Drom and Sars highlight senior second round games

The second round of the County Senior Hurling Championship takes place this weekend and after a hugely competitive first round which included four draws, the pressure ramps up this weekend in the race for the knockout berths.

GROUP 1

Nenagh Eire Og v Moycarkey/Borris on Friday at The Ragg @ 7.00pm.

After their draw with Clonoulty/Rossmore in round 1, Nenagh will be under pressure to get the win ahead of the final round against Kilruane. They have a preliminary quarter final in their back pocket after winning the North title, but they would rather progress straight to a quarter final. They have injury concerns over Daire Quinn, Philip Hickey, and Josh Keller but their next man up approach has served them well so far in the championship.

One of the surprising results from round 1 was Moycarkey/Borris being so uncompetitive against Kilruane. Expect a response from them, even if they will be without Rhys Shelly and Max Hackett. Showed their mentality in defeating Aherlow in football last weekend which will have given them a boost in confidence for this win or bust clash. Verdict: Nenagh Eire Og

Clonoulty/Rossmore v Kilruane MacDonaghs on Friday at FBD Semple Stadium @ 7.30pm.

We will get a better gauge of Kilruane MacDonaghs after this game but on face value the manner of the big win over Moycarkey was impressive. They were on it from the word go and if they back it up with another win here. Cian Darcy’s hat-trick should inspire him as Kilruane need one scoring forward they can hang their hat on to score freely, even in tight games.

Clonoulty/Rossmore will feel they left a point behind them in the draw against Nenagh Eire Og. They will look to address problems in their full back line having conceded a number of chances while at the other end, they rarely threatened a goal. Verdict: Kilruane MacDonaghs

GROUP 2

Drom & Inch v Thurles Sarsfields on Saturday at FBD Semple Stadium @ 7.00pm.

The tie of the round. Thurles Sarsfields were hugely impressive in the first-round win over Borris-Ileigh where they had the game effectively won at half time. Their forward line remains hugely potent but the loss of Ronan Maher with a broken shin, possibly for the rest of the campaign, is another huge blow.

Scoring 2-30 against Templederry in round one is no easy feat, so Drom come into this game with momentum. They shipped five goals in a heavy loss to Sars in the championship last year and this will be a good gauge to see how far they have come. This is a game they can win and come in under no pressure. Verdict: Thurles Sarsfields

Borris-Ileigh v Templederry Kenyons on Sunday in Nenagh @ 3.30pm.

Borris-Ileigh have been poor in their two championship games so far and need to show some spark this Sunday to get their campaign back on track. They will likely be without Brendan Maher through a hamstring injury, and it will be interesting to see if they settle on Dan McCormack or Jerry Kelly at centre back.

While Templederry shipped an eleven-point loss to Drom, they didn’t play that badly, scoring 2-19 themselves and they will see Borris-Ileigh as being vulnerable and off the back of a 25-point loss to the same opposition last year, they won’t lack motivation to make up for that. Verdict: Borris-Ileigh

GROUP 3

Mullinahone v Upperchurch/Drombane on Friday in Boherlahan @ 7.00pm.

Mullinahone will feel they got out of jail in round one with a draw against Toomevara, even if it was Toome who got the equaliser. Mullinahone were very much second best for 55 minutes and know they will have to find more to get the better of Upperchurch/Drombane who were impressive in their win over Holycross. They will know a win here puts them in a great chance of reaching back-to-back quarter finals. Verdict: Upperchurch/Drombane

Holycross/Ballycahill v Toomevara on Saturday in Borrisoleigh @ 3.30pm.

The pressure is on for both sides. Holycross will rue a poor first half against Upperchurch for their heavy defeat, despite a second half recovery.

For Toomevara, how they overcome the Mullinahone result will be key. They showed great resolve in added time to take something from a game they had control of for so long. However, seeing these kind of games out is the next step. They defeated Holycross last year and should have enough to do it again. Verdict: Toomevara

GROUP 4

Eire Og Annacarty v Kiladangan on Saturday in Dolla @ 7.00pm.

Never will a draw have felt like a win for Kiladangan in round 1. It was as poor as they have played in some time, but they still didn’t lose. However, there was a staleness to their play and their management will hope the spark starts to come back soon and will need to against Annacarty who will make things extremely difficult. The return of Willie Connors and Billy Seymour is a boost, and they may have Sean Hayes available once more. Verdict: Kiladangan

JK Brackens v Loughmore/Castleiney on Sunday at FBD Semple Stadium @ 2.30pm.

With both sides drawing in round 1, this local derby is well set-up. Loughmore have had the Indian sign over Brackens in recent years, but the Templemore side might see this as a great opportunity to get one over on their neighbours. Even without John McGrath, Willie Eviston and Ciaran Connolly, Loughmore remain hugely competitive and just evolve to their circumstances. Brackens know this is a great chance to put one foot in the quarter finals. Verdict: Draw