Expectation still as high as ever in Newtown
The champions go into this game as favourites, not just to win but to go all the way and retain their title and launch their bid to reclaim the All-Ireland Club title they lost to Portumna last season.
Little has changed since they were All-Ireland champions, apart from the fact that Simon Morrissey and Dan Riordan are now calling the shots. But the expectations are as high as ever.
Last weekend their U-21 side won the North Cork title, ensuring that the future of hurling within the club is secure for years to come.
The Newtown players are all household names — the three O’Connor brothers, Ben, Jerry and John, Brendan Mulcahy, Paul Morrissey, J. P King and Cathal Naughton to name just a few — and don’t be surprised if they add one or two more to the list.
They were well represented at Páirc Ui Rinn when Imokilly beat CIT 1-18 to 0-13 in a replay that was even more one-sided than the scoreline suggests.
If Imokillycan build on that performance, they will provide interesting opposition for the champions whose armour was severely dented by Portumna in the shock result that stripped them of their All-Ireland title on St Patrick’s Day.
Leaving Páirc Ui Rinn one wondered if Imokilly had improved that much or if CIT, who earned a replay with a last gasp point the previous occasion, had come apart at the seams in the meantime.
Trevor O’Keeffe, with nine points, put his personal hallmark on the scoreboard and if the Newtown defence make any concessions he will exploit them. There were others who impressed as well — Paddy O’Regan at wing-back and Pierse O’Neill, who has the potential to pose a huge threat on the edge of the square.
Imokilly, who will be boosted by the return of Niall McCarthy, will benefit from the recent competition but they will have to pull something out of the top drawer if they are to win this one.
After some indifferent form early in the campaign that was highlighted by a hammering from Erins Own, Sarsfields find themselves battling it out with St Catherine’s for a place in the semi-finals. They got their act together after that embarrassment and generated good results over Na Piarsaigh and UCC to secure their quarter-final place.
They have an abundance of experience. Players like full-back Paul Roche, Ray Ryan and his brother Pat, who operates at midfield and can be deadly accurate from placed balls, as well as Mick Cussen, Kieran Murphy and Garvan McCarthy up front, won’t be overawed by the task in hand.
Like so many other clubs in the county, St Catherine’s have been waiting a long time for this game. It seems ages since they beat Killeagh and some might forget how impressive they were that evening. Like Sars, they have a fair sprinkling of stalwarts. Mick Fitzgerald is an outstanding full-back, fearless under a high ball, while they have some interesting combinations out the field featuring Pádraig and Shane Cotter, Richard and Paul O’Connell, Kieran Morrison and Shane Fitzgerald. If they show the same resilience they displayed against Killeagh then they could cause what would be a mild upset.
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