Christy Ring Cup Preview: Down, Offaly, Kildare And Roscommon Battle For Final Spots
By Daire Walsh
The race for the Christy Ring Cup will intensify this weekend with the competition’s two semi-finals taking place simultaneously at 1.30pm on Saturday afternoon.
At Pairc Esler in Newry, Down will play host to an Offaly side buoyed by their recent success over Derry. In St Conleth’s Park, Newbridge, two-time champions Kildare face Connacht outfit Roscommon, who are competing in the penultimate rounds for the second year in succession.
Having lost out to Meath in last year’s decider in Croke Park, Down will be aiming to go one step further in 2020. Their most recent final appearance was back in 2013, when Gareth ‘Magic’ Johnson and skipper Paul Braniff inspired the Mourne men to a 3-16 to 2-17 triumph over Kerry at GAA HQ.
There has been considerable change to their team over the past seven years, with only goalkeeper Stephen Keith, Conor Woods, Matt Conlon and Donal Hughes still around from the side that started against the Kingdom.
They have played just one game to date in this year’s competition, albeit it was a pretty important one. Hot on their heels of claiming in the National Hurling League Division 2B title at the expense of the same opposition, Down defeated provincial rivals Derry on a scoreline of 1-13 to 0-13 in Round 2A at McKenna Park in Ballycran on October 31.
The aforementioned Donal Hughes bagged a crucial haul of 1-2 from play in this encounter, while Oisín MacManus registered seven points from placed balls. Pearse Óg McCrickard superbly split the uprights off a sideline cut but, if anything, it was their defensive solidity that ultimately saw off the Oak Leaf challenge.
A substitute in the 2013 final, Michael Hughes marshalled a powerful half-back line alongside Barry Trainor and Liam Savage. The experience of corner-back Woods was vital to their cause and he was ably-assisted by the likes of Tom Murray and Caolan Taggart.
They will need to be at their best this weekend as Offaly will be hell-bent on an immediate return to the Joe McDonagh Cup for 2021. Previously an adversary of the Faithful county, Kilkenny hurler Michael Fennelly is in charge of their quest for a first championship title since 1998.
It has been a difficult year thus far for the eight-time All-Ireland winner. Though he guided them to the Kehoe Cup in January, Offaly fell short in their bid to gain promotion from Division 2A of the NHL.
Their Christy Ring preparations were then thrown up in the air when a Covid issue within the squad led to them handing an opening round walkover to Kildare. This meant their subsequent meeting with Derry in Newry last Saturday was a do-or-die affair, but they came through it with flying colours.
On the same day that his uncle Adrian sadly passed away, Eoghan Cahill contributed an astonishing haul of 0-17 for the Faithful in an emphatic 0-32 to 1-12 victory.
Fennelly’s charges will once again embark on a 200 mile round trip to face Ulster opposition, but they won’t mind if it leads to them booking a showpiece spot. In addition to Cahill, Liam Langton (0-3), Peter Geraghty and Colm Gath (0-2 apiece) also produced fine attacking displays the last day out.
Similar performances from these players – as well as defensive lynchpins Ben Conneely and Cillian Kiely – could go a long way towards ensuring their winning run continues.
Of course, the added incentive ahead of these games is the fact that the two finalists are guaranteed to a place in next year’s Joe McDonagh Cup. This will strike a particular chord with Kildare who, after winning the competition in 2018, were later defeated by Antrim in a promotion/relegation play-off.
Having failed to progress from last year’s group stages, the Lilywhites returned to competitive championship fare in recent weeks with an extra layer of motivation. Their campaign began in a two point loss to Roscommon (0-20 to 1-15) and David Herity’s side will be aiming for a reversal of fortunes when they renew acquaintances on Saturday.
Should both themselves and Offaly reach the decider, it will see Herity coming face-to-face with his former Kilkenny team-mate Fennelly.
Having been handed a win by their Leinster counterparts in the opening round, Kildare entered the November 1 showdown with Wicklow in Newbridge somewhat cold. It was exactly eight months since their last competitive fixture, a round five Division 2B defeat at the hands of Down.
Wicklow posed a significant threat to their neighbours on the back of an impressive victory against Roscommon, but it was Kildare who ruled the roost on the day.
The excellent Jack Sheridan recorded 2-5 for the Lillies and there was also a handsome contribution of three points from James Burke, who featured prominently alongside namesake Donal for DCU in this year’s Fitzgibbon Cup. Even though the dead-ball accuracy of Christy Moorehouse kept them on their toes, Kildare were worthy 2-14 to 1-10 winners in the end.
If Roscommon are to come out on top of this clash, then they will need another big performance out of ace marksman Cathal Dolan. After scoring 2-6 in their opening day reversal to Wicklow, he posted 13 points in their 0-20 to 0-17 triumph over Sligo in Athleague last Sunday.
This puts him just ahead of Moorehouse in the top scorer charts and with both himself and Cahill in such sparkling form, the respective defences will need to be disciplined at all times.
While the Rossies do have an extra game under their belts, Kildare have had the luxury of an additional seven days to prepare for this last-four duel. This could well swing the pendulum in the Lilywhites’ favour, but if this year has taught us anything, it’s not to make grand assumptions ahead of time.