Junior singles round 8 matches the pick of a busy week in the county 60×30 adult championship
Alley chat with Antoin O Braoin
As expected both Shane Terry, St Josephs and Ciaran Busher, Bridgetown advanced to the semi finals of the junior D singles championship with impressive victories last night and as the knockout stages gather pace in the coming week, another ten quarter final ties will take place across the grades.
Castlebridge hold most of the aces in the junior singles and both David Kenny and John Murphy, who each topped their group, will start as favourites to reach the semi finals. Kenny, many peoples choice for outright victory, will be expected to see off the challenge of Damien Kelly, Coolgreany, but Murphy could be pushed all the way by the tricky Barry McWilliams, Horeswood.
The 2017 champion John Roche, also from Castlebridge, is again in contention and he should secure his last four place at the expense of clubmate Thomas (Mossy) Hall. The match of the round however could be the remaining tie between Micheal Busher, Bridgetown and Mick Armstrong, Kilmyshall and while the younger Busher will start favourite he will need to be at his very best to beat the dogged and determined Armstrong.
Another Castlebridge player, Shane Birney, has been the longtime favourite for junior C singles honours and he has had few problems in reaching this stage of the championship. His opponent in the quarter final will be Jack Roche, Bridgetown, who inflicted the only defeat on table topper Michael Murphy, Taghmon in the group stages. While that win was particularly noteworthy he will likely need to find another gear to prevent Birney advancing. The aforementioned Murphy will also need to produce a performance to get past James Mythen, Castlebridge while Ciaran Busher, Bridgetown versus Padraig Devereux, Castlebridge is likely to be a very close and exciting affair.
The fourth R8 match is between James Nolan, Kilmyshall and Colm Parnell, Ballyhogue and with both players enjoying a good run of form this is particularly difficult match to call. The youthful and stylish Parnell is on the up but Nolan is playing outstanding handball this year and his strength could be a vital factor in this match up.
Also down for decision this week are the junior B quarter finals but the actual pairings for these are dependent upon the outcome of the Robert Cogley, Ballymitty v Laurence Dunne, Kilmyshall match which is being played tomorrow evening. The fixtures for this grade will be updated and posted up here tomorrow night.
To see all this weeks fixtures click Fixture 12
The updated tables and results can be viewed at Championship groups and results