This year’s Intermediate Hurling Championship has been a great source of unpredictable results, not least in the semi-final round. Bruff were widely expected to overcome Knockaderry with something to spare, while Dromin-Athlacca were slight outsiders against an in-form Blackrock side that were regarded as championship dark horses in plenty of corners. Suffice it to say that not too many people expected the final pairing that has materialised.
Before this championship began, most pundits would have agreed that Dromin-Athlacca would be a more potent all round force than Knockaderry and odds of 8/13 about the favourites and 11/8 about the outsiders would seem correct – which is exactly what Paddy Powers have posted for this fixture. However if it were Bruff that got this far, then Dromin-Athlacca would probably be the outsiders, so we have to wonder if Knockaderry are getting sufficient credit for holding the championship favourites to just ten points in the previous round?
Knockaderry have played five games so far this year and averaged just thirteen scores per game in those five matches. That they are in a county final, after such a poor season offensively, speaks volumes for the form of Tom Condon and his defensive troops. One could argue that on a big occasion like a county final, it’s better to have a solid defence than a free scoring attack, since even the best of forward lines can misfire when under pressure.
That said, Kilmallock is a fine open field and the pace of the Dromin-Athlacca attack will be useful attacking tool here. Knockaderry should struggle to close down space on an inter-county sized pitch. Dromin-Athlacca have also been consistently strong against decent opposition throughout the season – arguably only their 2-8 to 0-11 win over St Kierans in the final round of group games was a poor performance. Even in defeat to Bruff, they showed plenty of potency going forward.
It’s 8/13 Dromin-Athlacca to win the match, 4/7 to lift the trophy and 5/6 to win by more than one point on the handicap betting market. 5/6 looks like a decent punt, either for large stakes singles backers, or for those looking to boost an accumulator bet.
Finally, Na Piarsaigh didn’t quite do enough last week to cover the handicap as we had hoped, but their two point win over Adare has seen them move into 4/1, joint second favourites, for the Munster club hurling championship. A tough championship draw away to the Tipperary champions in the semi-final round is something of an obstacle to their chances, but in a Munster club campaign with no Thurles Sarsfields and no De la Salle, they are the only club still standing with a strong track record at this level in recent years. All Ireland odds of 16/1 make no appeal when we consider that they would have to play the Galway champions in the semi-final and no Munster club has beaten any Leinster or Galway team in tis competition for over a decade now, but a Munster title is very real possibility all the same – even if they have some tough games to play in the next month.
by Kevin Egan for Paddy Power
