Kildorrery and Eire Og fancied to come through IFC contests to make quarters

Douglas v Eire Og

AFTER narrowly losing out to Sarsfields in Round 1 of the Intermediate Hurling Championship Éire Óg bounced back with an impressive victory Argideen Rangers to secure their status in this division while also moving into the business end of the competition.

This weekend the ovens’ based side will ned to up their game as they face up to a Douglas side that also took the hard road to Round 3 with a loss on day one to Dungourney before bouncing back with an impressive win over Inniscarra in Round 2B.

Eire Óg will likely need the likes of Kevin Hallissey, Dylan Desmond, John Cooper, Colm O’Callaghanand Brian Hurleyagain this campaign after the club battled hard all last season only to come up short at the final hurdle to an Aghada side that seemed to have their name on the title from quite a distance out.

Last year’s defeat in the showpiece game took some time to get over but now that the side have their first championship win under their belts it would be hard to bet against them, even against a side liker Douglas.

Douglas made it all the way to the semi-finals in 2017 only to lose out to Mayfield in the round of last eight. All at the club were expecting more this time last year and hopes are high again for this campaign that things will go their way

Players of the quality of Mark O’Callaghan and Daithi Curtin should do well for Douglas if they start however this will be a serious test for the city side as they really are stepping up in class for this game.

Éire Óg are one of the great underachievers in Cork hurling and football and all at the club are hoping that 2018 will see a major upturn in the fortunes of this impressive GAA Club.

This really could go either way but Éire Óg should have the quality required at the back and in particular up front to do the business here. Douglas have plenty of quality players at their disposal but getting them all on the pitch at the same time is often the biggest challenge for them at this grade.

Prediction: Éire Óg

INTERMEDIATE HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3

Kildorrery v Sarsfields

IT doesn’t really matter what the grade is, tests don’t come much bigger these days that facing up to a team from Sarsfields however Kildorrery are one side that won’t be one bit put out by the challenge that faces them this coming Saturday night.

Last year Kildorrery came within a whisker of beating eventual IHC winners Aghada in Round 4 and the north Cork side will be hoping to put in just as good a showing this time round with a more positive result.

A good win in Round 1 over Dripsey set the tone for the year with the win set the Avondhu men on a collision course to meet one of the powerhouse clubs of Cork hurling next up.

Peter and Andrew O’Brien should, as per usual, be the big threats for Kildorrery and if both start the north Cork men will be in with a great shout here.

Eamon O’Connor and William Fouhy will also play a big part in what their side can bring to this challenging table.

Sarsfields will as per usual have a strong line-up with those not chosen to play with the senior side and a few players returning from injury or long term layoffs likely to feature. There is little doubt that this will be one of the toughest tests of the year for Kildorrery but if they can see off the men in blue they will be well on their way to a long overdue Intermediate success.

Sars will bring plenty to the contest and will play an expansive, tough and skilful brand of hurling, something the club has been known for over the years.

If Kildorrery can hold their heads when things get tough they have all the ammunition required to take the spoils of victory. If not, they will lose, and lose well.

Prediction: Kildorrey