Ballinhassig expect to have Darragh and Adam O'Sullivan back for PIHC clash with Ballymartle

Ballinhassig are hoping to have Cork U20 duo Adam and Darragh O'Sullivan back for the all-important clash with Ballymartle in the PIHC on August 25.

While younger brother Adam missed the outing against Dungourney due to injury, older brother Darragh, who travelled on a J1 to San Francisco and lined out with Na Fianna, was unable to play due to the conditions of the temporary transfer.

He was available to play from midnight on the day of the loss to the Imokilly side, which means their derby with Ballymartle takes on huge importance in terms of trying to make the PIHC knockout phase.

The All-Ireland winning youngsters were badly missed in the one-point loss, where Ger Collins did the bulk of the scoring, with another Cork U20 Jack Leahy leading the line with aplomb for Dungourney.

Certainly, outplayed by their East opponents in the recent clash in Cobh, Hassig hurling coach, John O’Sullivan said: "The reality is that we only played for the last 10 minutes of the game in Cobh. Something we'll need to talk about at training, and identify why and how we can fix."

Entering what promises to be something of a fierce encounter as they face Ballymartle in the upcoming PIHC, anything less than an hour-long octane performance could see Ballinhassig left with all but the blues to sing.

Ballymartle, who are under the watchful eyes of Noel Sheehan and Joe Delaney, brother of Kilkenny star, JJ, are in a much stronger position than their neighbours on the basis of a 2-23 to 2-17 success against last year's runners-up Kilworth.

There is form in this derby fixture and while it dates back to the '70s, the lively contests are long remembered in the Carrigdhoun division.

Some of that competitive spirit bubbled to the surface in their league encounter recently, with Ballymartle taking the spoils by 3-18 to 3-15 and both sides had a man dismissed.

Ballinhassig will also need no reminder that five consecutive scores from the Riverstick men late on allowed them to claim the all-important league points in their recent meeting.

YOUTHFUL

If Ballinhassig have an advantage in the upcoming clash it should be age, but Ballymartle hold a few aces up their sleeves, with Brian and Seamus Corry, Darren McCarthy and TJ Murphy not quite finished yet.

More than once in the recent league campaign, Bally have sprung Seamus Corry from the bench to the centre-back role, including encounters with Ballinhassig and Inniscarra.

Fresh from his recent fine performance with Cork, Patrick Collins will be expected to be his usual dependable self. The problem for Ballinhassig is up the other end, where they failed to find the net against Dungourney, with both Brian Lynch and Ger Collins not taking goal opportunities.

It's here that the Blues will be hoping that the O’Sullivan brothers' introduction can have a positive effect allowing for a more balanced side.

It’s certainly a big ask for Adam and Darragh but having been starved of success since 2012 this game might yet prove to be something of a watershed in Ballinhassig’s season.