Having flagged the possibility of an upset here last week little did I think that St Loman’s would overturn Garrycastle in such convincing fashion. Their 10 point win over the men from the south of the county is undoubtedly the talking point after round 2 of the senior club championship. Write Garrycastle off at your peril though. When their injuries clear up I feel they will still have a big say in the outcome of this year’s championship. It does however show how vulnerable they are when a few of their more seasoned campaigners are absent which has to be a major worry from their point of view.
St Loman’s dominated throughout and with John Heslin and Paul Sharry in outstanding form they were full value for their win. Heslin finished with a tally of nine points while Sharry contributed 1-3 but it was far from a two-man show.
Having performed a similar eye-catching performance in last year’s opening round against neighbours Shamrocks when they recorded a nine point win, Declan Rowley’s men will need no reminding that there are no medals being handed out just yet. It does show however that they have the material to win a championship and what they now need to show is the consistency required to win silverware.
Elsewhere Mullingar Shamrocks were less than convincing in their four-point win over Maryland. Indeed Maryland could easily have take something from this game had they been more economical up front. With that said the reigning champions have four points in the bag after two games and are well positioned to take the direct route to the semi-final.
Castledaly had an easy win over a limited looking Killucan side that only managed 0-5 over the hour. While it is hard to judge how good Castledaly are based on the opposition they look like a team that can at least make the knockout stages.
Tom Coffey will be pleased with his side’s 19 -point win over Coralstown/Kinnegad. I expected this to be a lot closer but when the Tyrrellspass forward unit click they are capable of amassing a big tally.
The Downs had a valuable one-point win over Athlone in a game we feel we could easily have won. Once again our failure to put scores on the board cost us dearly. Our two-point half-time lead should have been greater and with the door left open The Downs to their credit took the opportunity to claim their first points of the campaign. Bar a miracle however it is difficult to see either team having a big say in the outcome of this year’s championship.
Bunbrosna had a more comfortable win over C/F/C/W than the final score-line of 1-12 to 1-10 might suggest. Even with three games remaining, last year’s intermediate champions look destined to be involved in a relegation playoff.
In the intermediate championship St Malachy’s helped themselves to an easy 10-point win over a very under-strength and disappointing Tubberclair. There were also wins for Ballynacargy, Shandonagh, Caulry, and Tang while Rosemount and St Mary’s Rochfortbridge shared the spoils.
The clubs now face at least a six-week break before the next round of games so a lot can change in that time.
