John Horgan on Cork hurling: I might have revise my predictions after thrilling opening weekend

An interesting weekend, to say the very least in the Premier Senior Hurling Championship in Cork.

You wished you could have been in four or five different places at one time. There were fixtures galore in all the grades with the opening round in both the Premier and Senior A grade being played on Friday and Saturday.

All 12 teams in both were in action which, of course, means that, rather surprisingly, there was no game in either competition on the Sunday. Maybe that makes sense to some but one has to ask, why nothing in those grades on the Sunday?

Anyway, the whole thing is up and running and there were plenty of talking points in the aftermath.

This column made his way to Páirc Uí Rinn on Friday night for the clash of Midleton and the Barrs, two of the more fancied sides to be very much involved at the business end of the campaign. 

At the conclusion, there was no disputing the outcome, Midleton thoroughly deserving winners and delivering an early message that they are hell-bent on going one better than last season when they fell short in the final against Sarsfields.

The performance against their city rivals was very well balanced throughout the field and a return of 25 points was damn good scoring.

Not for the first time, the standout performer was Conor Lehane followed very closely by midfielder Killian McDermott. The Clare man rifled over a half dozen points from play, a very impressive haul by any standards.

Lehane illustrated once again that while the Cork ship has sailed for him, he remains one of the best club forwards in the county, his skill levels at times a joy to watch.

A worthy mention too for Paul Connaughton who posted three points from play, all three nicely delivered. Of course, there was a distinct lack of goalscoring opportunities with both Brion Saunderson for Midleton and Shane Hurley for the Barrs hardly tested at all.

The Barrs will be disappointed with the return from their Cork stars. Brian Hayes and Willie Buckley restricted to just three points between them.

In the group stage of any competition, it goes without saying that the opening game is hugely important.

A first game loss puts a side under immediate pressure, the margin for error reduced considerably and the message for the Barrs has to be 'must do better' the next time in a group that also contains Bride Rovers and Newcestown, nothing easy there surely.

One might still fancy them to get out of the group but there are no guarantees with just the top two extending their hurling season.

Any collision between the big three in the city evokes memories of times now well past but there is always that bit of added interest when they encounter each other.

And so it was last Saturday night when the Rockies and the Glen emerged from opposite dressing rooms.

Maybe the epics between the two from another era are no more but this was still a compelling game, mainly because it was in the melting pot right up to the 63rd minute when the last whistle sounded.

And it was the Rockies who had every reason to celebrate, playing with a man down for an extended period, the entire second half, they manufactured a terrific victory over a Glen side that were unable to capitalise on the extra body.

That, of course, can transpire at times and the Rockies dug as deep as they have done for a long time to secure the vital brace of points on offer.

The big takeaway of the night was surely the character exhibited by the Church Road team.

When they went a man down, losing Fionn Coleman to a straight red card they were trailing by five points but by half-time they were just the bare minimum in arrears. A scoring return of 1-10 represented a good night's work from AlanConnolly with Robbie Cotter and Michael O'Halloran making a fine impact on the scoreboard too.

A word too on keeper Gavin Connolly who made a terrific save in the latter stages and in a game of such tight margins it was a crucial moment.

Patrick Horgan was restricted to just three points from play, two of them well executed, but you felt that if he could have had more possessions he would have done damage.

Promising

The Glen's goal was sublimely put away by Cork player Micheál Mullins, who was wearing the number 12 jersey and overall he looked quite impressive. He is certainly one to keep tabs on going forward in this championship when he seeks to enhance his claims for a red jersey next season.

Eoin Downey was always good for a point for Cork from his wing-back berth and he did better here, notching three points in the number seven jersey, all very eye-catching in their delivery.

Similar to all first game losers, the Glen must now reinvent themselves over the next few weeks in a group that contains Kanturk, impressive winners over Fr O'Neill's in the other game.

In a previous column, we listed five clubs, Sarsfields, Midleton, Blackrock, St Finbarr's and Glen Rovers as the leading contenders for the PSHC title.

Well, three of that five have now lost their opening game, another loss in Round Two and it would almost certainly be curtains as far as qualification from the group goes.

Of course, the main topic of conversation over the weekend was the defeat of holders Sarsfields against Charleville.

Maybe that was a huge surprise to some but should it have been.

Charleville were quarter-final losers to the side that they defeated last Saturday night, Sars bettering them by four points on that occasion.

In their group this time they were probably ahead of Douglas and Newtownshandrum as far as qualification was concerned and they'll be even more fancied now.

For Sars, though, there's work to be done when they encounter the aforementioned Douglas and Newtown who are already on the board with a point apiece.

In the three top grades over the weekend, the spotlight would have fallen on the Cork players involved and there is surely no doubt that topping that list of impressive performers was Darragh Fitzgibbon for Charleville.

His haul of 11 points featured some sublime scores from general play to go along with his exemplary free-taking. In any Team of the Week, he's an automatic choice along Midleton duo, Lehane and McDermott, and Alan Connolly.

As stated, one cannot be in many places at the one time and we have to depend on others to inform us on the goings on we could not be present at.

One player that stood tall in the Senior A championship was Adam Murphy for Watergrasshill in their fine win over Ballyhea. Murphy is a very good hurler and has been for a while and his haul of six points from play surely is worthy of mention.

And finally, Barry Walsh for Killeagh secured 1-4 in their fine win over Fermoy and Robbie O'Flynn posted 0-5 for Erin's Own against Na Piarsaigh.