Rynagh's under pressure to perform against Belmont

By Kevin Egan

Last weekend, the Edenderry and Ferbane footballers recorded emphatic victories to make it clear that they are the obvious front runners in the race to dethrone Tullamore. As of yet, the field in the county senior hurling championship is altogether more congested, but a lot more will be revealed over the coming few days.

Last night (Thursday) last year’s finalists Ballinamere steadied the ship with a win over their neighbours Tullamore (4-18 to 2-18).

Tonight (Friday) sees St Rynagh’s taking on Belmont in a fascinating local derby, and it feels pretty close to do-or-die for the Banagher side here too. With Kilcormac-Killoughey still to play, anything less than a win will leave Rynagh’s needing to turn over the county champions to stay alive, and even then, they wouldn’t be guaranteed a spot in the top three.

For Belmont, getting that draw against K-K was hugely important for their confidence and belief, but they will still need at least two positive results in their remaining three games to get into a quarter-final.

In the absence of Oisín Kelly and his goalscoring ability, there’s a limit to how much they can score, so a Rynagh’s team that they can pressurise in terms of the puckout battle, potentially restricting the home side’s possession, could be the best chance to put one of those two results on the board.

On Saturday we’ll see Kinnitty show their hand for the first time, though on paper they’ve a lot to do against Shinrone who showed up well in round one. Then Seir Kieran will try to bounce back from a dismal showing against Birr, and the sight of local rivals Coolderry will surely help focus their minds in that regard.

An improved performance from Clareen is likely, but Coolderry will still expect, with good reason, to have four or five points to spare at the end.

In the senior B grade, the most intriguing match is Kilcormac-Killoughey travelling to Carrig. Carrig & Riverstown’s upward trajectory continues, and if they can deal another hammer blow to K-K, they could take a huge step towards ensuring that the pre-championship favourites don’t make it out of the group stages. Moreover, a win in a game like this will feel like another massive step forward for a young and progressive group.

With Lusmagh having Coolderry on Thursday night, the Reds and the Blues can cement their status as the leading lights in the second tier over the weekend.