John Horgan on Cork hurling: Picking the matches worth catching across a key weekend for clubs

The current format of the Cork County club hurling championship has brought an extra dimension to the proceedings in the five grades from Premier Senior down to Premier Junior.

That is because it has thrown so many local derby encounters, games that have an extra appeal to supporters because of the close proximity of the clubs involved. Outside of the city derby games in the PSHC, this column counted 10 games this weekend featuring clubs from the same division.

Not surprisingly, the East Cork division leads the way with six games listed that have huge appeal and that will bring huge attendances to the various venues. It's a pity that there is going to be a clash of fixtures but with such a large volume of games to be fitted in that is going to happen.

Let's start with the Premier Intermediate grade because the fine venue of Carrigtwohill is hosting a double-header featuring Cloyne against Castlemartyr, which is preceded by Dungourney and Lisgoold tomorrow night.

All four clubs were involved in a previous double-header in Midleton in the opening round when Cloyne got the better of Dungourney and Castlemartyr secured the verdict against Lisgoold.

The second round in all the grades could be looked at as moving day when the picture of who emerges into the knockout stage becomes that bit clearer.

A second win in the group puts a club in a very advantageous position, almost certain qualification, while a second loss has a team in a very precarious situation and requiring a lot of things to go right for them in the third and final round of the group stage and that still probably won't be enough.

So, whoever comes out on top in the Cloyne and Castlemartyr encounter will, in all probability, be through to the knockout stage. Conversely, the losers of the Dungourney and Lisgoold tie will find themselves in a fairly dodgy spot.

That set of results is, of course, stating the obvious but nothing will be cut and dried until the group stage is concluded.

Predicting the outcome of any local derby is that bit more difficult because the sight of the opposition jersey in that situation can elevate the level of effort of the players in trying to secure the bragging rights.

Billy McGann, Barry Lawton and Mike Kelly did the bulk of the scoring for Castlemartyr the last day while a goal from Michael Cahill deep into stoppage time provided the win for Cloyne over Dungourney.

KEY

Dungourney will be placing a lot of dependency on Jack Leahy to re-ignite their challenge against Lisgoold and he was hugely influential in Imokilly's progress to the final of the divisions/colleges section of the PSHC. Clubmate Cillian O'Callaghan was too while Cork star Diarmuid Healy will be a key presence for Lisgoold.

For a neutral, this Carrigtwohill double-header is a very attractive proposition.

Staying with the PIHC, there's also huge potential attached to the meeting of very close neighbours, Castlelyons and Watergrasshill and the splendid Rathcormac venue should be packed to the rafters for this one.

As things stand currently, the Hill are in the driving seat having defeated Ballyhea in their opening game while Castlelyons, last season's runners-up, lost out by the slenderest of margins to Blarney.

Therefore, it's again stating the obvious to state that Castlelyons are under a bit of pressure here and a victory is almost imperative.

There are quality hurlers on both sides, Sean Desmond, Daire O'Leary, Kevin O'Neill and Adam Murphy for the Hill while Castlelyons will look to the experience of Jack and Colm Barry, Niall O'Leary, Colm Spillane and Alan Fenton.

A humdinger is surely on the cards here.

Moving further afield, Mid Cork has the nearest of neighbours, Ballincollig and Éire Óg on a collision course at Riverstick on Sunday.

Both had contrasting results in their PIHC openers, Ballincollig impressive after a very slow start in their victory over Bishopstown and Éire Óg losing by 10 points to another Muskerry team, Aghabullogue.

Stephen Willis, James Dwyer and Tadhg O'Connell will be central to Ballincollig progressing further but they suffered a major blow with news Cork panellist Brian Keating is out as he undergoes surgery for an ankle injury. 

Experienced coach Eddie Murphy will be seeking a much more balanced return from Éire Óg as a unit here. On the first round results, Ballincollig have to be the fancy.

UNMISSABLE

Continuing on the local derby front, the Senior A get-together of Erin's Own and Killeagh at Castlemartyr on Sunday could well be the best game of the entire weekend.

Erin's Own are seeking a quick return to the top flight after last season's relegation and are fully aware of the importance of doing just that. That's easier said than done, of course, as Na Piarsaigh have found out.

Erin's Own had a fine win over the Farranree outfit while Killeagh did the business against Fermoy a few weeks back. Cork's Robbie O'Flynn delivered five points in their victory with Conor Lenihan posting 1-5.

This is very much a new look Erin's Own side following the departure of some of the club's finest ever servants and that opening victory was just what was required.

Killeagh are building towards being a very good team again with Ryan and Dylan McCarthy and Eoghan Keniry, while Barry Walsh should be in the red jersey of Cork for a long time to come.

The Castlemartyr venue has been upgraded to one of the finest in the county and these two teams are well capable of giving the huge crowd that is expected a game to remember.

In the Intermediate A grade, Russell Rovers and Aghada are in direct opposition in another seemingly endless list of Imokilly derbies and capping it off, Sars second string tackle Youghal, another team seeking to relive better days.

In West Cork, the clash of Argideen Rangers and Ballyroe should be very interesting in a massive hurling weekend, embellished by so many local derby games.

And the Cork management are sure to be out and about in their search for fresh material that might have something to offer.

OPTIONS

Squad depth is the priority for all inter-county teams and while Cork were perceived to have one of the strongest around this season, it still did not yield the dividend that was required.

Some might suggest that the panel might have been used to greater effect in the final 20 minutes of some games but that's not here nor there now.

Finding fresh blood is no easy task and the gap between club hurling and the standards that Limerick have set in the past number of years is vast.

The club season is still very much in its infancy but over the coming weeks and months, it's imperative that players put up their hand for consideration.

In all the grades on Leeside, there are plenty of good hurlers, many might be called in the next pre-season but how many will be chosen?

By October 18 we should all be a little wiser.

And finally, the absence of GAA coverage, the Irish Examiner and Echo excluded, is pretty scant at the moment. No inter-county activity for so long has to be a cause for further debate.