Courceys will be better for Ballyhea test

Friday’s game represents the first meeting of Courceys and Fermoy since 2019. That game required extra time. Expect this to be similarly tight.

Moving on: Courcey Rovers' Richard Sweetnam (14) scorer of the winning point is congratulated by Martin Collins after defeating Ballyhea in the Co-Op Superstores Cork SAHC quarter final at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Pic: Eddie O'Hare

CORK GAA PREVIEWS

Cork Senior AHC semi-final: Fermoy v Courcey Rovers, Páirc Uí Chaoimh (N Wall), 7.30pm 

Courcey Rovers are one of four clubs in hurling semi-final action this weekend - Ballygiblin, Lisgoold, and Castlemartyr the three others - who are bidding to reach a county final in the higher grade they were promoted to less than a year ago. Courceys are furthest up the Cork ladder of that quartet. Ten months after winning the Premier Intermediate crown, Sean Guiheen’s charges stand one hour from a Senior A decider and the opportunity to join the top table of Cork hurling.

No question but Courceys will be all the better for surviving the stern test that Ballyhea presented in the quarter-final. Having gone behind for the first time in the 56th minute, and again in second-half injury-time, the men from down around Ballinspittle showed commendable nerve and resolve to work themselves back in front at the death.

Top-scorer and dead-ball specialist Richard Sweetnam, Seán Twomey, and captain Tadhg O’Sullivan should ask questions of a Fermoy defence stepping back into the ring after four weeks away from championship fare. And as with any of the group winners that bypassed the quarter-final stage, what effect the four-week layoff has had on them won’t be known until the sliotar is thrown in.

Fermoy hit three goals in each of their first two group outings, and they may need to rediscover that green flag form if they are to come out on top. Having watched Courcey Rovers’ quarter-final, they’ll know that there are goals to be got as Ballyhea left three opportunities behind them.

Third in their group in both 2020 and 21, Fermoy are something of a surprise package in the last four. Pivotal to their improved fortunes this year has been the form of Jake Carr, Liam Coleman, Shane Aherne, and Darragh Daly.

This evening’s game represents the pair’s first championship meeting since their 2019 PIHC Round 1 clash. That game required extra time, before Fermoy eventually prevailed by the minimum. Expect this to be similarly tight.

Verdict: Courcey Rovers 

Cork Intermediate AHC semi-final: Cloughduv v Lisgoold, Riverstown (P Lyons), 7.30pm 

If Lisgoold can extend their 16-game unbeaten championship run to 17 matches, it will take them into a third successive county hurling final (2020 junior and 2021 lower intermediate). Liam O’Shea and Diarmuid Healy are their very lively scorers-in-chief, while Kieran Cashman and the experienced John Cronin anchor matters further back. Cloughduv are bidding to avoid a second successive semi-final defeat. Their last game was August 27. Will the long break prove a hindrance or a help?

Verdict: Lisgoold