Ambitious Kilcormac-Killoughey face huge first round hurdle

HUNGRY to progress onto the next level, Kilcormac-Killoughey face one of the toughest hurdles of all as they travel to Nowlan Park to face off with Kilkenny champions, Ballyhale Shamrocks in the quarter-final of the Leinster Club Senior Hurling Championship next Sunday.

The three in a row Offaly champions have a lot of the ingredients to challenge for provincial and All-Ireland glory. They are clearly one of the best club teams in the province and have some of the best young talent in the country.

There are of course plenty of pitfalls in Offaly and the standard of club hurling here has noticeably picked up in the past few years. There may be less than a handful of teams capable of winning the title but there is a lot of quality in games, with a high level of intensity. You have to be a very good hurler to play in an Offaly semi-final or final and the club hurling scene has provided further evidence of the wheel turning.

Kilcormac-Killoughey have emerged as a dominant force as expected. They have won three in a row for the second time but almost came a cropper against Birr and Shinrone in the Offaly semi-final and final.

They are not unbeatable in Offaly but that is a very good sign of the opposition. K-K's excellence is forcing other clubs to raise the bar and this can only be positive for Offaly hurling. Shinrone, Birr, Ballinamere and Belmont have all responded and this quartet all have realistic championship aspirations – Ballinamere ran K-K close in the 2024 final and while it didn't happen for them this year, they remain a very potent outfit with real potential.

K-K took an important step forward when reaching the Leinster club final last year. Dublin's Na Fianna proved too strong for them but it was clear that K-K are moving in the right direction.

The draw has been much tougher this year with K-K facing one of the best club teams in the country in their opener – the winner of this will play Clough-Ballacolla of Laois or Westmeath's Castletown Geoghegan in the semi-final.

It is a massive test for K-K but they will give it one mighty go. K-K have been a bit hot and cold at times this year. They drew with Belmont in their opening game but were down a handful of their top players that day. They were also held to a draw by Shinrone in the group and Birr were within a hair's breath of taking them out in the semi-final.

There have also been times when they have looked almost invincible. They were sensational in their group win over St Rynagh's and quarter-final against Ballinamere. They were excellent in the first half of the final against Shinrone and this gave them enough of a platform to hold off their spirited second half rally.

On their day, they are as good as almost any team and nothing would surprise you with K-K. They are also close to full strength now with hamstring victim Ter Guinan coming on as a sub late on in the county final and the extra few weeks should have brought him on a lot more.

K-K are not the finished article and the heavy underfoot Winter conditions at this time of year won't suit some of their younger, lighter players. If they are to win anything outside of Offaly, however, they will have to adapt to this and a good, fast, skilful hurler on a dry sod is also a good, fast, skilful hurler in the wet and mud.

K-K showed their intent when bringing in Tipperary coach Declan Laffan as manager last January. Some people tend to use these type of appointments as a stick to beat a club with. Tullamore were also hearing that their ambitions had transcended Offaly after bringing in Mayo man Stephen Rochford as a senior football coach. You would think this was a bad thing the way some people refer to it and instead, their ambition should be lauded – it is also true that men of this type of quality would be unlikely to be attracted to mediocre teams with limited prospects.

It does not mean in anyway that K-K or Tullamore have taken anything for granted in Offaly. This is far from the case and both had to work very hard to complete their three in a row titles this year.

Some of K-K's elder statesmen, James Gorman, Conor Mahon, Damien Kilmartin and Enda Grogan may be on borrowed time at this level but they remain absolutely pivotal to their prospects. They will revel in the more physical hurling of this time of year and they are true leaders, keen to drain every last drop out of their long careers.

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Ballyhale Shamrocks are favourites for this one and it will be a surprise if they don't win on home turf. Yet K-K have a very good chance. They should be competitive and these are the type of games they have to be able to win if they are to fulfil their potential at the next level.

Verdict – Ballyhale Shamrocks.