PJ Scully leads Borris-Kilcotton into Laois PIHC final showdown with Ballinakill
The winners will represent Laois in Leinster
With both sides already promoted to the Senior Hurling Championship, Borris-Kilcotton’s PJ Scully knows there’s still a lot to play for in the Premier Intermediate final against Ballinakill. Securing some silverware remains a key objective for Borris-Kilcotton after a few lean years, and they’re determined to put in a strong performance.
Keep an eye on the Leinster Express/ Laois Live website and social medias across the week as we bring you interviews from the players competing in the SHC and PIHC County finals.
“We know we're obviously gone up, but still both teams will want to win it. So we'll definitely be going hard for it on the day, and hopefully, we can get a win because we haven't got much silverware in the last few years, so we're looking to maybe correct that.”
Reflecting on the disappointment of being relegated by The Harps last year, Scully explained that setting clear goals for 2024 was crucial for the club to bounce back. Despite the setback, the team remained focused on their objectives from the outset.
“It was extremely disappointing to go down last year. Like every other year, when we started back up in the field, be in January, February on the cold and wet nights, we just set our target for the start of the year that we would try and win the Premier Intermediate and get promotion. Luckily enough, we've achieved one of them goals, so hopefully, our next goal is obviously to win it come next Saturday and hopefully make a good run of Leinster if we can.”
Borris-Kilcotton’s journey through the championship might appear straightforward on paper, but Scully insists they’ve taken nothing for granted, focusing on each game as it came. This disciplined approach has kept them sharp and prepared for every challenge they’ve faced.
“We just target every game one by one. The first game was obviously against Camross. We probably didn't know too much about Camross’ second team, but we just focused on ourselves and targeted every game one by one. We said that if we could get out of the group stages first and get to a semi-final, we'd be happy enough with that. Luckily enough, that did happen, and then we got our chance there last week against Camross in the semi, and we won that, so now we're in the final. It's just game by game for us really. We respect everybody as best we could, and I know results would say that we are coasting through, but we know ourselves that if we don't perform to our best, teams will catch us and we'll probably get beaten. So hopefully, we'll continue on now and keep winning.”
Looking ahead to the final, Scully anticipates a tough encounter against a familiar opponent in Ballinakill. While they had a comfortable victory in their last meeting, he is mindful that the scoreline didn’t reflect the full story of the game, and they’ll need to be at their best to secure the win.
“It’s going to be a tight battle. We know Ballinakill over the years has always been a tough opponent for us. Even the last game that we did play them in the group stages, I suppose the result doesn't reflect true on the game. They did miss a good few chances on the day, and luckily for us, we did take them. So we know it's not going to be an easy game for us. We know if we don't perform well and they do perform, we probably are going to be defeated. So we're going to have to be up for that. In the game itself, it's probably going to be a battle around the middle third of the field—between the half-back line, half-forward line, and the middle of the park. Usually, whoever can win that and gain the most possession and make the most of it will probably come out on top. We know ourselves that if we can win that, we have a good chance.”
After achieving promotion, the focus will shift to how Borris-Kilcotton can compete in the Senior Championship next year. Scully is optimistic about their prospects, believing that with a few returning players and the continued development of younger talent, they can make a strong impact in 2025.
“We'll be hoping that we can certainly come back next year and have a good go at Senior. It hasn't been that long since we were in a few county finals, and unfortunately for us, we were defeated narrowly. If we can get a few players back on form, which we have done this year, and maybe get a few more back from abroad next year, as well as blooding in a few more young lads, you never know, with a bit of luck, we might be not too far off the Senior. For the moment, we'll just focus on the Premier Intermediate and try and see if we can win that first. Then we'll see what can happen next year.”
Winning the Premier Intermediate final would be a significant boost for the club. Scully emphasised the importance of the occasion for both the players and the community.
“It would be huge. Obviously, the club would prefer not to be in this situation, but it would be nice to have a morale boost for us. It's disappointing in the last few years to be losing a number of finals, but it would be great to get it. There's a lot of lads on that team this year that only have one adult medal in their pocket, so it would be nice to collect that medal. For some of the younger lads to experience winning a county final in O’Moore Park would be great.”