Premier SHC: Jamie Harrington not getting carried away after Blackrock's huge win over Douglas

Blackrock manager Jamie Harrington had a reason to be satisfied after seeing his team easily dispatch city rivals Douglas in the Co-Op SuperStores Premier SHC Group 3 Round 3 clash on Sunday evening.

Ballyanly in Mid-Cork was the venue in what was a very one-sided contest. The Rockies won on a scoreline of 0-33 to 0-11, as they march directly into the last four on scoring difference over Sarsfields.

Douglas finished the group stage with a point. They avoided the relegation play-off. 

“We hurled well in fairness at times and did the spade work in the first half,” Harrington said post-match.

“The pitch was immaculate, but we still had to play up the hill. We started really well and limited Douglas on puckouts and breaking ball from their puckouts. It was just about staying calm and getting the shots off.

“In fairness to Douglas, I think Shane Kingston got very sick during the week so that would have been a major blow to them. We were good and we were clinical in the second half so yeah, I’m very happy with it.

“When our forwards get the right ball, they are good. We have a few stars up there, but in most teams, the stars are normally in defence."

Blackrock had a seven-point buffer at half-time, but in truth, they were comfortable in their own skin without setting the world alight. 

“Our hurling wasn’t great at times, but very happy with the result,” the Blackrock boss says.

“We scored 33 points and had chances of scoring a goal or two. Donal Maher made good stops so all you can do is get the opportunities away and some days they go in and some days they don’t.

“At the back of our minds, we hadn’t discussed scoring difference during the week, but when you get a chance to go straight to the semi-finals, I suppose the players obviously wanted a week off so they wanted to take it. That was kind of the reason it was a bit hectic towards the end but look, we have extra time to prepare for our next match."

Blackrock last won the Premier SHC back in 2020, which ended an 18-year wait. They have a semi-final place now sealed where they will face the winners of Midleton and Glen Rovers.

“We just spoke about it briefly to the players just there, the hard work starts again now. These players are very disciplined. The effort they put in is amazing.

“They know that they need to bring their best stuff into the knockout stages. There’s no issue in saying it, if you're in my job or you're playing for Blackrock, the ambition is to win the county. 

"That’s not arrogance or anything like that. It’s just the expectation that is in the club. We have to embrace that.”