John Horgan on hurling: Cork clubs on the rise after brilliant group games

Rivetting, compelling, engrossing, three words that could be used to sum up the final games in the group stage in the five grades of the Cork county hurling championship. In most instances, it went right down to the wire, whether or not clubs would have their season extended or be on the outside looking in as things unfolded in the knockout process. That is what the current format in both codes was meant to be, plenty of opportunity, delight for some, extreme pain for others. This column nearly had a bed in Páirc Uí Rinn over the weekend, Friday night and Saturday afternoon, followed by another visit to the venue on Sunday. We got a game in in the Intermediate A championship on Friday night with Bandon squeezing home by the bare minimum against Russell Rovers, there was no resolution to be found in the Senior A encounter between Ballinhassig and Carrigtwohill, the sides deadlocked at the death, two highly entertaining games and some fine score taking. Joy for Ballinhassig after securing a draw against Carrigtwohill last weekend. Picture: Larry Cummins The trend, however, did not continue on Sunday with Sarsfields, as expected, proving too formidable for Douglas, the latter now going to be involved in what the late and great Paudie Palmer described as the slan leat final against Fr O'Neill's, the outcome which will decide which of the two will remain a premier senior club. There were stories galore at the end of it all on Sunday evening and there was no doubt what the big talking point was, the elimination of Blackrock from the Premier SHC at the hands of Kanturk. The Rockies, one of the main fancies for the title, the team that were very impressive in their opening two games against Glen Rovers and Fr O'Neill's are no longer in the equation in the flagship competition. Superb However, the story of their loss to Kanturk was all about the latter, the Duhallow team recording one of their finest-ever victories in this championship, winning by 11 points and moving into a quarter-final tie with Sarsfields. It was an outcome that was totally unexpected, not Kanurk winning the game but the decisiveness of their victory. Kanturk continue to fight in both codes from one year to the next and their team contains a number of players who are in the Autumn of their playing careers but still delivering when the need is at its greatest. Topping their group that had the Rockies and the Glen for company is an achievement worth saluting. The outcome and their subsequent elimination is a huge blow for the Rockies and there will surely be much reflection in Church Road over the long winter months. For Kanturk, it is the holders Sars in the quarter-final. Their second-half scoring burst was something that Douglas were unable to counteract. In saying that, Sars only led by two points at the interval and were far from impressive in that opening half. They did get the job done eventually but it might be fair to state that they have not hit top form yet in this championship. But the object of any group stage exercise is qualification and they are where they set out to be now. Douglas may very well save themselves from being relegated against O'Neill's but in six group games this season and last they could only muster up two points. Shane Kingston was again their standout player, making you wonder should he have gotten more playing time for Cork this season. Of course, that's not here nor there now but he remains one of the most conspicuous club players around. In that battle to avoid getting sucked into the relegation mire, Newcestown came good, their draw with the Barrs keeping them out of that dreaded scenario. And fair play to them, they were desperately unlucky not to get something from their game with Midleton, losing by just a point when the general consensus was that a draw was the least that they deserved. But they are safe now and they deserve to be after their draw with the Barrs. Across the sporting landscape, it's a results-driven business and Midleton have emerged from the group stage with full points from three games and full credit to them for doing so. Bride Rovers, similar to Newcestown, made them fight all the way to secure the result and that will surely please Padraig O'Shea and his selectors. Those types of wins are character-building. His team are now very much back in the mix again for the ultimate prize. Bride Rovers and Newcestown are always very resilient opponents but Midleton have got past both of them. Glen Rovers got their bit of business out of the way when they saw off the challenge of F O'Neills but this was a game that had their supporters checking on how things were transpiring elsewhere, particularly the Kanturk and Rockies game. But they too are where they set out to be, looking ahead to a quarter-final showdown with Charleville. When they lost their opener to the Rockies some apprehension set in out in Blackpool but they have responded positively and in Carrigtwohill, their marquee names contributed handsomely on the scoreboard. Promising Patrick Horgan, the Downey bothers and Micheál Mullins registered fine scores, the latter posting four points and he is definitely starting to make a much bigger impact now. This guy could well figure a lot more prominently for Cork next season plus the fact that his versatility can be an asset. The Barrs were very poor in their opener against Midleton but again their riposte against Bride Rovers and Newcestown has been admirable. Now they will go in against Imokilly in the quarter-final with a certain degree of confidence because down in Enniskeane, no team gets anything soft but that point bagged in the end could be huge in the final analysis. And credit too to Newtownshandrum. No longer the force of a past era, they ended their season with a stirring victory over Charleville, not good enough in the end to extend their season but for their younger generation quite a bit to build on going forward. They put four goals past Sars in their previous group game and they battled back to notch a point against Douglas. Overall, not a bad dividend for a club that provided us with so many memories when the Bernie O'Connor revolution set sail 26 years ago. Four city teams set off on the voyage a couple of weeks ago but now just half of them remain, the Barrs and the Glen. The Rockies ended their campaign very disappointingly and Douglas must try and preserve their top-flight status against Fr O'Neill's. Nobody takes any pleasure from that now very precarious for both but at the end of the day every club gets three bites at the cherry. The system is fair, the format has been a huge success and what we all seek now from the knockout stage is a few cracking encounters. Has the championship thus far ignited? That's a matter of opinion. But what you have now is seven teams remaining in the PSHC, all of them deserving to be where they are.