Senior Hurling Championship quarter-finals

[Plain of the Herbs]

September and the evenings begin to close in rapidly now. Hurling championship reaches the knockout stages this weekend with two interesting quarter finals. Coolderry and Kinnitty have been drawn straight into the semi finals. A welcome for them in ways but filling an idle four weeks can be difficult and vital momentum can be lost. Challenge matches will be arranged, no doubt, but they can be difficult to arrange as clubs in other counties have championship matches themselves.

Two matches have been previously fixed for St. Brendan’s Park, Birr and have been moved – albeit on the single wettest day of a wet summer. Will Birr be ready for the semi-finals and final or will it be back to Tullamore for another year? It will be interesting to see.

The two quarter finals have been fixed for Banagher on Saturday evening as Birr take on Shinrone and kilcormac/Killoughey face Tullamore to see who will join Coolderry and Kinnitty in the semi final draw.

KILCORMAC/KILLOUGHEY v TULLAMORE
Last meeting:- Tullamore 2-15 Kilcormac/Killoughey 1-11 (2007 group match)
Last three meetings:- Tullamore 2 K/K 1.

Kilcormac/Killoughey emerged from the group of death though haven’t discovered the form of last year. Still, as of this time last year they hadn’t done so either and were still changing the side during draws and replays with St. Rynagh’s and Kinnitty as they bid to find the winning formula.
Their lineout is much changed again this year and Ger Healion’s restoration to full back would release Kevin Grogan to centre half back. How they line up their defence to counter Tullamore will be key. John Grogan should do OK on Kerrigan but will Killian Leonard be able to stem Shane Dooley’s flow? Dooley, on 4-22 is the joint top scorer in the championship. Kevin Martin will probably start at 11 and move to full forward later in the game. Perhaps Healion could line out at centre half back and move to full back when Martin moves later on?

It’s also interesting that they haven’t played Brian Leonard at centre half back despite hurling there for two years at under 21 level. Leonard’s striking is painfully slow and it’s always interesting to see where one’s own club (who know a fella best) line out their hurlers.

In the forwards Daniel Currams is in good form though it is a worry that Ciaran Slevin is struggling for form. Full forward probably suits Peter Healion better and last year they found the number 14 jersey difficult to fill. K/K have been troubled by Tullamore quite a bit in recent years, losing the last two encounters, 2004 and 2007, with their last win an unconvincing 0-9 to 0-8 quarter final win in 2002, those three being the only meetings in the last dozen years.

Tullamore have been the story of the year so far but questions remain. Mainly- have they peaked? While Dooley, O’Grady and Kerrigan are hurling well they, like Birr, took forty five minutes to beat Drumcullen and were not at all convincing against a Lusmagh side who were out of championship contention and showed it. Sometimes it can be difficult to rediscover good form in mid-season following a mini-slump such as this.

They are also picking up injuries and will need Cillian Bane and Mark Conlon returned to the full back line for this one – especially as they are likely to face Slevin, Healion and Currams in that sector. In addition, they have quite a number of their side involved with their footballers with training being disrupted and little time for recovery between matches. On the other hand Mannion, Dagg and Treacy are hurling well in the half back like as are Duffy and Kelly at midfield.

On the basis that Kilcormac’s graph might be on an upward spiral, and they have the potential to improve, I expect them to advance to the semi-finals.


BIRR v SHINRONE
Last meeting:- Birr 0-18 Shinrone 1-12 (2007 group round 3)
Last five meetings:- Birr 5 Shinrone 0.

Shinrone ran Birr close last year when they led for long periods but got headstaggers with the winning post in sight and were overtaken in the finishing straight. Still it ended a sequence of whopping defeats at the hands of Birr. Much depends on Shinrone’s approach to this one. They can go out to win and risk being beaten early on – or they can try to stay in the match as long as they can and strike late in the match.

Whatever they do, the Shinrone who faced, and beat, Clareen will need to show up and not the one who faced Kinnitty at the same venue four weeks ago. To win, they will need Michael Cordial hurling at his best though the rest of the forwards don’t appear to pack the punch that would run up a winning total. They will probably need Daniel Hoctor back at midfield in an effort to limit Rory Hanniffy’s influence and centre half back Derek Morkan will be required to nullify Gary Hanniffy. Both Hoctor and Morkan face a tough task and will need to have a major influence on the game if they are to win through.

Birr have slipped quietly into the quarter finals, a change for them as they usually storm into the knock-out stages. They hurled well within themselves recording a big win over Lusmagh though taking fifty minutes to beat Drumcullen has raised eyebrows just a tad. Still, Dylan Hayden is showing signs of leadership of the attack and is scoring consistently. Their defence, too, hasn’t really been seriously tested though it will be interesting to see if they start John Paul O’Meara and Neil Rogers, both of whom were introduced to defence when they were under pressure against Drumcullen last time out.

It’s simple really, Birr have too many guns and even if only some of them fire that should be enough to blow Shinrone’s championship hopes for another year.

[Gustavus Adolphus]

Nice preview POTH, I always enjoy them. I suppose we can't really look beyond a birr victory against shinrone. However, shinrone are a proud hurling club and I don't think the margin between the two teams will be as wide as many people might think. I wonder is their any sign of the great man lining out with birr this season. With papa padjoe back at the helm I'd imagine we could see sid arrive on at some stage this weekend.
For me K/K are going to take beating before the end of this championship. Despite failing to inspire to date let's not forget they only lost to coolderry by a point in the early stages of the season without a couple of key men. They also beat Rynaghs fairly comfortably in the end with one, if not THE main scoring threat in their forward line going off before half time. However much that victory had to do with the demise of Rynaghs is another days discussion, but I suspect that K/K will collectively have enough in order to secure a semi-final spot.

[Plain of the Herbs]

I wasn't there but apparently he lined out at left half forward against Drumcullen and was replaced by Aaron before the end.
Birr GAA notes in the Tribune note that "PJ" is back.
Welcome to the site, BTW, and thanks for the compliments - always appreciated.

I wonder is their any sign of the great man lining out with birr this season. With papa padjoe back at the helm I'd imagine we could see sid arrive on at some stage this weekend.

[Lone Shark]

Good stuff lads, good reading. Just to pick up on a few points .....

John Grogan should do OK on Kerrigan but will Killian Leonard be able to stem Shane Dooley’s flow?

Logic would suggest to me that John Grogan would be put on to Dooley straight away. Grogan has been rock solid so far this year and with Dooley's capability to put 1-3 on the board in five minutes, I'd be getting the right man on him from the start. I know Kerrigan needs watching too but in the greater scheme of things, if you stop Dooley you'll stop Tullamore.

That said, managers have a tendency to give lads a chance before changes are forced upon them - Leahy may follow this trend, but that would be a mistake IMHO.

They also beat Rynaghs fairly comfortably in the end with one, if not THE main scoring threat in their forward line going off before half time.

Welcome aboard Gustavus, another voice always welcome. I agree up to a point on this, but I think you're only telling half the story here - it would be easy to read this line and interpret it that Slevin went off injured or something, when in actual fact he was simply appallingly off form. I accept that he's responsible for a big chunk of K/K scores as their half forward line is anything but prolific, but I'd say he's a bit away from being back to his best yet.


For what it's worth I'd agree that K/K will probably win, but Tullamore have played at a level, albeit in patches, that K/K have not yet matched this year. To a certain degree I think we're all buying a pig in a poke on this one.

[Lone Shark]

Here's my more formal preview for Saturday as well, make of it what ye will.....

Shinrone’s path to this weekend’s senior hurling championship quarter final against Birr might not have been as arduous as that travelled by David Fitzgerald’s Waterford side in reaching Croke Park, but the south Offaly men will no doubt empathise with the scale of the task facing the Déise this weekend as they too try to take on the longstanding kingpins of their scene.


Just as very few tipsters will give Waterford any chance of overturning Kilkenny on Sunday, one could travel far and wide before encountering anyone who would have a strong fancy for Shinrone to upset the odds in Banagher on Saturday night.


From the start of the season Shinrone were one of the lesser fancied teams within the county, opening the campaign as 66/1 rank outsiders to lift the Sean Robbins Cup. One could argue that a similarly large number would be justifiable even now, but for a brief time earlier in the year they looked like real dark horses and must now look to rediscover that kind of form. Their two point win over Belmont back in the spring wouldn’t have looked like anything special to those just reading the result, but those who were in attendance that night knew that the two points secured were very hard earned. A very balanced and cohesive performance marked Shinrone as a team with real potential, potential that they haven’t delivered on since that night.


Michael Cordial’s heroics against Seir Kieran secured their slot in this quarter final but the team’s travails against a very young Clareen parish outfit did not indicate that this was a team destined for bigger things.


Birr’s season has contrasted sharply with that of Shinrone to this point, recovering from an early setback with big wins over Lusmagh and Drumcullen, and if the graphs keep going in the same direction, this should be a comfortable win for the reigning champions.


However it could be argued that Birr’s scoring this year, while very healthy, is not as widely spread across the forwards as is ideal. The pace of Michael Dwane and Seán Ryan is absent with Dylan Hayden now carrying the bulk of the workload in the full forward line. Birr’s 2008 strategy involves pulling the half forward line very deep, leaving the corner forwards very wide and playing low ball into Hayden in as much space as possible – a tactic that Shinrone will do well to prepare for as it is difficult to see Willie Comerford beating Hayden for pace across acres of open, even allowing for all of Comerford’s wiliness and experience. Birr’s scores have largely resulted from Hayden either taking his own score or else laying off to the oncoming Gary Hanniffy. Nineteen out of thirty two Birr points from play in the past two games have come from these two players – Shinrone can be in no doubt as to which attackers are their most pressing concern. A packed, disciplined defence and a lot of pressure on the two midfielders who tend to supply most of the ammo could see Birr struggle for scores, giving Shinrone a much better chance of maintaining competitiveness to the end, as they did in last year’s group match up between the two teams.


Those looking to see top class hurling will no doubt get it from Birr, in patches at the very least, but those looking for competitive hurling will probably do well to be in St Rynagh’s Park in time for the first game, just in case Birr do to Shinrone what many people suspect they might.


Kilcormac/Killoughey against Tullamore is an intriguing fixture, one in which it would be very easy to make a case for either side. K/K have some of the finest young talent in Offaly, they were county finalists last year, they’ve just come through a character forming clash against St Rynaghs and they offer a big physical threat that Tullamore could find very difficult to handle.


Tullamore on the other hand have beaten Birr this year and are sky high on both confidence and form, they won last year’s match up between these two team, the return of Gearóid O’Grady has energised the half forward line and in Shane Dooley they have the form forward in the county and the clear front runner to be Offaly’s hurler of the year right now.


The jury is understandably still out on this fixture as the evidence pointing both ways stacks up ever higher.


Luck has been somewhat unkind to Tullamore’s hurlers this year in that their performances were no less worthy of an automatic semi final slot than those of Kinnitty or Coolderry, but the draw dealt them an unkind hand and dictated that they must clear another hurdle before reaching the penultimate stages. One could also argue that the continued progression of the town’s footballers, though no doubt welcomed by Kevin Martin as a former stalwart of the big ball code himself, will have impacted on his ability to prepare the hurlers as well as he would like. Kilcormac/Killoughey could no doubt argue the same point as their intermediate footballers remain involved in a relegation battle, however John Leahy will not face nearly the same degree of divided loyalty for the time and attention of his players.


That preparation time could yet be crucial as a tactical game is very likely to unfold between these two. Kilcormac’s shooting, were it to be as bad again this Saturday as it was in Kinnitty a fortnight ago, would lead to Tullamore having a huge advantage this Saturday. Many of those wides were shot by players who would not normally top the scoring charts for the club, so the key for the double Ks will be to see that the bulk of the shots are being taken by the players who are most likely to raise flags, rather than outfield players who would be better employed feeding the in form Daniel Currams and Peter Healion. Likewise they will be keen to see Tullamore denied the clear goal chances that both Dooley and Francis Kerrigan can create with their pace and sharpness in the corners, perhaps by letting the wingbacks drop a little deeper in general play in order to be able to cover back in time.


Tullamore too will have taken a very methodical approach in the run up to this game, particularly with regard to counteracting K/K’s athleticism and fielding around midfield and half forward. Gerry Treacy and Benny Dagg have both been in excellent form this year but they could find themselves outmatched for height at half back and if K/K establish a platform in this area, Tullamore could find themselves spending long spells of the game on the back foot. Breaking and sweeping will be the name of the game for Tullamore, as well as preventing the quick handpass off the catch that K/K do so well.


Both clubs will have needed time to prepare for a match of this magnitude, and with the game likely to be decided by a wafer thin margin, that split commitment may just be the difference between Tullamore edging this game and falling a point or two short.

[Gustavus Adolphus]

Thats a serious analysis there Mr. Shark, previews such as yours and POTH's make me look forward to these games all the more.

On the point about slevin going off, all I was simply saying was that he went off and they still won without him. I am not one to judge an individuals performance. Conditions were difficult against rynaghs (as they may well be tomorrow evening) but I just feel that if k/k get slevin going they would be adding that extra bit to their team, which could see them coming in under the radar as the semi finals approach.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Having shown indifferent form previously Kilcormac/Killoughey burst into form here. Hurling with a hunger, an intensity and a sharpness for the first time this year their striking was crisp, some of their ground strokes were superb, some travelling upwards of forty yards, and their movement and passing was spot on.

Brian Leonard scored eight points, four in each half while Ciaran Slevin rediscovered his form chipping in with five points from play. Ger Healion returned to hurl a good match at full back, John Grogan defended well beside him as did Kevin Grogan, restored to centre half back.

With the sides level at 0-5 each on the mid-point of the first half Daniel Currams’ wonderful goal when he showed remarkable ball control, the ball glued to his stick and under tight pressure and having caught it twice, he somehow evaded the defenders, turned and fired to the net off the hurl.

This was the signal for K/K to ‘take off’ and they fired over a series of points into the Keeraun Hill end to establish a 1-11 to 0-6 lead and were completely dominant under Shaun Martin’s puckout. Martin had replaced Damien Fox in the Tullamore goal and five of Tullamore’s six came from the stick of Shane Dooley, four of those frees.

Tullamore resumed the second half with corner back Stephen Egan taking over the puckout duties as K/K withdrew Peter Healion to centre half forward and brought Eamonn Lee behind the midfield. Within ten minutes Tullamore had closed the gap to three with a well taken Dooley goal and a tight finish looked on but K/K steadied, made better use of the extra man around the ‘diamond’ area and a series of points saw them home.

Tullamore oculdn’t get their marquee players into the game at all with Shane Dooley starved of decent possession and Nigel Mannion and Brendan Dagg constantly on the back foot.

They’ve drawn Birr in the semi final against whom they’ve consistently fallen short but with a performance like this they’re on the right road. It’s a match that will make or break them, not just for this year but for this team and there’s always a likelihood Birr will produce a much improved performance similar to what Kilcormac did here. Still, K/K are now in championship mood, hurling at championship pace and with an extended panel of 33. Interesting, too, that Stephen Byrne appears to have lost his grip in the number 16 jersey with Donal Rigney’s return to the panel.

Scorers:- Kilcormac/Killoughey: Brian Leonard 0-8, Ciaran Slevin 0-7 (5f), Daniel Currams 1-2, Peter Healion 0-3, Mark Leonard 0-2, Eamonn Lee 0-1.
Tullamore: Shane Dooley 1-9 (6f, 1 ‘65’), Francis Kerrrigan 0-3, Gearoid O’Grady 0-1.


Birr 0-21 Shinrone 1-7
There was no fairytale for Shinrone here as they sent the team who were hammered by Kinnitty and they were no match for Birr who did what they had to and no more.

Birr bossed the game throughout and led 0-10 to 0-4 at half time. They operated at a different level to Shinrone, their passing was always sure and Gary Hanniffy was central to every attacking move, although this game had none of the intensity of the match which preceded it. Birr had extended that lead to ten points, 0-16 to 0-6, and not even Derek Morkan’s well taken goal with around ten left could help their cause and Birr closed the game out.

Birr restored John Paul O’Meara to the full back line moving Barry Harding to wing back while Aaron Whelahan made a first championship start at top-of-the-right. Pat Joe was back in the ‘Bainisteoir’ bib on the sideline. For Shinrone Willie Comerford hurled well at full back, and Derek Morkan got through a decent amount of good work though they got little by way of support from the rest of the team and their attack didn’t function at all.

Kieran Groome refereed this and although on the inter-county list, Groome is relatively inexperienced when it comes to refereeing senior club matches. Generally this year referees have been consistent in the types of fouls blown though Groome departed from the norm blowing for several minor infringements, blowing for steps on the fourth step while his grasp of the advantage situation left much to be desired. While technically correct, refereeing in a manner such as this could lead to player frustration in a more pressurised match.

Late in the game Simon Whelahan was ordered off with a blood injury and stayed on to take a free before leaving the field. Can he do this? I thought because he was bleeding he would have had to leave regardless of the free. If the free didn’t ‘go dead’ he would still be on the field and bleeding.

Scorers:- Birr- Simon Whelahan 0-6 (5f), Gary Hanniffy 0-5, Rory Hanniffy, Paul O’Meara, Dylan Hayden & Brian Lonergan 0-2 each, Brian Watkins & Neil Rogers 0-1 each.
Shinrone:- Derek Morkan 1-3 (0-1f), Michael Cordial 0-2f, Damien Bevans & Darren O’Meara 0-1 each.

[Gustavus Adolphus]

I was disappointed by the standard of fair down in banagher on Saturday. K/K stuttered at the outset but once they got the goal they opened their shoulders and began to hurl. K/K won the main share of possession in both half back and half forward lines, which made it difficult for the town side to establish any pattern to their play.

Everyone in attendance seemed to lose interest in the second game before the half time whistle was even blown. Shinrone have some good individual players but they never really showed the ability as a team to handle Birr’s quick movement of the ball.

So for the second year in a row we have the same four teams remaining in the championship at the semi final stage. I’d imagine many people would be delighted to see Coolderry and Birr kept apart this year but I wonder what odds are offered on a treble K final.

[Lone Shark]

I was disappointed by the standard of fair down in banagher on Saturday. K/K stuttered at the outset but once they got the goal they opened their shoulders and began to hurl. K/K won the main share of possession in both half back and half forward lines, which made it difficult for the town side to establish any pattern to their play.

Everyone in attendance seemed to lose interest in the second game before the half time whistle was even blown. Shinrone have some good individual players but they never really showed the ability as a team to handle Birr’s quick movement of the ball.

So for the second year in a row we have the same four teams remaining in the championship at the semi final stage. I’d imagine many people would be delighted to see Coolderry and Birr kept apart this year but I wonder what odds are offered on a treble K final.

Off the top of my head (and I've no idea if the bookies would agree with me) I'd say the odds to qualify for the final would be somewhere in the vicinity of 4-11 Coolderry vs 2/1 Kinnitty and 2/9 Birr vs 3/1 K/K. That would make it 11/1 your outsider double, were they to be offered.

I was actually very impressed with K/K at the weekend, I thought they did everything that they needed to in order to improve on the poor showing in Kinnitty - they didn't go for long range scores, they fed the men in the corners and the wide players repaid their faith in spades. The midfielders aren't good point takers so they dropped deep, helped out the defence and didn't go for scores. They have a decent bench with options to change up the game, and Slevin on form completely changes matters.

Funnily enough I'd have given both the underdogs a better chance if the draw was reversed. K/K would have no fear of Coolderry and must be sick of all their hopes being crushed by Birr time and again. I can't count the amount of times I've tipped up K/K to finally overturn Birr and it ended up being a hammering - I gave up last year.

Kinnitty on the other hand would have relished the open contest that Birr would have provided - while I think the inevitable "tightness" for want of a better word that will ensue against Coolderry won't suit them.

Birr Coolderry final for me, maybe with K/K a little more likely than Kinnitty to upset the apple cart.

[swiftpost]

Fierce dissapointing matches, the result between K/K and Tullamore ould have been more to K/K, they fell asleep for a while in this game and let Tullamore back in. Tullamore made way too many basic mistakes F Kerrigan scored a couple of great points but lost the ball on numerous occasions trying to rise it with 1 hand,backs were very poor and Tullamore didnt help themselves ith short puckouts. KK on the other hand had a ok game B Leonard picked off a few nice scores, his size and strength should be an asset against Birr, Currams goal was good (poor defending though) the point he set up after that goal was pure class. Slevin back to himself aswel, Eamonn Lee finished the game at corner back which was surprising.

Gary Hanniffy hurled very well for a sluggish birr team, the forwards never really got going apart from occasional spurts from hayden. 2 corner forwards had poor displays. R Hanniffy and Barry Whelehan is a good midfield partnership and they had the upper hand on Shinrone's cleary and morkan.Birr's forwardline might have a few change the next day but their backline was impressive albeit against a Shinrone team that never got going.

[Plain of the Herbs]

I see on the official site the hurling semi-finals have been fixed for O'Connor Park, times and dates to be confirmed.
Looking like it's back to Tullamore for the final and that St. Brendan's Park is worse off than ever.

[Over The Black Spot]

Dates are yet to be fully confirmed but it appears as if it will be Coolderry v Kinnitty on Saturday 20th and Birr v K/K on Saturday 27th.
There is also a possibility that the Intermediate final will be played before the second semi and give Birr access to the likes of Tomas Bulger if necessary..only speculation though.

The county final date has been pushed back a week and will be played with the minor final as curtain raiser for the first time in a few years...with Tullamore the planned venue.