Two cracking Senior Hurling Championship semi-finals in store
Ballinkillen will be looking for a repeat of the win they enjoyed over St Mullins in the group stage when they meet in Sunday's semi-final Photo: Pat Ahern
When St Mullins lost to Ballinkillen in the opening round of the JJ Kavanagh & Sons Senior Hurling Championship the result sent out a reminder that perhaps there was something in this year for all six teams in the group. The eventual winners were good that day so they had now thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the teams in the group.
“They will have taken great confidence from that first round game. To be fair to them they were very good on the day. We could have no complaints about the results of that one. They took some great scores. They had more than us on the day,” remarked Sean O’Meara, the St Mullins manager as he looks forward to a semi-final clash between the same teams.
Last year’s beaten finalists did come back with wins over Naomh Eoin and Naomh Bríd but these two sides failed to make the last four so there is a question mark still to be answered by St Mullins.
“We think we are coming nicely at the right time but we had a couple of difficult games during the group matches. We haven’t been able to get all the team on the field at the one time with injuries and lads travelling. It has been challenging in that regard but we are close to getting everybody back now.
Then came a mauling from the champions, Mount Leinster Rangers, but they looked good when beating Bagenalstown Gaels (3-17 to 0-10).
“We had a nice bounce back from the lads for the Bagenalstown game but it was tough. We are looking no further than Ballinkillen now,” noted O’Meara who confirmed that intercounty player, Paidi O’Shea is doubtful.
Over in Ballinkillen, their manager, Olly Hally is mooching over what has been an excellent group campaign in some ways but then there were some not so good offerings too.
“It has been a kind of a mixed campaign. We have mixed hot and cold. On the first day we were good against St Mullins. They were down a few players. We limped through the next couple of games. We were poor particularly at the start against Bagenalstown and we were rightly beaten on the day,” he recalled.
It is one hit and you are out now. No second chances.
“The major stuff starts now and your season will be judged on that,” agreed the Ballinkillen manager, who would have taken particular interest when St Mullins beat Bagenalstown Gaels in the final game.
There is a doubt about Cormac Lomax and Ian Craddock who have also been out of action for Fenagh in the senior football championship. After that it is a matter of salving niggles.
“I think St Mullins are getting stronger as the season goes. They will be boosted by the return of a few players for them. It will be a huge challenge on Sunday. But we will be quietly confident going in but we will have to perform.” In previous years this would have been an easier one to predict. Maybe not this year. Both sides have been good and at other times have tendered indifferent performances.
St Mullins indicated on the last day against Bagenalstown Gaels that they are peaking at the right time.
St Mullins
Sometimes managers and their teams can play silly mind games with the media asserting that they will only be turning up and articulating that they will be happy if they get a performance. Those sort of sentiments can sound hollow but in the case of Bagenalstown Gaels manager, Peter Doyle, there is a ring of truth to what he says.
Of course, Mount Leinster Rangers, have to be strong favourites to progress to yet another final.
“All you have to do is look at the league part and they came through unscathed. I don’t think they were pushed at all. Look at us. We fell over the line,” he says.
Then again, why does sport fascinate? If it was as predictable as that, then it would not be half as interesting. Doyle accepts that.
“There is no point in turning up if you don’t think you can win. You can tell that to any young fella. You are in it to win it. We will give it a go and we are ready. If we didn’t think we had a chance, we wouldn’t be coming. That is the way it is,” the Bagenalstown man says.
“We are there and that is the main thing. We will give it our best shot. We will turn up. We will give it a go but it is hard not to see Rangers win.”
The two teams in both clubs comprise of dual players. The decision to stagger the hurling and football championships has brought its difficulties. At the moment, the respective hurling managers in both clubs have been frustrated.
“We are going well when we have the players. It is hard with the football as well. This is our tenth week in a row on the go. It will be the eleventh next Sunday.
“It is not just us. Other clubs have it as well. When they are training, they are training well. All we can do now is get through the week and not have any injuries,” Doyle says.
And at the end of the day, when are Bagenalstown Gaels going to break a 66 year gap to 1970 when Erins Own last brought a senior title to the town?
“There are always good hurlers in Bagenalstown. It is about getting the mix right and getting it right on the day. Unfortunately for us, it hasn’t been consistent. That is the big thing. The hurlers are there. It is about being consistent and hopefully this is the start of something,” notes Doyle.
Meanwhile, Niall Bergin, the Mount Leinster Rangers manager, knows that his side will be everybody’s favourites to win this one. He has to put that to one side now. As a manager, he knows the mindset of the players and even though they will see it only as “the next game” it is impossible not to allow a little bit of over-confidence to sink in.
“I suppose our approach, since the start of the year, has been one game at a time. The next game is the semi-final so we will be looking to get a performance and will focus on things that we can do to win that semi-final,|” Bergin says.
He goes on to say he understands that because of what has been achieved in the past, there is a level of expectancy coming down on the players.
“If you want to win county championship you will be spoken of naturally enough. We want to win all the matches we play and I would imagine Bagenalstown, Ballinkillen and St Mullins are the exact same. They want to win all their matches and we are no different.” There is a strong football tradition in the club. The dual role has probably hurt the big ball advocates more this season.
“You always run the risk of injuries but in fairness we work well with the football management. We are pulling from the same group of players and we just want to make sure lads are fit and ready to go. We are managing it the best we can but we are like other dual clubs we will stay injury free.”
Rangers are short Michael Joyce who is a long term injury. Eddie Byrne and Ruari Murphy have been absent for a number of games now and are working hard to make a return.
“Not blessed on the injury front. It will be 11weeks in a row for the players. We have to be smart in training and be careful how we monitor our player,” says Bergin.
With the two managers making similar comments about the possible outcome of what should be a closer game than many people think, it is hard to see anything but a Rangers win. There is a rich vein of talent in the Rangers club which other clubs aspire too. In 2022, Bagenalstown Gaels surprised Rangers beating by three points in the semi-final. That memory might be fresh in some of the players’ minds on both sides. You never know?
Mount Leinster Rangers
