John Horgan on hurling: Glen Rovers get nod but I won't be surprised if Barrs prove me wrong either

Waterford, Tipperary and Clare have completed their senior hurling club season which leaves us with just Cork and Limerick to discover who the five participants in the Munster Club championship will be.

Cork's record on the provincial club stage has been pretty abysmal in recent years but, hopefully, the winners of Sunday's county final will go on to be strong representatives on that stage. It's going to be either the Glen or the Barrs extending their hurling season but it's such a hard game to call.

County finals in all counties are very big occasions but maybe more so here on Leeside because of the fabled history attached to it.

Sunday's final participants are so much part of that history and the very mention of the Barrs and the Glen rekindles memories of other times.

When one is trying to predict the outcome of any game, it's being done on paper. And on paper, both protagonists on Sunday are fairly evenly matched.

In some finals, one team might be on shorter odds than the other but the age-old cliche, a 50-50 game, surely comes into play here.

The journey for both has been fairly similar, both beaten on the opening day of the group stage before subsequently improving their lot.

Before the commencement of the championship both might have been behind Sarsfields, Midleton, maybe Blackrock on the betting sheets.

However, the consensus overall would have you believe that this was going to be a wide-open championship.

But we are where we are, the Glen and the Barrs are worthy finalists with the prize that means so much in Blackpool and Togher now being dangled in front of them.

Tight

So, who will have the old and much cherished cannister in their clubhouse on Sunday at around six o'clock. Firstly, though, do not rule out a second meeting between them and the usual 10/1 odds for the draw might be worth a tenner.

There, as always, are going to be battles throughout the field and maybe none more so than what will transpire between both full-forward sectors and their full-back opponents.

Rob Downey went into the full-back slot against Midleton in an effort to try and curb Conor Lehane and he proceeded to produce the goods, particularly in the opening half. Could he do something similar on Sunday, go toe to toe with Brian Hayes?

Both full-forward lines look particularly strong, Simon Kennefick, Patrick Horgan and Eoin O'Leary for the Glen, while Hayes and William Buckley pose a serious threat for the Barrs.

Of course, neither team might go like that initially but those attackers are sure to have a significant bearing on the outcome and how they are policed by the full-back trios.

Goals were not easy to come by for both in the semi-finals, just three between them and the last line of defence, the goalkeepers for both, Cathal Hickey for the Glen and Shane Hurley for the Barrs are two of the very best around, Hurley making some splendid saves for the blues in the semi-final.

Ethan Twomey excelled for the Barrs against Kanturk at midfield, something that the Glen will be fully aware of.

Ben Cunningham had a superb outing too in that game while in the Glen colours, Micheál Mullins grows more and more into the jersey and his brace of goals against Midleton were game-defining scores.

Much may very well depend on how the less marquee names on both teams perform. And county final day always asks big questions.

Two of the best free takers in the county will be on opposing sides, Horgan for the Glen and Ben Cunningham for the 'Barrs.

Many a game has been decided on a free-taker's ability and that must be emphasised too.

Not too long ago the Glen endured their darkest hour when they lost their status as a premier senior club but immense credit to them in resetting very quickly to return to the big stage.

For quite some time now city clubs have had to take a back seat on county final day but this time it's the old order again.

In last Sunday's disappointing Tipperary final we saw Thurles Sarsfields goal after just eight seconds and that score set the tone for the rest of the match.

We are not saying if that happens on Sunday, the team that secures it going on to win the title but an early score like that can carry significance.

The Glen and the Barrs storied history illustrates that through the decades they have always been relevant, 53 titles between, just the one title separating them. The fact that both are back in the final is a triumph for tradition, the return to the top table of two of the big three on Leeside.

If a good start is half the battle as they say, equally a good finish can change so much as it did with the Barrs roaring home with seven unanswered points against Kanturk in the semi-final. The second of Micheál Mullins' brace of goals for the Glen in the 54th minute effectively ended Midleton's aspirations.

In both semi-finals, five points was the difference separating the winning team from the loser, both sides ending the proceedings on a positive note.

Both clubs have endured periods in the wilderness too but they have always found their way back to the winner's podium and that old currency, as was so well penned in The Irish Examiner by John Fogarty in the aftermath of the semi-finals, is back in circulation.

One could be there all day and all night before coming down on one side over the other and it might all boil down on how the bigger name forwards on both sides deliver or conversely how they are curtailed.

The manner they delivered when the need was at its greatest in the semi-finals was admirable, timing being all important.

From a neutral perspective, the hope must be that it goes right to the wire. That didn't happen in Thurles last Sunday with Moycarkey-Borris a beaten docket from a long way out.

Cork boost

It would be a great surprise if that is the case at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday.

Cork hurling needs a final that will get us through the winter months. Cork hurling needs new faces to put forward their case why they should be in the inter-county plan.

And there's no bigger stage than a county final to do just that.

When it's a final between two sides just a few miles apart the term 'bragging rights' comes into the conversation a lot more.

So, who will win?

The simple answer is I haven't got a clue. Nobody else has either because it's that type of a county final.

We'll give the slightest and very hesitant vote to the Glen going back to Blackpool with the trophy. The Barrs will probably be delighted with that verdict because as this writer has been told many times in the past, 'you got it wrong again'.

Verdict: The Glen... just about.