another crack at All-Ireland club glory, and will remain focused on getting over the various hurdles in their quest to do so. Their strength in depth looks to be a major factor in the consistency of displays, and the likes of Conor Kelly, Paddy Butler and Eoin O’Shea coming off the bench is a vital weapon in their arsenal.
Good luck to all eight teams this weekend, we’re lucky to have such a cracking, competitive championship that will no doubt throw up some fascinating headlines for next week!
