County Final rematch the highlight as senior grade takes centre stage
There are six games in the Kilkenny Senior League over the weekend
With the junior and intermediate grades having the weekend off, all attention is on the St Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling League with round 2 action kicking off from tonight.
The county final repeat in Thomastown on Sunday between Shamrocks and O’Loughlin Gaels looks the standout clash of the weekend but all 12 clubs will be eager to get points on the board with some cracking ties in store.
Two of the round 1 defeated sides Danesfort and Erin’s Own get proceedings underway when they meet in Tullaroan at 7pm this evening and both will be eager to get off the mark after narrow opening losses.
‘Comer will still be sore at the late defeat to the Shamrocks but with huge performances in the likes of young players Michael Brennan, Josh Dowling and Kevin Buggy, there was also plenty of positives as there was with senior newcomers Danesfort who pushed all the way in their clash.
A win tonight for either is crucial with the losing side staring down the barrel of fighting a relegation battle.
The first game on Saturday which commences in Gowran at 3.30pm is of similar importance with Clara and Graigue Ballycallan aiming to get league points for very different reasons.
After a heavy loss to Thomastown, Clara will want to get their campaign up and running to bat away any talk of relegation while Graigue-Ballycallan will be hoping for similar performances from the likes of Aaron McEvoy, Tommy Ronan and Jesse Roberts as a quarter-final championship spot possibly comes into view.
There are two other games on Saturday which throw-in concurrently at 5.30pm as Tullaroan face Dicksboro in Freshford and Thomastown and Mullinavat lock horns in Ballyhale.
The Boro will be eager to put the nightmare performance and loss against city neighbours O’Loughlin’s behind them but with a Dylan Simpson inspired Tullaroan side in opposition and Kilkenny selector David Mulcahy involved as manager, the Sash will fancy their chances of maintaining their 100% record.
Thomastown will be favourites for the other tie and even though the Donnelly’s are in flying form and young players Ben Nevin and Daithi Barron are coming to the fore, they will get nothing easy in a South Kilkenny derby.
Mullinavat are a notoriously difficult opposition at the same time and after their first round draw with Glenmore, they know they will have to be at their best if they are to halt a Thomastown team that was in rampant form when scoring 1-31 against Clara.
Onto Sunday and the much anticipated meeting between Shamrocks and O’Loughlin’s in their first meeting since last year’s county final.
Brian Hogan’s city side almost caught all of Kilkenny by surprise at the way they performed last week against Dicksboro with Ruarc Sweeney enjoying a dream hat-trick debut and fellow newcomers Greg Kelly, David McGee and Cian Byrne impressing.
With a number of the O’Loughlin’s injured brigade still out, Sunday’s game is another chance for the O’Loughlin’s new kids on the block to catch the eye but it’s undoubtedly a big step-up.
While the Shamrocks only won the game against Comer with a last puck of the game goal from Michael Barron, they still had notable contributions from Ronan Corcoran, Evan Shefflin, TJ Reid and Eoin Cody in particular who scored seven points from play and that type of firepower will be tough to stop and as we’ve come to expect, the Ballyhale club will only get stronger as they go through the league.
Glenmore and Bennettsbridge round off the action in Inistioge on Sunday at 3pm and it’s another difficult game to call with both searching for a first win.
The Bridge will be looking to back up scoring three goals in the loss against Graigue Ballycallan with their direct play working for periods with James Hughes doing a lot of damage but the paltry 12 point return will be a bit of a worry.
Glenmore on the other hand will be happy with periods of their display in the draw with Mullinavat as Ian Byrne and Jason Cody led the way in attack and with the pressure on even at this early stage of the league, it’s a clash that could go to the wire.