Something for everyone in the audience in weekend feast of hurling in Tipperary

A bumper attendance at Dundrum on Sunday saw Cashel King Cormacs claim bragging rights over Boherlahan/Dualla in a keenly-disputed County Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship preliminary quarter-final. A strong finish by the West side tilted the balance in a finely-poised game where the teams were level on ten occasions.

The prize for the King Cormacs is a quarter-final date with Thurles Sarsfields on this Saturday at Holycross. It will be part of a hectic weekend of fixtures, with quarter-finals galore on the menu, as well as some key relegation ties.

For those bemoaning the split season and the early conclusion of inter-county fare, might I suggest they get out and about and sample the thrills of club action across the country. This is club season where the real heartbeat of the Association pulses through every parish. The inter-county stuff may be the shop window but the club scene is the engine room driving the Association. Sadly, for some split season critics the club doesn’t appear to exist.

Anyway, the lack of counter attractions helped bring big numbers to Dundrum on Sunday. The scoreboard labelled it as a Mid versus West game, a clever hyping of the inter-divisional aspect rather than using the club names.

For such near neighbours these clubs have met very rarely, with Boherlahan having the edge in previous encounters. This time Cashel got one back and deservedly so on the overall run of play.

The Mid side got off to a flier and were four-nil ahead after just ten minutes. However, against the wind the King Cormacs settled and in a two-minute burst took the lead when they hit 1-2. Ross Bonnar got the goal when the Boherlahan defence was easily prised open. Goalie, Darragh Lacey, was unlucky not to keep the shot out; the ‘keeper made two fine saves in this half, depriving Devon Ryan and later on David McGrath.

The play was lively even if the quality was, at best, mixed. Tossy Ryan’s free-taking was an important element for Boherlahan, though Euan Ryan and Seamie Leahy pitched in with two apiece in this period.

Boherlahan were a mite slow to reset for puckouts and conceded several short ones to Cathal Quinn and company. Devon Ryan, for a spell in this first half, was causing the Mid a lot of bother too. The net effect was that Cashel were shading it coming up to half time before Boherlahan worked a major break.

A monster Ger O’Dwyer free from deep inside his own half dropped into the Cashel goal area, where Darragh Hickey met it sweetly overhead for a smashing goal. It was an old-style strike, the type rarely seen nowadays and more’s the pity.

Spurred by that break, Boherlahan retired two-up at the interval. It was a modest lead, given the wind factor, but psychologically important to strike so timely in the approach to half time.

The third quarter was pretty even. Eoghan Connolly landed some huge frees for Cashel while Tossy Ryan likewise kept the Boherlahan side of the ledger ticking over with some excellent free-taking.

Ultimately the match came down to a decisive final ten minutes. On the 53-minute mark another Eoghan Connolly long-range missile split the posts to level matters for the tenth and final time. In the remaining minutes Cashel outscored Boherlahan by five points to one.

It was a winning surge that the Mid side couldn’t counter. Ronan Connolly stepped up with three crucial points from play; David McGrath and Ross Bonnar supplied the others against a solitary reply from Tossy Ryan.

In the end Cashel’s greater efficiency and better knowhow carried the day. They had key players too who excelled. Eoghan Connolly was influential around midfield while Ronan’s late contribution was hugely important. Cathal Quinn, back from injury, had a fine hour and Ross Bonner hit 1-4 from play. Paddy Fahy, another injury returnee, caused Boherlahan problems with his strong running. Oisin O’Donoghue also caught the eye and overall they were that bit slicker than Boherlahan in movement and passing.

The Mid side will be disappointed but a broader perspective on their year will be more comforting. In their first season at Premier level, they adjusted well to lay a strong foundation for the future. The loss of Dylan Fogarty for this game was major but they never lacked for spirit and with a bit more composure on their goal chances might have pulled off a shock.

Tellingly, however, Boherlahan managed a mere two points from second half play, both coming from James Kirby. By contrast Cashel hit eight from open play in the same period. Therein lay an essential difference between the teams – the King Cormacs had that little extra which made all the difference.

Cashel now face unbeaten Thurles Sarsfields in the quarter-final. Sars’ got to last year’s decider and are an ever-present force in this grade so the King Cormacs face a tough challenge. I don’t expect there will be much between any of the teams in the knockouts so anyone who finds form stands a strong chance of progressing.

Incidentally, the bookies have Upperchurch/Drombane installed as strong favourites to win this grade and rebound to senior level. They lost to Swans in their opening round but recovered with useful wins over Silvermines and Ballina to earn their quarter-final slot. They’ll be favourites against Eire Og Annacarty at the weekend.

Carrick Swan are second favourites in the betting followed by Cashel KC, Sarsfields, Gortnahoe, Eire Og, Burgess and finally St Mary’s as 16/1 outsiders. The odds on offer for the Clonmel club seem generous. They may be missing key players like Seamus Kennedy and James Morris but they have come through their group unbeaten. They face Gortnahoe/Glengoole on Sunday at Clonoulty.

In the top flight there are fascinating quarter-finals in prospect, featuring double headers at the Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. It will be a feast of hurling. I note that the bookies have now elevated Kiladangan to outright favouritism for the title. That certainly makes more sense than the three-way tie I mentioned last week.

The Puckane side face Moycarkey on Saturday, with few offering the Mid team much hope. Eddie Brennan’s side are the one surprise package in the last eight and they’ve certainly drawn the short straw in this fixture.

From what I’ve seen of Moycarkey they’re big, strong and athletic so I’d expect them to have a physical shot at the reigning champions. It’s difficult, however, to see them having the hurling to sustain the challenge. Wouldn’t it be some upset if the Mid overturned the North here?

People will expect the other quarters to be much tighter. The bookies list Sarsfields as second favourites, ahead of Loughmore in third place; I’d reverse that order but not by much.

Loughmore face Kilruane MacDonaghs, the 2021 champions versus the 2022 winners. The North side had wins over Drom/Inch and Borris-Ileigh but fell to Toomevara in their final round. Loughmore for their part remain unbeaten following wins over Lorrha, Holycross and Nenagh Eire Og.

Thurles Sarsfields will be the bookies’ favourite in their clash with Eire Og. The Nenagh side remain a conundrum, forever in contention, forever failing to deliver. You’d expect this to be a decent flowing game between two side who like open hurling. I wasn’t over impressed with what I saw from Sarsfields earlier but until proven otherwise they deserve favouritism here.

Both sides, I suspect, will be happy with the pairing in the last quarter-final: Toomevara versus JK Brackens. Toome’ lost their opening round to Borris-Ileigh but recovered well with wins over Drom/Inch and Kilruane.

For their part Brackens ran riot against Templederry in their opening round, hitting 6-26. Crucially they had a six-point win over Clonoulty in round 2 before crashing to a twenty-point whipping from Kiladangan in the final bout. It’s erratic form, so they’ll need something steadier against favourites Toome’.

A sumptuous feast of hurling then in store, something for everyone in the audience.