No more slip ups as contenders line up for semi-final spots

Thirty games down in the SHC and the race for the Jubilee Cup has been whittled down from 12 to six with the remaining teams heading off to compete for the consolation prize of the SHC B crown.

Kilmessan and champions Ratoath secured their passage directly through to the semi-finals of the SHC where they will face the winners of the quarter-finals.

Ratoath will face the winners of Sunday's quarter-final meeting of Trim and Kildalkey with Kilmessan set to take on Na Fianna or Kiltale who clash on Saturday.

It's only now that the hurling championship really gets going after another lop-sided group stages campaign that saw the average margin of victory in Group A just over 16.5 points with only three games from the 15 in that group finishing with just single digits between the teams.

It was a little closer in Group B with the average winning margin 'just' nine points and eight games finishing within single digits of each other and one, the clash of O'Mahonys and Dunderry in round four, finishing level.

After the 30 games the expected teams emerged from the groups and the only interest was served by determining who topped each group.

Ratoath had top spot wrapped up in Group A before the final round of games with five wins from five and a scoring difference of 101 points and so it was between Kiltale and Kildalkey in the final round to determine who took second and the potentially 'easier' quarter-final.

Kiltale impressively claimed the spoils and their reward is a last six tie against Na Fianna who ensured third spot in the group with a final round win over Dunderry.

Saturday's quarter-final in Pairc Tailteann is only expected to go one way too with Kiltale anticipated to see off the challenge of a gutsy Na Fianna side who might put it up to John Donoghue's side for 30 or 40 minutes but who will wilt under the intense pressure Kiltale with apply.

Kiltale, whose only loss was the opening round was a 10-point defeat against Ratoath, have a scoring difference of +81 if you take that loss out of the equation, while Na Fianna's scoring difference in a relatively 'easier' Group B was +3.

Wins over O'Mahonys, Killyon and Dunderry represent a decent campaign for the Enfield/Baconstown side, but in comparison to Kiltale who hammered Kildalkey by 14 points, it's hard to see anything other than a comfortable evening in Pairc Tailteann for Kiltale.

While Saturday's quarter-final is straightforward to call, Sunday's meeting of Trim and Kildalkey is expected to be a much tighter affair between these two great rivals of recent years.

Trim and Kildalkey have produced some memorable clashes over the last five years and Sunday's clash in Pairc Tailteann could well be another close encounter, even though both teams have struggled to scale the heights of previous campaigns.

Kildalkey ended their group campaign with morale-sapping heavy losses against Ratoath and Kiltale.

There is no shame in losing to the two most in-form teams in the championship, but the nature of the defeats suggest that Kildalkey might struggle to regroup against a Trim side who continue to get players back from injury.

Kildalkey lost by 14 points to Ratoath and followed that with an insipid display when being crushed by 14 points by Kiltale, their second goal coming late on to take an even worse look off the margin of defeat.

Trim haven't exactly set the world alight with a six-point win over Dunderry, an 11-point win over Na Fianna and an eight-point victory over O'Mahonys in the opening three rounds not as impressive as the scorelines suggest.

There were signs of recovery when they hammered weakened Killyon in round four, but the loss to Kilmessan in the final game denied them a semi-final spot and badly needed week off for their plethora of dual players.

Trim lost Mikey Cole to a straight red card in the closing stages of that defeat by Kilmessan and his absence will be a huge blow for Declan Murray's side.

In that game they were also without players like James Toher, Gerry Dwane, Gary Fleming and Ian Birmingham, who only came on as a sub.

If those injuries clear up then Trim might be considered marginal favourites, but if Kildalkey can rediscover their best form then players like Paddy Conneely, Nicky Potterton, Patrick Potterton, Brian O'Halloran and Brendan McKeon will be major figures.

The reward for the winners is a semi-final clash with champions Ratoath and Trim get the vote to set up a repeat of last year's pulsating final.

SHC B

Clann na nGael and O'Mahonys will meet in the first of the SHC B quarter-finals at Trim on Saturday.

The B championship should be a tough one to call with all six sides of a very similar standard and this opening game could be the toughest of them all despite 2024 IHC champions O'Mahonys failing to win a game in their group.

Their four losses came at an average of just over eight points, but if you take the 16 point drubbing by Kilmessan out of the equation they only lost the other three games by an average of just over five points.

Clann na nGael's sole win in Group A came against Longwood, but they lost their other four games, albeit against much tougher opposition, by an average 18 points, including the 2-12 to 6-28 drubbing by Ratoath in the final game.

That heavy loss to the champions might drain the confidence of the Athboy/Rathcairn men, but they were missing some key players whom should return and if Joe Ennis is on form then he could be the key in getting the better of O'Mahonys' Jack Walsh in a shootout.

Defending B champions Longwood will welcome back the Healy brothers Damien and Anthony from suspension for their B quarter-final meeting with Dunderry in Trim on Sunday morning.

Dunderry will be hoping Evan Nolan can continue his goalscoring form after his four-goal salvo in the loss to Na Fianna that denied them a place in the quarter-finals of the SHC A.

This will be a tight one to call with Dunderry's young guns fancied to build on the one win and one draw they enjoyed in the group stages.