The heat is on for those precious quarter final places. Group 1 is becoming a tricky puzzle to solve. De La Salle top the pile put only point splits the other five clubs. Friday night’s fixture between Passage and Fourmilewater will prove significant as well as Abbeyside’s clash with Lismore on Saturday. This won’t be finalised until round five. With points difference possibly coming into play, every score matters at this stage. Group 2 looks more straightforward. Dungarvan and Mount Sion should join Ballygunner in the knockout phase with the other three in a race for the remaining spot.
Friday 15 August
De La Salle v Roanmore (Walsh Park at 7.00)
Roanmore deserved at least a share of the spoils after their second half recovery from nine points down against Lismore. De La Salle completed their business early last Saturday to ensure safe progression. Their deep pool of resources meant that they could carry on without Stephen Daniels, Eddie Barrett and Shane Ryan. Roanmore have shown championship consistency at long last and will make life awkward here. Salle’s strength around the half back line and midfield will prove hard to break down however.
Odds: De La Salle 1/10 Draw 14/1 Roanmore 11/2
Prediction: De La Salle
Passage v Fourmilewater (Fraher Field at 7.30)
A knockout-style clash for both of these sides. A win nearly guarantees a quarter final while the loser will be bottom of the table entering the last round. Passage are without a championship win since the county final while Fourmilewater achieved their first round triumph way back in April. The county champions have been slow out of the blocks in all three games and cannot continue to rely on late rallies. Fourmile were short six regulars last weekend and will need their big guns back to assist Jamie Barron. They have reached the knockouts for four years running but are in danger of losing out this time. Fourmilewater are yet to register a goal in this year’s championship while Passage have managed three and Eoin Kelly is back at number fourteen. That may prove the difference in a close run thing.
Odds: Passage 8/11 Draw 9/1 Fourmilewater 6/5
Prediction: Passage
Saturday August 16
Dungarvan v Ballyduff Upper (Fraher Field at 6.00)
Dungarvan are the dark horses in this year’s field and could well take a big scalp along the way. One more win would secure their quarter final place. The Blues scored 1-22 last time without breaking sweat and also blazed 13 wides. Cormac and Cathal Curran steered the ship ably assisted by Ryan Donnelly, Michael Kiely and Gavin Crotty. In contrast, Mikey Kearney accounts for 65 per cent of Ballyduff’s scores. Ten wides cost them dearly in a one point defeat to Tallow and they felt the loss of Jamie Kearney from the half forward line. The long term absence of Adrian Power has also created uncertainty in the number one jersey.
Odds: Dungarvan 3/10 Draw 10/1 Ballyduff Upper 13/5
Prediction: Dungarvan
Mount Sion v Ardmore (7.00 at Kill)
Sion are on the rebound here after making little headway against Ballygunner. Nine wides hurt their chances by half time and they could only produce six scores from play over the sixty. The return of the two Ians (O’Regan and Galgey) may aid their recovery and qualify for the quarters. Despite their weakened line-up, Ardmore dug in against Dungarvan but they couldn’t hold a lively forward line. They need to be close to full strength to stand any chance of staying up. The brilliance of Seamus Prendergast at number eleven can only cover up so many cracks.
Odds: Mount Sion 1/14 Draw 16/1 Ardmore 13/2
Prediction: Mount Sion
Abbeyside v Lismore (8.00 at Fraher Field)
Both teams kept their quarter final challenge alive last weekend. Lismore displayed a gritty side sorely missing in recent seasons to grind it out against Roanmore. Maurice and Dan combined for 2-9 but eight different scorers will encourage manager Sean Prendergast nonetheless. Abbeyside also spread around their 1-21 against Passage with all six attackers on the board. They pulled seven points clear on two separate occasions to defeat the county champions. Similar to last year, they seem to be timing their run after losing the first two matches. With the football championship parked for the time being, their full focus is on making the hurling quarter finals. Potential for fireworks here with the 2008 finalists capable of backing up last week’s progress.
Odds: Abbeyside 8/11 Draw 9/1 Lismore 6/5
Prediction: Abbeyside
Sunday 17 August
Ballygunner v Tallow (7.00 at Fraher Field)
A rerun of the one-sided 2011 county final. The emergence of Conor ‘Speedy’ Power up front will please Fergal Hartley as he shot six points in a comfortable win over Mount Sion. They have exceeded 20 points in each of their three outings to date. Their distribution of inter county players in every line of the field and the motivation from 2013 provides a strong argument for them to win back the trophy last won in 2011. Tallow’s defensive fortitude served them well against Ballyduff Upper and they will need to show the same aggression here. They need to improve their numbers at the other end as the attack is only shooting around 14 points per game.
Odds: Ballygunner 1/14 Draw 16/1 Tallow 13/2
Prediction: Ballygunner
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