North v City/East: How venues impact performance and results in the Cork PSHC

Charleville and Sarsfields square up in Castletowroche tomorrow for a Premier Senior quarter-final that feels like a mesh of the old storylines. North Cork ruggedness against East Cork silk.

An hour later, just down the road in Mourneabbey, Newtownshandrum and Erin’s Own will scrap in a relegation playoff.

Out will come the clichés. The North bring the muscle, the city and east bring the skill. Half-truths at best, though not without some basis. And what happens when they collide? Does the ground itself tip the scales?

We’ve crunched the numbers, and what better pool to draw from than the Premier Senior Hurling Championship since the new format began in 2020.

From the north, that means Newtownshandrum, Charleville, Kanturk and Ballyhea. From the east and city: St Finbarr’s, Glen Rovers, Blackrock, Douglas, Midleton, Sarsfields, Erin’s Own, Na Piarsaigh, Bishopstown, Carrigtwohill and Fr O’Neill’s.

Across five seasons, they’ve clashed 47 times. Seven in the city and east – Páirc Uí Rinn, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Bride Rovers – the rest, 40, on northern sod in Mallow, Fermoy, Mourneabbey, Castletownroche, Kilshannig, Banteer, Ballyclough or Grenagh.

The averages tilt heavily one way.

In the city, east/city clubs win more than seven out of ten (71.4%), drawing one in seven. They put up 25.6 points per game and concede just 19.6. A cushion of six. On neutral paper it reads like home advantage. Páirc Uí Rinn and Páirc Uí Chaoimh are comfort zones.

EAST/CITY MAJORITY

Shift the stage north, and the edge blunts but doesn’t vanish. Forty games there, east/city still win the majority – 55%. The margins tighter, the contests grittier. Their scoring average dips to 24.4, conceding 21.2, a difference trimmed to three.

For the North, the pattern is less flattering. At East/City venues, they win only 14.3% of the time, and concede more than 25 points per outing. Even on their own doorstep, the uplift is minimal.

In 40 northern games, their win rate is just 25%. The scoring average creeps up to 21.2, but the concessions remain heavy.

Venue matters, but only one way. The city suits the city and east. The North hasn’t been able to turn Mallow or Mourneabbey into fortresses.

Yet within the averages, there are a few quirks.

Kanturk have been the most competitive. Their 2022 win over Midleton in Fermoy, 2-19 to 3-15, was the joint first group stage win for a north club against a city/east side, along with Newtown’s win over Douglas that same day.

Kanturk have beaten Erin’s Own, drawn twice with Midleton too, and took down Glen Rovers in that relegation playoff.

Just as often, though, the defeats mount – to Sarsfields, Blackrock and the Barrs most recently in Mourneabbey.

Charleville have pushed Douglas and Erin’s Own close, even beaten Douglas in Mallow. But St Finbarr’s and Midleton have handled them comfortably enough, and group-stage success has been rare. Come relegation time, though, they’ve been ruthless, with three wins from three.

That is the one anomaly. Every relegation playoff since 2020 has pitted north against east/city, and all but one have gone the northern way.

Which brings it back to Newtownshandrum tomorrow. First time in the drop-zone for them, against Erin’s Own. Newtown have picked wins – Douglas, Glen Rovers – but also a record filled with defeats to Blackrock, Sarsfields, Barrs, Midleton.

Ballyhea, meanwhile, lasted one season in the top flight. Four defeats in 2020 ensured they were the first team to go down under the new format.

As for the city and east? They’ve been relentlessly consistent. Blackrock carry a perfect record against the North. The Barrs unbeaten too, a single draw with Charleville the only blot. Midleton’s big wins are tempered by Kanturk’s resistance. Douglas and Glen have slipped occasionally, but both still hold the majority share.

The summary line since 2020 is brutal in its simplicity:

East/city win 71% in the city, 55% in the north.

North win 25% in the north, 14% in the city.

One in five games played on northern ground end in a draw. That’s what the venues do provide – contests that drag and bite, margins shaved in injury time rather than galloped across the hour. The Barrs’ late surge against Kanturk a fortnight ago, Midleton’s squeeze on Charleville proof of that.

Tomorrow, the clichés will be wheeled out again. But the five-year records say this much: east and city clubs travel well, their game holding wherever it lands. The North, for all the talk of iron shoulders, haven’t managed to make their venues count.

Unless, of course, it’s a relegation playoff.