There were plenty of winners and losers after another action-packed weekend in the Brooks Group Senior Hurling Championship, with Liam Mellows and Castlegar claiming important wins over Clarinbridge and Portumna respectively.
Joe Canning had his controversial red card from the previous round rescinded, but Portumna again fell foul of the law as Ronan O’Meara and Ivan Canning were both dismissed as they conceded heavily yet again to the tune of 4-21 to 1-18. Enda Concannon also saw the line for Cashel, but he had contributed handsomely with two goals that were added to by Sean Neary and Jack Coyne.
Elsewhere in Group 3, St Thomas’ eked out another narrow win when toppling Sarsfields by 0-22 to 1-18 on Friday night, confirming their place in the last eight. Another side to have taken the shortest route towards the final are Turloughmore, who comprehensively outclassed Oranmore/Maree by 1-21 to 0-11 on Saturday.
Aonghus Callanan and Conor Hynes hit the net for Mellows as Clarinbridge make a surprisingly swift return to Senior B, although the draw did them no favours in a teak tough Group 2 which is still delicately poised as Louis Mulqueen’s men take on Oranmore/Maree in the final round to decide who takes second spot.
The calculators may be required to figure out who emerges from Group 1 after Tommy Larkins and Loughrea recorded weekend successes that leaves three side still in with a chance. Ronan Murphy’s goal for Larkins helped them edge out Tynagh Abbey/Duniry, while Jamie Ryan was on song for Loughrea, with Cappataggle left with a win or bust contest against Tommy Larkins which may bring scoring difference into play.
There are also plenty of permutations to contend with in two of the groups in Senior B, with wins for Mullagh, Ahascragh/Fohenagh, and Killimordaly already assuring those clubs of their place in the preliminary quarter-finals.
Group 1 remains very much in the balance as Gort recorded their first win of the campaign when they outclassed Kinvara by 1-21 to 0-14, while Craughwell got the better of Ballinderreen in a high-scoring 2-24 to 4-11 encounter. Ballinderreen, though, can still turn the table on its head if they were to beat Gort on the last day.
Killimordaly maintained their impressive form in Group 2 with a resounding 2-19 to 0-13 win over Beagh which seals their promotion to Senior A next year. Two goals from Ciaran Fahy helped Ardrahan to a 3-12 to 0-18 win over Athenry, which leaves David Huban’s side needing to avoid defeat against Beagh to seal their place in the knock-out stages.
Mullagh snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Padraig Pearses in Group 3, with an injury time goal from substitute Sean Callanan decisive in a 1-14 to 0-15 win. Ahascragh/Fohenagh also had to come from behind on Sunday to see off Kilnadeema/Leitrim by four points, a result that gives Kevin Warde’s charges a shot at promotion to Senior A when they take on Mullagh in round three.
