Laois Senior Hurling Championship 2016

[Ballyroan Abbey]

Look im a football man first and foremost and nobody was too disapointed to see those lads leave for abbeyleix but it is something that has happened a lot in the last few years and there is no point saying it doesnt happen, it benefits both us and abbeyleix and i think the results are starting to show this year and further progress will be made over the coming year.

Was anyone else at the match last night id  be interested to hear it from a neutrals perspective

[Keyser Söze]

Think they have a few from ballypickas on it which is suprising considering delaney (who i felt was excellent tonight) and a few others were poached off them by abbeyleix. I was probably a bit harsh earlier on but it really was a game that should of been won by by 10-15 points especially after cranny got the goal. All thinggs going well we'll finish the job in the replay

You are right, you were harsh earlier, they are young lads doing their best.

"Delaney and a few others were poached off them by Abbeyleix" is a pretty one-eyed and exaggerated view at best.

Did he and others transfer from Ballypickas and elsewhere at some stage? Genuine question!

Also there appears to be very little recognition that it is a "Gaels" thing on Abbeyleix Facebook page and on some of the signs around the town. That is very disrespectful to Ballypickas.

Whilst Ballyroan Abu was harsh, it is fairly unforgivable to be 10 points up in a final with 15 minutes to go & lose the game.
Clough Ballacolla are game and have managed to put a bit of a run together. There is an awful lot more in Robbie Phelan. As good as Cillian McEvoy is, I was very surprised that Abbeyleix Gaels allowed a 1v1 situation on the full forward line for the entire second half. Despite a plentiful supply of ball- Robbie did very little until the last 5/6 minutes.

Whilst Abbeyleix Gaels are much more balanced team (and I would have tipped them to win this final), Clough Ballacolla have the two best players on the field. I don't think Abbeyleix Gaels will be able to establish as big a lead early on the next day, but they should still have enough to win what has been a very competitive championship. That's 3/9 games that have finished level after normal time.

[LOVEGAA]

Was a neutral at the game and I thought Abbeyleix Gales had it wrapped up at half time.
They were by far the better team all round but I thought Liam Delaney was the main man in mid field.

Think they might have put too much emphasis on marking Robbie Phelan and took their eye off the ball in every sense of the word.

Would expect more from Jake Cranny next time round

[BallyroanAbbey]

Has there been a date set for the replay? from what i know the minor football final is moved to next week and both ballacolla, abbeyleix and ballypickas are hurling at the weekend so it could be a while before this game is refixed depending on results at the weekend. From what i could see from last night ballacolla are very reliant on cleere and phelan(which is no disrespect to the other ballacolla players as they are fantastic young players) whereas abbeyleix were more of a team and seem to have more scoring options

[County baller]

Thought I'd kick off the predictions for this weekend.

Clough/Ballacolla v Rathdowney/Errill- Ballacolla were poor against Camross and seem to lack leaders on the pitch. Rathdowney have bounced back from their opening weekend defeat and I think they'll win here. R/E by 5.

Borris/Kilcotton v Portlaoise- While Borris put in a lacklustre performance against Ballinakill they should have enough big name players to beat a Portlaoise team who will be happy to have avoided relegation. Borris by 4.

The Harps v Abbeyleix- The Harps have been clear favourites for the drop all year yet could've avoided it with a win against Portlaoise. Abbeyleix will be disappointed to have ended up in a relegation final and should pull through. Abbeyleix by 6.

[merman]

Very hard to see past Rathdowney/Errill and Borris/Kilcotton.

Clough/Ballacolla have been poor all year and don't look have to have that steely resolve needed to go back to back.
RE will have revenge on their mind after last year's humbling and I'd fancy their defence to hold strong. Up front, Ross King always causes CB problems and he should fire them through to a semi-final against Ballinakill.

Portlaoise have been decent so far but BK is a big step up and I can't see them holding BK's forwards out. BK, for their part, looked disjointed and lethargic against Ballinakill but should have the firepower up front now that they have a fuller hand to play with.

I have a sneaky suspicion The Harps could upset Abbeyleix however. Abbeyleix aren't built to score goals and I fancy John Brophy to nab 1 or 2 at the other end. Could be decisive.

RE by 4
BK by 6
The Harps by 2

[finbar o tool]

I think its the Harps turn to go down, i think Abbeyleix will start quick and Harps will chase the game unsuccesfully til the end. Abbeyeix by 2.
I think CB wil also win by 2/3. They always find an extra gear when they play RE and theres a big performance in them yet.
BK should win this. But they have had no shape, no purpose and no drive yet this year, and if that continues, i wouldnt be overly surprised if Portlaoise snatch a win here!

[Keyser Söze]

BK should win this. But they have had no shape, no purpose and no drive yet this year, and if that continues, i wouldnt be overly surprised if Portlaoise snatch a win here!

Says the BK man! There is no way they can/will lose to Portlaoise!

I agree with previous posters that RE will beat CB. They should. But games between these two tend to take on a life of there own.
RE are still a serious team. They are currently 7/2. I think that is crazy generous.
The CB team seems to lack the necessary hunger/personality to go on and dominate for a year or two within the county.

I have tipped The Harps twice this year. They were woeful the first day, and slightly better the next two. But I think Abbeyleix is a step up on Portlaoise. Will they beat them? I don't think they will. They have survived twice recently when Ballinakill and Castletown didn't turn up. They can't keep getting lucky.

[finbar o tool]

BK should win this. But they have had no shape, no purpose and no drive yet this year, and if that continues, i wouldnt be overly surprised if Portlaoise snatch a win here!

Says the BK man!

[/quote]
There is no way they can/will lose to Portlaoise!
[/quote]

I thought the same thing before both Ballinakill matches!
Portlaoise have some lively forwards, and the Harps match will stand to them.

C/B are current champs, they didnt turn bad overnight, they wont fear RE and they havent played well yet, the all or nothing situation might wake them up a bit! 

[Keyser Söze]

Ballinakill have scorers. Portlaoise do not. Simple.

[finbar o tool]

Possibly, although Portlaoise have out-scored Ballinakill so far in the championship!

[Keyser Söze]

Possibly, although Portlaoise have out-scored Ballinakill so far in the championship!

Down to the quality of opposition!

[blueandwhite1]

I agree with previous posters that RE will beat CB. They should. But games between these two tend to take on a life of there own.
RE are still a serious team. They are currently 7/2. I think that is crazy generous.

R/E were flying during the league but have been poor in the championship to date. Abbeyleix challenged them right through until the last quarter. CB will raise their game for sure and these two teams have plenty of history in recent years. 50/50, could go either way.

[merman]

Good game in O' Moore Park last night with Rathdowney/Errill edging out Clough/Ballacolla by 2 points; 3.13-2.18.

CB had their chances, hit some brutal wides from play and placed balls and then probably should have snatched it at the end but were denied a goal by a great block from I think Noel Brennan in the goal.
All that said, I think the better team on the night won. RE were clinical for 45 mins and then spurned 3 great chances late on when trying to kill the game when in hindsight, points would have probably been enough. They played the smarter game and looked to have a better set-up and cohesion about them.

None of CB's main players really got going and in fact, some of their worse moments were perpetrated by their leaders. Lee Cleere and Tom Delaney proved huge losses and throwing in the continued absence of Bill Duggan, they just looked a physical presence or two short in that middle third.

CB couldn't live with Paddy Purcell, he dominated the first half amd struck decisively at moments in the second. They hit some fine scores up front and some of RE's younger players really came of age with Jack Kelly, Jake Creagh and Eric Killeen all having good performances. I'm also continually impressed with Tadgh Dowling who puts in a huge shift every game and always slots over a couple of scores. Clearly, missing Mark Kavanagh weakens them but Ross King is, as ever, the main man and he could be the one to fire them to the championship.

Should Borris/Kilcotton defeat Portlaoise, then RE will go in as definite favourites against Ballinakill. Regardless of the draw, they look the team to beat and a 6th title in 11 years would propel them well ahead of their rivals in the bragging stakes.

[redsetanta]

Shows how difficult it is to win back to back championships in Laois at the moment. I just hope that whoever wins they will acquit themselves in Leinster.