Lixnaw and Kilmoyley just about fancied
COUNTY SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL
Lixnaw v St Brendans
Sunday September 24 Austin Stack Park at 2pm
LIXNAW are the short odds bet to regain the Championship crown, and, if their performance in their win over Ballyduff is a reliable indicator then they are fully capable of justifying the favourites tag. They hit the ground running from a very early stage in the season, and, were particularly impressive in the County League.
They carried that form into the Championship, beating Ballyheigue in their opening game 1-26 to 1-8, before recording a ninepoint win over Ballyduff. Having been particularly successful at under age in recent years they are now reaping the rewards with a lot of young players coming through to complement such as Pat Corridan, John Griffin and Mike Conway, players who have not alone given great service to the club, and played superbly for over a decade, but who provide a lot of leadership.
Their performances to date this season confirms their value and importance to the current squad. St Brendans, who have already played five games, which included two replays have mixed excellence with indifference.
Character also, when it looked as if they were going to exit the competition in their replayed game with Abbeydorney. Having won the competition in 2013, they haven’t really pushed on since then, even if they narrowly lost last year’s semi-final to Kilmoyley having been beaten by the same opposition in the final the previous season.
They’re always there or thereabouts with a team, which is pretty experienced at this stage, with John Egan still providing a lot of their scores, especially from placed balls. To date this season they have had eleven different scorers, with both Cian Hussey and Kevin Skinner contributing handsomely with five points apiece in their last outing. However, they have conceded eight goals which is a worry, and, but for their goalkeeper Darren Delaney it could well have been more.
On the plus side is the spirit and belief they have shown at critical junctures in all of their games, with Darren Dineen and David Griffin offering a lot in terms of leadership in that respect. It’s something which their Chairman Ger Hussey has been quite pleased with.
“It’s been a tough struggle, we have never given up, it hasn’t been easy, we haven’t played to our potential, but, there’s good character in the team. Jerry Wallace got injured in the last game, a ligament problem, hopefully he will be available, Thomas Moloney also, has picked up a bit of a knock. Lixnaw are a fiercely talented team, they gave us a real good hammering in the County League. They won the Under-21 last year, they have a good Under-21 team again this year, and, certainly, they are a force to be reckoned with and we will have to play to our potential to be in with a chance.”
Lixnaw Chairman and PRO Paul Wallace is more than a little bit concerned given that, their last game in the competition was back on July 16.
“It’s nearly ten weeks between matches, I don’t know where we are, it’s hard to know. We were happy with the way we were going, we have been tipping away, we have had a few challenge games, but, they are not what Championship games would be. The Kerry Under-21s had their competition. Have we the hunger, it’s a massive wait for a match, but it’s what it is, we will just have to wait and see.”
St Brendans by contrast have been involved up until August 27th, and, their Intermediate team won the Championship two weeks ago. A few of these players, especially, the likes of Brendan O’Connor, Man of the Match in that particular encounter could well feature and make an impact in this weekend’s game, so, in terms of preparation they might well have a slight advantage.
However, they will need to perform with a greater level of consistency than they have been doing in games up until now if they are to contain a Lixnaw team who were firing on all cylinders in their two Championship outings to date. The Conway brothers Mike and Shane are combining, creating and converting with great efficiency while John Buckley, Jeremy McKenna and Ricky Heffernan provide a formidable diamond in the midfield sector. St Brendans however won’t be beaten easily, they never are, but, going on form to date, you would expect Lixnaw to prevail, just about.
Verdict: Lixnaw