Mallow expected to advance past Ballyhea in first round
COUNTY PIHC Mallow v Ballyhea (Buttevant, Saturday 6.45)
They have endured a couple of heavy beatings over the past few years, bowing out to Inniscarra, 3-17 to 2-7, in 2010, and to Watergrasshill, 3-17 to 0-9, last season, a defeat which came in the wake of an encouraging 4-12 to 1-13 victory over Tracton in Round 1.
That was certainly a case of flattering to deceive on Mallow's part, especially considering that Tracton later advanced to the quarter finals where they lost by just two points to eventual champions Youghal.
The year did finish on a reasonably positive note for Mallow, as their Under 21 team advanced to a county semi final where they made things extremely difficult for title-winners Midleton, who fielded seven players involved in the East-Cork club's county senior triumph a few weeks earlier.
So, despite their thrashing by Watergrasshill last year, the perception is that Mallow are an upand-coming side with the potential to go a long way in the campaign ahead. Ballyhea have also struggled to make any sort of a decent impact at premier intermediate level over the past number of years.
Not since 2005 have they advanced as far as the quarter finals, and their form last year did little to suggest their fortunes are going to take a significant turn for the better in the near future. They did win their opening game, getting the better of Carrigaline, who only barely managed to avoid demotion, in a high-scoring thriller, but they made a rather tame exit after that at the hands of 2012 intermediate kingpins Kilworth.
It has become abundantly clear, of course, since the inception of this highly competitive grade in 2004 that the form of most teams involved tends to vary dramatically, not just from season to season but from game to game, so it isn't inconceivable Ballyhea could emerge as a force to be reckoned with this summer.
In view of the local derby element, Saturday's encounter is all the more intriguing, but if their young guns like Cormac Murphy, Ryan Harkin, Pa Herlihy and Cork minor Sean Hayes put their best foot forward, it might be enough to swing it for Mallow.
Pa O'Callaghan, Barry Coleman and the evergreen Niall Ronan and Maurice O'Sullivan will be expected to spearhead Ballyhea's bid for the bragging rights.
Verdict: Mallow