St Brendans should just have enough to see off Lixnaw

COUNTY SHC QUARTER-FINAL Lixnaw v St Brendans

Sunday, July 28 Austin Stack Park, 1pm

THERE’S nothing quite like a common frame of reference to clarify things.

You just know that since this draw was finalised that both managers – Pat O’Driscoll for St Brendans, Fergus Fitzmaurice for Lixnaw – have been poring over footage of their respective games with Causeway.

Knowing what they know about Causeway from playing them – both having come up short against the maroon and white – it’s the perfect way to gauge their relative strengths and weaknesses.

It’s through their understanding of those clashes with Causeway that they’ll come to understand each other. Of course, it’s not as though these clubs aren’t familiar with each other already, but championship is championship and each year takes on a character all of its own.

Lixnaw certainly would have learned more about themselves in their second round defeat at the hands of Causeway than they did in their first round victory over Kilmoyley. A nine-point defeat was a reality check for the Hermitage Park outfit. It was the day when their losses through injury and travel finally bit and bit hard.

Even so Fitzmaurice still has a lot of talent at his disposal. He must be hoping that Causeway just hit a purple patch that day. That his men are better than what they showed. That do-or-die straight knock-out hurling will suit them better than a winners’ round contest with a back-door available to them.

Looking at the Lixnaw team-sheet from that day the thing that stands out is just how inexperienced it is in comparison to the Lixnaw teams which won county titles. John Griffin, Raymond Galvin, Michael Conway and a few others aside it’s the younger players who are making up the bulk of this Lixnaw side right now.

Against a gnarled St Brendans outfit that might come as a disadvantage, but it’s a pretty fresh looking St Brendans outfit too. O’Driscoll’s side have a core of old hands, but there are still a number of new comers or relative new comers anyway – Daniel Finnegan, Brendan O’Connor and the like.

Judging by how they fared against Causeway, St Brendans would seem to be ahead of Lixnaw at the moment. Ardfert only lost by four – 0-19 to 0-15 – and gave as good as they got for long stretches of that game. The saints were second best to Causeway and didn’t deserve to win, but for a time they looked to have gotten under Causeway’s skin.

That’s the thing about any side trained by Pat O’Driscoll they’ll be doggedly determined. In a dogfight with Abbeydorney they emerged six point victors. As well as steel they’ve got quality. In Dáithí Griffin, John Egan, Cian Hussey (emerging again as a real force at this level), they’ve got a set of forwards to rival Lixnaw.

Of course Lixnaw’s inside two – brothers Michael and Shane Conway – have the capacity to really cut a defence asunder, but with guys like Rory Horgan and Stephen Leen around they’ll have to bring their very best.

Look this is another genuinely difficult one to call. A victory for either side would in no way surprise us. A draw wouldn’t surprise us – there hasn’t been one yet in this year’s championship and the Kerry county championship usually throws up a draw or two along the way.

In the end though we’ve got to go with the metric we’ve set for ourselves. Judging this by the common frame of reference – i.e. Causeway – it looks a game St Brendans can win.

St Brendans

Verdict: