SHC group stages continues . . .

[xbiffox]

Whats the family connection between players on the clareen and lusmagh teams??

[xbiffox]

Whats the family connection between players on the lusmagh and clareen teams??

[joe bloggs]

I think Joe Bergin's mum is a Troy, and Chris Connors' mum is a Kelly

[Plain of the Herbs]

John, Gary & Eoin Kelly are brothers, as are Barry & Joseph Bergin. Their two mothers, plus Christopher Connors' mother are all sisters. Brian Troy is a brother of the three sisters, so he's be an uncle of all the cousins!

Whats the family connection between players on the clareen and lusmagh teams??

[kinnittyman]

Well with only a a game against Ballyskenagh remaining St. Rynaghs all but guaranteed themselves a place in the quarter finals with a 3-12 to 1-13 victory over Shamrocks in Tullamore. The game itself was of a fairly low standard although at times it was exciting. Shamrocks with the aid of a strong breeze led 1-10 to 1-03 at half time but found scores hard come by and it was an inevitability that Rynaghs would reel them in.

What it means in the broader sense of the group is that Ryanghs will qualify for the quarter finals and if Kinnitty beat Shinrone tomorrow the game between Shamrocks and Kinnitty in the final round becomes a straight shoot out for the second automatic quarter final place.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Club hurling made a sort of homecoming with the first senior club match at St. Brendan’s Park Birr in almost three years – over 1,000 days! The pitch was actually in good order despite the heavy overnight rain though the grass was a bit long – the difficulty of getting out to cut the grass being evident.

Coolderry were in good form and Damien Murray’s goal halfway throught the first half set them up nicely and they went on to lead 1-8 to 0-6 at the break with the wind and the scoring goal still to come. Most of the scoring came in the first quarter and in the last quarter while the fare in between was of a very poor standard.

Coolderry lined out with Martin Corcoran in the unfamiliar centre half back slot. He did well there, and Colin Egan made no headway in the centre. Belmont were atrocious and didn’t hurl as a team at all, which is usually one of their strong points. David Kenny at centre back was the only one who looked to be of decent standard with Paul Egan at midfield the only other Belmont man to make any headway. John Ryan never got into the game while at full forward and later at centre half forward, they couldn’t get any quick ball into Alan and Mark Egan, where the full back line of Brendan O’Meara and the Corcorans were well on top.

Brian Carroll scored three early points from play and finished the game with eight points from play but Jamie Flynn was a huge disappointment and didn’t lay a hand on him the whole match. Cathal Parlon finished the hour with 5 from play giving Derek Kenny a torrid time.

Still hard to know about Coolderry. No better team to run up a big score against weaker teams, and they’ll beat Tullamore in the final round by a double-digit margin to reach the quarter finals, but I wouldn’t have any faith in them against a fired-up ‘top five’ club. I’m thinking Kilcormac or ’Rynagh’s here. And they will never beat Birr.

A final point on Birr’s ground. First thing they need is to get a powerhose and wash the birds’ droppings off the seats in the stand. It’s absolutely filthy and they shouldn’t get any more matches until they do that. And what’s with all the flagpoles on the ‘road’ side of the ground? There’s more flagpoles there than outside the UN building in New York and it must be very difficult to see between them all from the hill.

Scorers: Coolderry: Brian Carroll 0-8, Cathal Parlon 0-5, Damien Murray 1-2 (0-2 f), Joe Brady 0-3, Barry Teehan 0-2, Martin Corcoran 0-2 frees, Paddy Teehan 0-1.
Belmont: Mark Egan 0-6 (4f, 1 ‘65’), Liam Browne 0-1, Paul Egan 0-1.

[kinnittyman]

You hit the nail on the head there POTH regarding Coolderry. Hard to know where they stand. A tough Quarter Final draw and they could be in trouble.

Personally I thought the pitch was absolutley terrible, with the grass way too long and the surface cutting up very badly which led to a lot of players losing their footing. After all the drying in the last few days that pitch must be in a bad way to be in that shape. Personally I dont think we should see any more championship matches in there this year until it is fully up to scratch which hopefully will be soon.

[As Such Ger]

Anyone know when the final round of group games are on in the SHC? I would have thought this weekend, but i don't see anything up on the offaly.gaa website.

[GreatDayForTheParish]

Any reports on the other games? Couldn't make any of them myself. Saw that Kinnity only managed to draw with Shinrone (Lucky tip for the Shark!), was Rigney playing?

[uibhfhailiabu]

As far as I know they are on next weekend, but sure now in fairness, we've come to expect that of the offaly gaa website over the last few years!!!

Anyone know when the final round of group games are on in the SHC? I would have thought this weekend, but i don't see anything up on the offaly.gaa website.

[Lone Shark]

Any reports on the other games? Couldn't make any of them myself. Saw that Kinnity only managed to draw with Shinrone (Lucky tip for the Shark!), was Rigney playing?

Shark would have preferred if Shinrone hung on. Had a good cut off them at 9/2, which I thought was way too big a price. It turns out I was right, but the bookie still keeps my money. Seven tipsters points is scant enough consolation.

[An Banisteoir]

POTH i reckon your a suitable candidate so can you give me a match report on the Lusmagh v Clareen and Shamrocks v Rynaghs games please?
I was away for the weekend so was unable to attend...

[GreatDayForTheParish]

And they will never beat Birr.

Couldn't agree with that Plain. With the personal losses that Birr have sustained this Championship is by no means the foregone conclusion that some people assume it to be. Coolderry, recent speedbumps aside, remain a potent outfit and the team that has consistently come closest to Birr over the last 5 years. Plus when those two do match up, the intense rivalry always means that anything can happen. Whichever team is hungrier and more fired up usually takes it.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Final round this weekend although the groups have almost taken shape at this stage anyway. In group 1 ’Rynagh’s win will confirm a quarter final slot, as Kilcormac would if they beat Shinrone. Birr are already guaranteed a quarter final slot. Clareen would join them if they upset the champions, denying Coolderry who would go through if they beat Tullamore provided Birr beat Clareen.


Kilcormac/Killoughey v Shinrone
Shinrone should have beaten Kinnitty last week but didn’t. They’re not a bad team, they’ve speed in attack, Derek Morkan leads them well from midfield (though I think he’d be better deployed at centre half back) and they’ve a decent defence.
Kilcormac still haven’t got into a championship stride, having beaten Kinnitty (shorn of all belief) and Ballyskenagh (you know yourself) in recent weeks. To win this they will need to play the ball quick to their attack – there’s no point trying to barge ‘through’ Willie Comerford on the edge of the square.
Hard to know here, on a line through their respective results against Kinnitty t’would be Kilcormac to win.

Coolderry v Tullamore
Coolderry got back in the winning groove against Belmont and should continue in that vein against Tullamore who wouldn’t carry the same threats that Belmont would. Tullamore don’t have enough defensive talent to counteract all Coolderry’s attacking aces. No big test for Coolderry here – that will come later in the year where Martin Corcoran’s defensive capabilities will be targeted.

Lusmagh v Belmont
A local derby of sorts though the clubs don’t actually join, and a first win for Belmont over Lusmagh would be considered a scalp taken by Belmont.
Belmont were very lethargic against Cooldery and folded the tent before the first half had ended. That was their poorest performance in a number of years and having come off the back of a win over Tullamore it can, at this stage, be taken as a blip.
Lusmagh need to rearrange their defence to counteract the pace in the Belmont attack, as their own defence isn’t the paciest and could be exploited. They should redeploy Rory Quinlan to pick up Mark Egan, put Ciaran Bermingham on Alan Egan and let John Kelly shadow John Ryan. At midfield, Eoin Quinlan is best qualified to mark Paul Egan, with Fintan Kelly taking on David Kenny.
Lusmagh need to do this ‘horses for courses’ stuff if they are to have any chance of winning.

Kinnitty v Shamrocks
Having lost to K/K and drew with Shinrone in recent weeks, this match will tell us just where Kinnitty stand as the knock-out stages approach. There’s not much they can do about James Rigney though Colm Coughlan may not be home in time. They really need Stephen Molloy to show some leadership in attack.
Shamrocks were missing Nigel Dunne the last day, a player they really need to be playing well. They should play Derek Molloy out near the middle of the field too, to keep him involved in the game. While Shamrocks have the speed they are too predictable when in possession.
If Kinnitty can get off to a good start the Shamrocks belief might drain away, though the longer Shamrocks stay in it the more a scrap it will become. I still expect Kinnitty to pull through though.

Birr v Clareen
Clareen have restructured their team with Eanna Murphy now at full back, Barry Bergin at centre back, while Sean Coughlan is now in attack and Damien Murphy is gone. There’s now a freshness to their game that wasn’t there before and they may well have beaten Tullamore and Belmont in the spring had their team taken this shape back them.
This match against Birr probably comes at the right time for them and will tell much as to where they really do stand. The midfield clash of Rory Hanniffy and James Mulrooney will be crucial though and if Sean Coughlan can pick a few scores Clareen might be in business. I wouldn’t be convinced by Barry Bergin at centre back, though he might do alright on Stephen Brown.
Clareen never did too badly against Birr during their lean years, drawing in 2004 and beaten by 2 points in 2007. Birr weren’t exactly in the groove in midweek against Tullamore and while I think a Clareen win wouldn’t be a surprise of monumental proportions, or anything like that, you’d still have to go with Birr to pull through.

St. Rynagh’s v Ballyskenagh
A chance of some shooting practice for Gerard Scales and his teammates!


Wins for K/K, Coolderry, Belmont, Kinnitty, Birr and ’Rynagh’s would leave the eighth finals something like:- Kinnitty v Clareen, Shamrocks v Belmont, Shinrone v Lusmagh and Tullamore v Ballyskenagh, though that will chance several times over the course of the weekend. T’will be like a general election count.