Birr, K/K, Rynagh's and Coolderry look primed to advance in SHC

Pragmatism means that several big domestic championship matches have been held at low key venues on Friday and Saturday nights for the past few months, but now that the fixtures committee no longer has to be careful to avoid clashing with big attractions on TV, Saturday and Sunday afternoon welcomes back the club player, and not a day too soon either. O'Connor Park is the setting for tomorrow's two battles and the meeting of Birr and Tullamore is a fixture that holds huge appeal for everyone involved. Tullamore have proven that they have no fear of Birr or their lofty reputation, while there is no question that the south Offaly club will relish the opportunity to atone for at least some of the anguish they have suffered at the hands of Tullamore in recent years. Both clubs will have been quite happy to draw each other at this stage. For neutrals this is an excellent tie as well, because there are a lot of capable hurling teams left in this championship who would struggle to muster up the self-belief required to push home a win against Birr, but here an upset is definitely possible. While Birr have cruised through the group stages of the championship so far, it's notable that they haven't yet had to face an elite, marquee forward. Brian Carroll was injured and played very little part in Coolderry's defeat to Birr in Shinrone, Derek Molloy was in America for Shamrocks' humiliating 2-17 to 0-3 defeat to the Birr men, and pretty much every other elite forward in the county played in Group 1. Shane Dooley's return poses a real test to the Birr full back line, and all the more so because Stephen Egan's deployment up front has added a real extra dimension to the Tullamore attack. The Blues' ability to win primary possession from their own puckout will be a real concern, but they have a decent defensive sextet who will put pressure on young forwards like Tomás Bolger, Brian Nolan and Brendan Murphy, who have shown talent and now must marry that with big match temperament. Birr should win, but one way or another, this match looks set to be hugely informative. The battle between Kilcormac/Killoughey and Kinnitty, sadly, does not promise any such revelation. If both these sides were going well, then this would be en excellent challenge for both clubs and the ideal stepping stone before testing themselves against a stronger team at the semi-final stage. However, Kilcormac/Killoughey still haven't got fully comfortable with Pad Joe Whelahan's traditional hurling style, and Kinnitty simply aren't hurling well at all. Talented hurlers like Aodhán and Odhrán Kealey, Colm Coughlan and Stephen Molloy need to find form fast as only Mark Robinson is really looking on song at the moment. Kilcormac/Killoughey should win this without really having to extend themselves too much, unless Kinnitty turn a lot of things around very quickly. St Rynagh's and Shinrone open proceedings in Birr on Sunday and if ever there were two teams with completely opposite characteristics, it's these two clubs. St Rynagh's, due in no small part to their illustrious history and steady stream of underage success, enter every game firmly of the belief that they are capable of victory, even though the standard of their hurling hasn't lived up to their own expectations in recent years and thus hasn't really justified that level of confidence. Their modern generations are standing on the shoulders of giants and struggling to hold their balance, while for Shinrone, their current generation has no shortage of craft and skill, but they have to climb over the corpses of previous club stalwarts who died a thousand deaths on the field of battle. On several occasions their hurling has put them in great positions, only for their complete and utter lack of self-belief to cause them to stumble, or let themselves down. Their meeting with Coolderry this year represented a great chance for Shinrone to slay some demons and to get one over on their more illustrious neighbours, however yet again they fell woefully short. They responded by putting Drumcullen mercilessly to the sword, but their ability to cut loose on minnows has never been in question. It's their ability to drive home a strong position that remains in doubt. They may address that this week, but the case for suggesting that Rynagh's have improved this summer is so much stronger. In terms of raw ability, the sides look well matched now - and Shinrone need to be at least six points better to have a chance of winning a game like this by two or three. Coolderry and Seir Kieran is the last quarter-final to get underway this weekend, and yet again, it's very possible that not much will be learned in this game. Coolderry's forwards can struggle when put under real pressure, particularly if they don't have the option of watching Brian Carroll pop over points from out the field. The problem is that it's hard to see Seir Kieran being the team to squeeze the life out of that front six for the county champions. Joe Bergin will cause the Coolderry defence plenty of problems, possibly even getting in close enough to either score goals or draw close range frees, and Thomas Carroll will be capable of taking scores from range, but the vulnerability of the Clareen full-back line is well known and it would be a surprise if Damien Murray didn't display his usual trick of sneaking into goalscoring positions un-noticed. Expect the county champions to round off the last four, with their real potential to go untapped for another few weeks.