Cork PSHC by the numbers: The largest winning margins since 2020
Tadgh Deasy, Blackrock is first to this breaking ball ahead of Barry Murphy, Bishopstown during their Co-op SuperStores Cork Premier SHC match at Páirc Uí Rinn in 2023. Picture Dan Linehan
The Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship is one of the most exciting club hurling competitions in the country – and not just for the quality of hurling on display.
The current format plays a big role too, striking a fine balance between cut-throat nature, but without everything hinging on a single group game. It has also produced remarkable variety at the top – five different county champions in the past five seasons. Most games are tightly contested, especially in the knockout stages.
That said, there have been some heavily one-sided scorelines at every stage of the championship since the Premier Senior tag came along.
Contrary to what you might expect, the margins in finals haven’t always been razor-thin. The closest decider came two years ago when Sarsfields edged Midleton 0-21 to 0-19. Midleton’s three-point win over Glen Rovers in 2021 was another tense affair.
The other three finals in this era were decided by at least six points. Imokilly beat Sars by that margin last year, while Blackrock saw off Glen Rovers by eight in 2020 to claim the inaugural Premier Senior title.
The largest final-winning margin came in 2022, when St Finbarr’s beat Blackrock 2-14 to 1-7 – an 11-point victory in dire Páirc Uí Chaoimh conditions.
The Togher outfit also hold the record for the biggest semi-final win, beating Newtownshandrum by 11 points on their way to that 2022 title – the only semi-final to be decided by double digits. The next biggest wins came from Imokilly (by nine over Blackrock last year) and Blackrock (by nine over Erin’s Own in 2022).
Three semi-finals have been decided by just a single point: Sarsfields’ win over Midleton in 2023, their extra-time triumph over Imokilly in 2022, and Blackrock’s extra-time victory over UCC in 2020 (3-26 to 0-34).
With 15 quarter-finals over five seasons, the range of results is wider. Imokilly’s 13-point demolition of Douglas in 2023 stands as the biggest win. At the other end of the scale, the closest was the candystripes’ penalty shootout loss to Blackrock in 2022, the second PSHC game decided by penalties (the only other being Charleville’s relegation playoff win over Carrigtwohill in 2021).
Only two other quarter-finals have been decided by 10 or more points; St Finbarr’s winning by that many over Charleville in 2023 and Blackrock’s 10-point defeat of Douglas in 2021.
Only two quarter-finals have been decided by a point, Erin’s Own’s 0-16 to 1-12 win over Sars in 2020, and the Glen’s 1-15 to 1-14 defeat of Imokilly the year after.
The group stages have played host to the most lopsided of results, most notably Blackrock’s 2-33 to 0-10 dismantling of Bishopstown in 2023. The 29-point margin between the teams is the largest of any PSHC game.
The second biggest margin was put up by St Finbarr’s, when they defeated Carrigtwohill by 3-26 to 0-10 in their final group game of 2020, a total difference of 25 points.
The next two greatest margins of victory both appeared in t the group stages of last year’s championship.
Sarsfields’ opening-night demolition of Douglas leaving a difference of 22 points, with the final score 1-31 to 0-12, while the other game was a first-round fixture in that same group, when Newtownshandrum beat Bishopstown 5-13 to 0-8, winning by a total of 20 points.
The fifth highest group stage winning margin belongs to Midleton, after they beat Ballyhea 4-23 to 1-13, a total difference of 19 points, in 2020.
There have only been five relegation playoffs – of which Charleville have been involved in three and never lost – so naturally they possess the greatest winning margin, from their 2-27 to 0-13 win over Na Piarsaigh in 2022, a 20-point win.
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