Could anyone have asked for a better weekend of championship hurling?
With the previous weekend’s fixtures overshadowed by the football final, it was good to finally let the inter-county brouhaha fade away, and once again enjoy Kilkenny’s thriving local hurling scene.
There was wind and there was rain, but Nowlan Park was certainly the place to be last Sunday.
St Martins and Fenians, while maybe not the contest that everyone was hoping for, drew a big crowd and was certainly not short of highlights.
The clash of the weekend was the Ballyhale/Carrickshock fixture, and it did not disappoint. Few pundits were predicting a draw.
Michael Rice has become a massive player for this Carrickshock side. His inter-county midfield partner (and Ballyhale rival ) Michael Fennelly may have shone brightest in this year’s All-Ireland final, but last Sunday Rice was majestic.
He was physical around the park, he won copious amounts of ball in the centre of field, and then marshalled the attack along both wings.
Doing the damage up front was Richie Power. There’s not a whole lot to say about Power that has not already been said. That late long-range free to tie the game and ensure a replay epitomised the man’s talent, but anyone who has watched Power at all this year will have known that it was well within his repertoire.
There was a great buzz in the stands when it was announced, prior to the throw-in, that John Tennyson would be starting for the Shocks. He was never going to have his best game on his immediate return from injury, but he looked busy, and the mere mention of his name in the side certainly made Ballyhale sit up and take notice.
For Ballyhale it is hard to know what to make of it all. Certainly they seemed off the pace in the first half – not to detract in any way from Carrickshock’s performance.
While Henry will always be king, young Colin Fennelly is fast endearing himself to the Ballyhale faithful. The sense of anticipation around Nowlan Park, every time the Shamrocks’ number 10 got hold of a sliothar, was palpable.
It was also justified late on in the second half, when the 22-year-old fired home an extraordinary goal to put his side back in contention.
Carrickshock will be kicking themselves for not dealing with it, but Fennelly’s composure, determination, and natural skill with a hurl left three men in his wake, and Patrick Farrell retrieving the ball from the net.
The Shamrocks will definitely fancy themselves to turn it around in this weekend’s replay.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of people are already saying that Carrickshock missed their big chance to slay the giant, but it is only a fool who writes a team of this calibre off.
Where else would you be this weekend? Tomorrow, the Rower-Inistioge take on St Lachtains in what is sure to be a closely-fought contest. This is followed by O’Loughlins, still defending their county crown, against Dicksboro. Sunday sees a junior semi-final at 1pm, followed by the eagerly-anticipated replay of Carrickshock and Ballyhale.
Take nothing for granted. The only guarantee now is another great weekend of Kilkenny hurling.
