John Horgan on hurling: Erin's Own look men on a mission but Carrigtwohill clash will be a cracker

There is always the fear that when a club loses its status in a grade of hurling, it can prove very difficult to regain it.

Some have done it the following season. Glen Rovers are the prime example when they were relegated from Premier Senior ranks, they succeeded in bouncing back in the shortest time possible.

It's a huge blow for any club to lose its status. It can affect many things in that club, attracting new membership, generating greater funding and more.

So, the message is quite clear, get back on the horse that previously had brought you success as quickly as possible.

Between 2006 and 2011, Erin's Own and Carrigtwohill shared three county senior titles between them, the Caherlag club in 2006 and 2007, Carrigtwohill in 2011.

It was a golden age in both clubs but success can often be followed by more difficult times and in recent years, both have suffered relegation from premier senior ranks to the grade below, Senior A. Not the end of the world, of course, a time, however, to reinvent.

And as a result of last weekend's happenings both clubs have now been presented with the opportunity of top-flight hurling again.

Carrigtwohill and Erin's Own will meet in the Senior A final in a few weeks, an East Cork showdown between clubs that are just a few miles apart.

They shared the same stage last Saturday night in the two semi-finals, Carrig against Blarney and Erin's Own taking on Watergrasshill.

We were guaranteed one East Cork club in the final but Carrig were facing a stiff challenge from championship favourites, Blarney.

Blarney carried that tag because of what had transpired at the group stage, moving straight to the semi-final, Carrigtwohill not as impressive, losing to Inniscarra and being fortunate enough to be in a penalty shootout with Na Piarsaigh which they held their nerve to emerge from.

Some had put them down as rank outsiders against Blarney, that was difficult to fathom because those of us who have been familiar with Carrigtwohill teams down the years know how resilient they can be, how hugely proud of that jersey they wear.

We all know now what came to pass in that semi-final, Carrigtwohill producing, by far their best display of the championship to deservedly secure their place in the final.

The team has been operating without their star player, Sean Walsh who has been marked absent because of injury but in his absence, quite a few others have carried the torch with enormous grit and determination.

Patrick Walsh was outstanding last weekend, belting over six points from open play, James Mulcahy nailed some big frees and Cian O'Riordan was hugely conspicuous too with a quintet of points.

Aaron Walsh-Barry led the defensive unit with aplomb in what was a unified team effort that got them through against a Blarney team bereft of Padraigh Power, a significant loss no doubt.

Fifteen years ago on one of the most emotional days the old ground has ever witnessed, Carrig lifted the senior title, now they return there to try and regain the status that means so much to them.

Erin's Own were equally impressive too in ousting Watergrasshill in the second semi-final and they now want to do a Glen on it, get back up to where they were before the commencement of last season's championship.

And they have answered all the questions thus far, moving through the gears to secure a semi-final slot with a team that contains many new faces, faces that have come in to replace club icons, 'Hero' Murphy, brother Eoghan, Stephen Murphy, Shea Bowen among others. Not an easy thing to do but in a short 12 months, they have shown what can be achieved.

Adaptable

Shane Irwin, son of former Cork player Damien, delivered a huge goal for them as well as adding a fine point after they had to rejig things around after losing centre-back Oran O'Regan to injury. Peter O'Shea did a great job when he became a defender and Conor Lenihan and Robbie O'Flynn posted some sublimely taken points as did Finn O'Brien.

Cian O'Connor continues to serve the club with great efficiency back in defence while Cormac Dooley never fails to put in a big shift.

The stakes will be massive when these two East Cork neighbours come together on the final day, all Senior A finals are with the huge prize of becoming a premier senior club again on offer.

There's great tradition accompanying both sides into the final, their story beginning many long years ago in the East Cork JHC, the finals of that competition atttacting huge attendance levels in those days.

Everything is sorted now as far as the pairings for the finals in all five grades are concerned and one final this writer is particularly looking forward to is the PIHC decider between Dungourney and Ballincollig.

There's recent history here with Ballincollig overcoming the East Cork team in last season's semi-final, Dungourney winning the group meeting a few years back.

Collig subsequently lost the final to Ballinhassig but they will be hoping that age-old term, you must lose one to win one applies. They certainly will enter this decider with great inner belief after their stunning comeback in the semi-final against Carrigaline.

Trailing by eight points with the clock quickly moving forward they somehow manufactured a massive victory. Their never-say-die attitude, their resilience and club spirit all combined in producing one of their best victories for quite a while.

They had 10 different scorers contributing in their triumph, Cork panelist Brian Keating's introduction from the bench lifting all those around him. And he more than delivered with a cracking goal and a couple of points.

Crucial

He is a vital operator in their cause and it was a similar story with Dungourney in their victory over Valley Rovers, star man Jack Leahy unable to start but coming on to make a significant difference with a couple of points.

The health of those two players will be crucial in the build-up to the final. Neither club, of course, are one-man teams, far from it, but having them available from the start would be a huge boost.

Finally this week, what about the drama surrounding both semi-finals in the Seandún JHC, both requiring a penalty shootout to find a resolution.

Holders Whitechurch got past St Vincent's after the sides were deadlock after 80 minutes while Na Piarsaigh defeated Passage when those two could not be separated.

After being denied by Carrigtwohill in a penalty shootout in the Senior A championship as was the case two years ago against Castleyons, Piarsaigh's time finally arrived in that dreaded scenario.

You wonder what the odds would have been on two games that were played one after the other being decided by penalties, huge would surely have to be the answer. Na Piarsaigh, by all accounts, set out their stall early in trying to win this competition and now they are just an hour away from doing so.

Whitechurch's pedigree is very strong as holders and it surely makes for a final well worth a visit to Ballinlough.