After more than 10 months of waiting, the 2020 Laois Senior and Premier Intermediate hurling championship finals will finally take place this weekend.
On Friday night in O’Moore Park, Portlaoise and The Harps meet in the Premier Intermediate final at 7.45pm
Then on Saturday evening, Clough-Ballacolla and Borris-Kilcotton will meet in the Senior final at 7pm.
The Harps defeated Slieve Bloom and Portlaoise got the better of Camross on September 26 last year.
While a day later, Clough-Ballacolla go the better of Rosenallis in one senior semi final and Borris-Kilcotton triumphed over Rathdowney-Errill in the other.
But the various Coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns as well as the 2021 inter-county season has meant that it’s only possible to resume these competitions now.
Ahead of the games, we take a look at how all four teams are shaping up:
CLOUGH-BALLACOLLA
Manager
Declan Laffan
Path to the final
R1 – Clough-Ballacolla 2-13 Rathdowney-Errill 1-16 – See Report Here
R2 – Clough-Ballacolla 4-18 Abbeyleix 2-15 – See Report Here
R3 – Clough-Ballacolla 4-26 Castletown 0-11 – See Report Here
SF – Clough-Ballacolla 2-21 Rosenallis 0-18 – See Report Here
League Form
Clough-Ballacolla’s league journey saw them defeat The Harps in Round 1 but then, just as they did in the championship last year, they drew with Rathdowney-Errill in Round 2.
A defeat to Abbeyleix in their final game sent them into a relegation semi final on points difference.
They subsequently saved their status by seeing off Rosenallis in that game.
Team News
Manager Declan Laffan would have been wincing while watching the Laois hurlers this year as four of his county men sustained injuries at different stages.
Ronan Broderick (knee), Lee Cleere (leg), Diarmaid Conway (ankle) and Stephen Maher (shoulder) were all absent for Laois’s final game against Westmeath while Willie Dunphy soldiered on with damaged ribs.
The good news is that all, bar Broderick who is out for the season, are due to be available on Saturday evening.
BORRIS-KILCOTTON
Manager
Ciaran Comerford
Path to the final
R1 – Borris-Kilcotton 1-18 Camross 1-15 – See Report Here
R2 – Borris-Kilcotton 6-21 Ballinakill 0-18 – See Report Here
R3 – Borris-Kilcotton 1-13 Rosenallis 2-12 – See Report Here
SF – Borris-Kilcotton 2-22 Rathdowney-Errill 1-17 – See Report Here
League Form
Borris-Kilcotton were hammered by 6-14 to 0-13 against Camross in Round 1 but recovered to see off Castletown and Rosenallis to reach the semi finals.
Here, they were too strong for Abbeyleix but they came up well short in the final against Rathdowney-Errill.
Team News
Unlike Clough-Ballacolla, all of their county men managed to get through the inter-county fixtures largely unscathed.
However, Stephen Dunphy picked up a nasty leg injury in the league final loss while Stephen Phelan is also struggling. Manager Comerford will hope both are available this weekend.
THE HARPS
Manager
Fintan Deegan
Path to the final
R1 – The Harps 1-14 Camross 1-13 – See Report Here
R2 – The Harps 4-16 Clonaslee 0-13 – See Report Here
R3 – The Harps 6-24 Mountrath 0-7
SF – The Harps 1-18 Slieve Bloom 0-11 – See Report Here
League Form
The Harps operated in a higher grade of the league than Portlaoise did this year.
While they lost to Clough-Ballacolla and Rathdowney-Errill, they did manage to defeat Abbeyleix.
They subsequently lost the relegation semi final to Castletown but their final against Rosenallis was not needed as Rathdowney-Errill won Division 1B and could not be promoted.
Team News
Fintan Deegan will have been thrilled so see Podge Delaney return to the Laois fold and play a massive part in the last three games against Antrim, Waterford and Westmeath following an ankle injury.
Cathal Murphy and James Duggan also put in fine performances with the Laois U-20s and could force their way onto the team for the final.
PORTLAOISE
Manager
Derek Delaney
Path to the final
R1 – Portlaoise 0-18 Ballyfin 2-7 – See Report Here
R2 – Portlaoise 2-15 Colt-Shanahoe 0-15 – See Report Here
R3 – Portlaoise 1-20 Slieve Bloom 2-11
SF – Portlaoise 3-18 Camross 0-16 – See Report Here
League Form
Portlaoise operated in Division 1B and drew with Rathdowney-Errill’s second team before losing to Clough-Ballacolla’s second team and giving a walkover to Ballinakill in their final group game.
But they did enjoy a comfortable victory over Colt-Shanahoe in the relegation semi final to end their league campaign on a positive note.
Team News
Cahir Healy is permitted to play in this game as his transfer to London only covers 2021 and as this competition in from 2020, he is still a Portlaoise player for one more game.
Veteran Tommy Fitzgerald recently made an appearance in a Division 3 league semi final so don’t be surprised to see him take to the field on Friday night either.
SEE ALSO – Up and Coming: Meet the Ballinakill entrepreneur who has developed his own brand of water
The post Senior and Premier Intermediate HC Recap – Path to the finals, league form and team news ahead of weekend action appeared first on Laois Today.
source https://www.laoistoday.ie/2021/08/10/senior-and-premier-intermediate-hc-recap-path-to-the-finals-league-form-and-team-news-ahead-of-weekend-action/
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