Intermediate Hurling Championship Round-up

By Liam Hogan

GROUP 1

Moneygall 2-24

Cappawhite 0-16

Moneygall easily defeated Cappawhite in Holycross on Sunday.

Joe Fogarty contributed 1-8 and it was his goal in the thirteenth minute that gave an indication of what was to come as Moneygall led 1-6 to 0-4. Moneygall won the remainder of the half 0-8 to 0-2 with Joe Fogarty (3 frees), Brendan Touhy, Rody Teehan, Sean Kenneally, Adam Hogan and Bob Kenny on target. Riain Doody had scored four from frees and both Dara McCarthy and Colm O’Dwyer had one each to give Cappawhite six points by half time but at that stage, Moneygall had 1-14.

Rian Doody scored seven points in all, including three after half time but Moneygall were showing no signs of relenting and when Aodhan Ryan scored their second goal, they were 2-16 to 0-10 clear after 38 minutes. Phil Fanning, Eoin Whyte and Paddy Fogarty added their names to the scoresheet as Moneygall are safely through to the quarter finals with Ballybacon Grange as their final game.

Ballingarry will fight it out with Cappawhite for second place when they meet in two weeks’ time.

Group 2

Skeheenarinky 1-19

Knockavilla Kickhams 1-18

Skeheenarinky made it two wins out of two when they defeated Knockavilla Kickhams in Cahir on Saturday.

Skeheenarinky dominated the first half and were 0-14 to 0-6 in front at half time. However, Knockavilla hit the ground running at the start of the second period and scored 1-1 inside the three minutes with Ben Ryan the goal-scorer. However, the 2021 County Junior champions were not for moving and Glen Walsh’s goal in the 43rd minute had them 1-15 to 1-9 in front and looking comfortable. But in a game of swaying fortunes, Knockavilla Kickhams took over in the final quarter and were level at 1-18 each in the dying seconds before Dean Finn landed the winner to move Skeheenarinky into the knockout stages.

Ballinahinch 2-17

Borrisokane 2-15

Ballinahinch caused the shock of the round with a well-earned two-point win over Borrisokane in Toomevara on Sunday.

They had the dream start with Dave Ryan scoring a goal after sixteen seconds. Boosted by the return of Shane McGrath for his first championship outing, they held on to the lead until the 18th minute when Philip Austin equalised. Borrisokane relied on Oisin Larkin who scored eight points and he had Borris 0-10 to 1-4 in front on thirty minutes but points from Brendan Ryan and Karl Kelly had the minimum between the teams at half time.

Oisin Larkin increased Borrisokane’s lead but Ballinahinch responded with Brian Keane finding the net. It was all going Ballinahinch’s way as points by McGrath, Karl Kelly, John Foley and Brendan Ryan (side-line cut) increased the lead to five. However, Borrisokane fought back with Jack Larkin finding the net in the 48th minute. Kevin Cleary cut the margin to one but by the 55th minute Ballinahinch were four to the good again through a Ger Grace score. Borrisokane lost Garry Ryan to a red card but Michael Heenan’s goal in the 64th minute left the margin to one before John Foley had the final word.

Skeheenarinky have qualified but second place remains open as a Borrisokane win over Knockavilla would bring them back into contention if Ballinahinch were to lose to Skeheenarinky.

GROUP 3

Drom & Inch 1-24

Shannon Rovers 1-21

Drom & Inch’s greater firepower helped them to a three-point victory over Shannon Rovers in Dolla on Friday.

With Shane Hassett scoring four points plus a Paul Bergin goal, Drom led 1-6 to 0-1 lead after eight minutes. But Rovers responded well. George Hannigan’s goal in the 19th minute had them two in arrears. By the 27th minute it was level before points from Austin Tierney, George Hannigan, and Tom Hogan (free) that had Rovers in front by three before two Darragh Kennedy frees had left the minimum between the teams at the changeover.

Scores were level four times in the opening ten minutes of the second half before the Rovers went three in front through Sean Moran, George Hannigan and Andy Byrne. However, Darragh Kennedy (0-11) replied with three points, and it was 1-18 each with eleven minutes remaining.

Rovers regained the lead through substitute John O’Meara (0-3) and Tom Hogan (0-6) before Drom went three clear thanks to five unanswered points through Kennedy (2 frees) Aidan O’Meara, James Woodlock, and Jamie Bergin. John O’Meara’s reply kept Rovers eager but Kennedy’s 63rd minute free meant that Drom were through to the quarter finals.

Shannon Rovers need to win their last game against Arravale Rovers to survive a relegation battle and yet entertain hopes of a place in the quarter finals if Drom beat Kilsheelan.

Kilsheelan/Kilcash 3-21

Arravale Rovers 3-14

Kilsheelan/Kilcash defeated a game Arravale Rovers side who, based on their first half performance looked likely to cause an upset in Cahir on Sunday.

Indeed, Arravale Rovers led 3-7 to 0-10 at half time as Eoghan Lonergan, Niall Sharpe and Cormac Maher bagged a goal each. However, their positive work received a setback when former county minor Johnny Ryan had to leave the field after colliding with one of his teammates.

Kilsheelan were worried but the switching of Mark Kehoe to centre forward transformed the 2021 runners-up as the Tipp star scored a goal. Substitute Aidan Keane bagged a second goal before Barry Kehoe secured a third to see their side over the line. Both Mark and Barry Kehoe scored 1-5 each.

GROUP 4

Lorrha 3-19

Golden Kilfeacle 0-11

Lorrha recorded a second comfortable victory in group 4 of the County Championship as they saw off Golden-Kilfeacle in Templetuohy on Saturday.

The North champions didn’t have things all their own way in the first half and were just two points in front on 25 minutes when Eoin McIntyre broke through for a goal which helped them into a 1-9 to 0-5 half time advantage.

Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher was coming in for close attention from the Golden defenders but he dealt with them on the scoreboard, scoring a goal within seconds of the restart to effectively put the game to bed. He scored his second in the 38th minute as part of a 2-2 contribution.

Wing back Brian Hogan contributed seven points, five from frees, but it wasn’t a perfect Lorrha performance against a Golden side missing the services of the injured Jack Leamy. Ben Currivan contributed six points for the West side, five from frees, with the lively Seanie O’Halloran the only player to contribute more than one point from play.

Michael Dolan, Cian Hogan, and David Fogarty were also to the fore for Lorrha who have one step in the quarter finals, requiring just a point from their final game against Boherlahan to confirm themselves as top seeds for the last eight.

Boherlahan-Dualla 3-18

Carrick Davins 3-16

An improved second half performance helped Boherlahan-Dualla gain their first win when they defeated a battling Carrick Davins at Clonmel Sportsfield on Saturday.

Boherlahan took an early lead thanks to a Seamus Leahy goal. However, wind assisted Carrick Davins stormed back and close to half time they took a commanding lead thanks to goals by Willie O’Dwyer and Luke Faulkner which made the half time score 2-11 to 1-6.

Boherlahan staged a second half recovery helped firstly by a Fionn McCullagh goal and their ability to pick off long range points. When James O’Sullivan scored his team’s third goal, they looked home and housed. Yet, Carrick Davins refused to wilt but had to settle for a Michael Whelan goal from a free which was too little too late.

Boherlahan will face Lorrha in the final group game, a game they need to win but Golden and Davins can still make the knockout stages.