No pressure on underdogs Mallow
Mallow v Inniscarra Saturday, May 16 Mourneabbey 7pm
ON the basis of what they produced last year, Mallow will hardly be burdened with any lofty expectations heading into this clash with Inniscarra.
Well beaten by Ballyhea, 1-25 to 2-10, in the opening round, they shipped another humiliating defeat, 1-16 to 0-8, from Valley Rovers in Round 4, having staged a remarkable late rally to fashion a fortuitous win over Kilworth in between.
Inniscarra also lost twice in three outings last year, but they competed well in all of them, going under by a just a point, after extra time, against Bandon in Round 1, getting their season back on track in a high-scoring thriller against Watergrasshill before bowing out by four points to Kilworth.
The Mid-Cork men reached the semi finals in 2012 and 2013, so they have a fairly decent record in recent years, and, with players of the calibre of Colm Casey, John O’Callaghan, Dan O’Connell, Sean O’Donoghue and Timmy Murphy on board, they have the potential to prove a handful for any opposition.
Mallow aren’t short of quality either, with such as Cork senior Cormac Murphy, Pa Herlihy, Sean Hayes, Killian O’Connor and Aaron Sheehan numbered among the leading lights in a team that is capable of much better than what they served up last year, and likewise in 2013 when they were eliminated, 3-17 to 2-9, by Watergrasshill in Round 4.
Verdict: Inniscarra
Kanturk v Castlelyons Sunday, May 17 Castletownroche, 7pm
IN their inaugural campaign in the PIHC, it was no surprise that Kanturk performed creditably, as they had looked a cut above the ordinary when lifting the county intermediate title in 2013.
They reached the semi finals
last year, going under narrowly to Newcestown, and it’s expected they will make a significant impact again this season.
They won’t need to be told, however, that they have been handed a very difficult opening assignment against Castlelyons, who were runners-up to Youghal in 2013, and took Ballyhea to a replay at the quarter final stage last year. Backboning the East-Cork side’s bid to progress will be Anthony Spillane, Colm Barry, Colm Spillane, Leo Sexton and Alan Fenton, while Kanturk will be looking to the likes of Lorcan O’Neill, Ian Walsh and their Cork seniors Lorcan McLoughlin, Aidan Walsh and Anthony Nash to provide much of the inspiration.
It’s a fixture that carries obvious appeal, and, regardless of the result, it’s a fair bet that both sides will still be in contention at the business end of the championship this year.
Verdict: Kanturk ÉIRE Óg were well beaten by Fermoy in a quarter-final replay last year, and they were no match for Kanturk either in the decider two years ago.
They won’t have to deal with the same quality of opposition against Ballygarvan, however, and, with such as Kevin Hallissey, Daniel Goulding and John Dineen on hand to provide the fire-power up front, they look well-equipped to avenge the single-point defeat they suffered in a first round tie in 2013.
Ballygarvan, whose top players are Stephen White, Ger Spillane and Mark Kennefick, have registered just one win in four championship outings since then, and that was achieved at the expense of St Catherine’s, who were later relegated, last year.
Verdict: Éire Óg AFTER running highly-rated Charleville to three points in a fourth round clash last year, Ballincollig should have no reason to be intimidated by the task of taking on a Kilbrittain side demoted from premier ranks following a string of feeble displays in 2014.
At the same time, it has to be acknowledged that Kilbrittain couldn’t have been fully focused last year, as concern over the welfare of Jamie Wall obviously took precedence in the club.
It’s hard to know what to expect from South-West side this summer, so there will a lot of interest on how they shape up in their opening assignment, but Ballincollig would have to be regarded as the safer bet to prevail on Sunday.
Verdict: Ballincollig