John Horgan on Cork hurling: Glen Rovers honoured memory of Jimmy Lynam with gritty display

Things are starting to unravel a small bit before the final games at the group stage of the various grades of the Cork County hurling championship.

Some teams are already ruled in as far as qualification for the knockout phase goes, others are definitely ruled out and their only concern entering the third game is trying to steer clear of relegation. It all makes for a hectic weekend of hurling across September 4-6, when all will be revealed.

The flagship competition, the Premier SHC has all the pre-season leading contenders still in the mix, big first round losers, Sarsfields, the Glen and the 'Barrs still firmly in the chase after remounting the horse following victories over Newtownshandrum, Kanturk and Bride Rovers respectively.

Those games were highly pressurised, effectively a must-win situation for all three.

There was a marked improvement from all of them following their opening assignments, nothing is fully sorted, but all a team needs at this stage is giving themselves every chance in the final group game of extending their championship campaign.

Who will ultimately prevail in the latter days of October remains a difficult poser to answer and all that can be said at this still very early juncture is the likelihood that one from Blackrock, Barrs, Glen, Sars and Midleton. 

Imokilly, if they get the better of Seandún on Sunday in the final of the Divisions/Colleges section, cannot be ruled out either, even if they may not be force they were previously when winning four titles between 2017 and 2024.

And, of course, Charleville, on the evidence thus far, must be in the frame too, two wins from two and very much in the equation to go straight through to a semi-final alongside the Rockies and Midleton, who have two from two as well.

If the question is asked, who has been the most impressive team so far one would have to say that Blackrock have been doing very good business.

They did a fine job in getting past the Glen in their opener and last Sunday they were well over Fr O'Neill's in Midleton, putting 3-29 on the board with a little bit of gloss being removed from the display with the concession of two late O'Neill's goals.

Not too much sleep will be lost in Church Road over that, the game had long been put to bed by then.

The scoring highlight of last weekend surely belonged to Robbie Cotter with a haul of 3-2 in a Man of the Match performance.

Alan Connolly too deserves praise in bouncing back from the huge disappointment of Cork's loss to Galway and a mention too of PJ Linehan alongside Michael O'Halloran, both rifling over a quintet of points in a very emphatic performance from the Rockies.

In stark contrast to all of that, Fr O'Neill's have a huge battle on their hands now to avoid being involved in the relegation quagmire and they must get something from their final group game against the Glen.

SURVIVAL MODE 

In the week leading up to the Glen's make-or-break encounter with Kanturk there was a bit of apprehension in Blackpool, the importance of that game could not have been emphasised enough in the great hurling homes out there.

Kanturk, an always difficult opponent to overcome at a rural venue, this was going to be a huge test of the Glen's credentials.

And that's the way it panned out on a day that the Glen were mourning the passing of one of their greatest ever clubmen, Jimmy Lynam. Having once had the great pleasure of being in his company, he was out and out Glen, a star Cork player too back in the '50s who served in many different roles in the club where his legacy will endure.

A great among so many in that great club.

And the result he would have so much desired came to pass, a two-point victory was scured in a stern examination of their credentials.

Patrick Horgan was restricted to just a point from play, a very rare occurence but the fine scoring contribution from Eoin O'Leary, Simon Kennefick and Dean Brosnan provided the win and they have to be in a strong position now entering their final group game against Fr O'Neill's.

But it's all going down to the wire in a group that the Rockies are clear leaders in.

It's certainly going to be a nervous final day for quite a few clubs across the various grades whether qualification or relegation issues must be sorted.

One intriguing game comes at PIHC level where Cloyne are sorted to be joined by Castlemartyr or Dungourney in one of the groups.

Both are amalgamated at underage level, they reside in the same parish and the stakes this time are sky high when they collide in Killeagh.

Parish pride, bragging rights, all that kind of stuff on the table.

Once again, the whole format has proved to be a resounding success, just what was the requirement at the outset of the season, everything and anything hinging on the final set of group games on the final weekend.

All the clubs involved are fully aware of what they have to do, for some, it will be onwards and upwards. For others, it will be all over for the best part of 12 months, just a few weeks since they set off on the journey.

Maybe that's a slight flaw in the process but against that every club gets three games to make their case, the positives certainly outweigh any negatives which, to be fair, are very few.

NOVEL

Just the one game this weekend, the final of the Divisions/Colleges section between Imokilly and Seandún, a novel pairing in many ways, the most successful division against one who have made a great effort to assemble a solid team again.

Imokilly will be the hottest of fancies but in their semi-final win over Muskerry, Seandun exhibited great spirit, coming through by the slenderest of margins after extra-time.

In the overall scheme of things the outcome was a significant boost for the junior clubs in the city and at the final whistle one could see what it meant.

This section of the championship has been struggling in recent times, players not being made available by their club management teams, withdrawals and very lopsided encounters.

Imokilly, to be fair, continue to make the effort from one year to the next and that has been reflected in their results.

Seandún have been in and out of the championship down the years but chairman Mick Buckley and secretary Eddie Murphy, among others, have got the show back on the road.

On Sunday night, the hope is that they will test Imokilly's credentials, give a fine account of themselves and get the support that their effort deserves.

Whatever happens, the winners will be the first team into the quarter-finals and the likelihood is that it will be the East Cork team again.

And if that is the case, no team will fancy meeting them when the business end of the campaign unfolds.

But first things first, expect Seandún to give it their best shot and who knows.