'It's job done, so onwards and upwards to next week'- Borris-Kilcotton manager Paudie Bourke

Borris-Kilcotton secured a home semi-final against Kilkenny champions Lisdowney with a dominant 12-point win over Westmeath champions Fr Daltons in the AIB Leinster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship on Saturday in Rochfortbridge.

Winning manager Paudie Bourke reflected on the result, emphasising the importance of advancing and acknowledging the need to improve ahead of next weekend.

“Job done. It probably wasn’t our best performance, but yeah, job done. Winter hurling, it's tough going, and they were a very physical side. Job done is probably as much as you'd say about it today,” he said.

The Laois Premier Intermediate Hurling champions faced a six-week gap before the game, which Bourke addressed with a mix of challenge matches and strong training sessions to maintain sharpness.

“We've played three or four challenge games, trained pretty well, but in the middle of November, it's a slog to be honest out there. A six-week break was tough going. Hopefully today will bring us on another bit because it's going to be Lisdowney next week, so we're going to have to up our game considerably if we're going to challenge the Kilkenny champions,” Bourke said.

While not at their best, Borris-Kilcotton finished both halves strongly, scoring 1-3 unanswered each time, which proved decisive.

“We finished both halves strong, which was good. We probably put a little bit of a gloss on it there at the end, probably a little bit hard on Fr Daltons. It was a tough contest. We've a lot of improving to do for next week if we're going to take down a side of the calibre of Lisdowney. We'll get back to work Tuesday night and we'll go again,” Bourke added.

Borris-Kilcotton also started brightly, registering four points in the opening 11 minutes while holding Fr Daltons scoreless until the 13th minute.

“We defended well, we kept the scoreboard ticking over. We made plenty of mistakes there too and probably left a good few chances out there. It’s a quarter-final, it's job done, so onwards and upwards to next week, please God,” Bourke said.

Looking ahead to the semi-final, Lisdowney will make the short trip to Laois, with Bourke under no illusions about the challenge his team faces.

“Any team that comes out of Kilkenny are generally the favourites to win this competition. We haven't really looked at them, with us being in a quarter-final against Fr Daltons, we had to respect them fully. We'll get looking at them. A fellow Tipp man, John Carroll, is over them, so they'll be very well prepared. It'll be a huge task for our boys. We'll go in as underdogs and hopefully we'll give it a real good lash and represent the county well,” Bourke concluded.

Borris-Kilcotton and Lisdowney will throw-in at 1.30pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park on Saturday, November 23.