'We are absolutely loving it': Watergrasshill eye first Cork Senior A final

Watergrasshill face Erin's Own in a Cork SAHC semi-final on Saturday

Watergrasshill's Brendan Lehane: 'We will be looking to leave it all out there. This is our first ever senior semi-final so it is a big day for our club.' Pic: Chani Anderson

A never-to-be-forgotten 2024/2025 season will stay long in the memory of every Watergrasshill supporter. From claiming a first Cork Premier IHC title to going all the way to Croke Park and winning the All-Ireland, it was the sweetest taste of success.

After years of struggle, they had finally found their groove.

It looks like the good times have come again.

Crucial wins in round 1 and 2 of the senior A championship secured qualification for knockout hurling, with a game to spare.

No second chances and no back door then meant the stakes couldn’t be higher taking on last season’s Premier intermediate champions Ballinhassig in the quarter-final.

They knew what to expect.

It turned into a battle royal that had to be decided in extra time.

Brendan Lehane leads from the front, his 1-3 and assists were vital in their 2-31 to 1-29 victory.

“I’d never won a Premier intermediate game until 2024 - that was two years of no wins,” the 22-year-old says.

“Premier intermediate is a very tough grade. So if a team win, you fancy them in senior A, and even going forward for the next few years I think Ballinhassig will be a force to be reckoned with.

“We knew Ballinhassig were going to be a serious outfit. When a team comes up from Premier intermediate I suppose they’re on a roll and are a hard team to beat, they had the momentum and they pushed us to the end. We were lucky to get over them because when it goes to extra time anything can happen but you need that luck sometimes.”

As the saying goes, luck shows you the door, but effort gets it open.

Last year Watergrasshill won two group games but didn’t qualify for the knockouts due to an inferior scoring difference to Blarney and Bride Rovers (eventual champions).

This year they won their first two group games against Ballyhea and Castlelyons to qualify ahead of schedule - the Castlelyons match was pivotal.

“Ballyhea are a tough team and they survived relegation. I’m not sure how much we won by in the end but it still came down to the wire.

“Castlelyons was our second game, yeah a big game. We all know each other so well, we went to school together. They are another force to be reckoned with.” 

With qualification secured, the final group outing involving Blarney would still be considered big, as the ‘Hill felt they owed them one. The mid Cork team delivered a statement 21-point win over them 12 months previously.

This time, Watergrasshill lost by five points, but it was a far more impressive display.

“It gave us that cushion in the last game against Blarney, the fact we were qualified.

“But we wanted to make things right losing by so much to them last year and that was very demoralising. We had two wins and still didn’t make it out of the group.”

Standing between the ‘Hill and a first final appearance is fellow east Cork club Erin’s Own, who took the direct route. The Caherlag side is looking for a swift return to the top tier after being relegated by Newtownshandrum last year.

“Any team that comes down from Premier senior is going to be a serious outfit. There is a lot of talk about them this year. Any team you’re going to be playing in the semi-final is going to be a good team.

“We will be looking to leave it all out there. This is our first ever senior semi-final so it is a big day for our club and we are absolutely loving it.”