Laois SHC Round 5 – Abbeyleix v Camross
In O’Moore Park at 5.30pm
Clough-Ballacolla’s win over The Harps last night has meant that things are clearcut enough on one side of the draw.
By dint of that Clough-Ballacolla win, The Harps are out, so too are Castletown and Rathdowney-Errill, Camross and Borris-Kilcotton are all through.
All that those teams have to play for is position. Rathdowney-Errill are in the driving seat for top spot and a semi-final place.
For Abbeyleix, Clough-Ballacolla’s win means they now play a Camross side that aren’t under the same amount of pressure.
It’s all still up in the air for Abbeyleix. A win would put them in a strong position but they could still miss out if Portlaoise and Rosenallis were both to win too.
And they could still actually lose and go through if Portlaoise and Ballinakill lost as well.
Abbeyleix’s form has been erratic to say the least. They’re the only team in this championship to beat Rathdowney-Errill so far but they’ve also lost The Harps and Borris-Kilcotton and could only draw with Castletown.
Wins over Camross have been rare over the years and they’ll be up against today against a Camross side that have been gaining momentum.
Camross are favoured to win – but the full picture won’t emerge until later in the weekend.
Prediction: Camross
Laois SHC Round 5 – Portlaoise v Rathdowney-Errill
In O’Moore Park at 7pm
Portlaoise started this championship well – drawing with Camross and beating The Harps in the space of six days in the opening two rounds.
But they haven’t kept up that form and have since lost their next two outings, to Castletown and Borris-Kilcotton.
Rathdowney-Errill have been the championship’s top-performing team, with wins over Clough-Ballacolla, Ballinakill and Rosenallis, though they did falter against Abbeyleix.
They’re in the driving seat for a semi-final place and a win here, assuming Borris-Kilcotton don’t make up a 15-point scoring difference, would see them earn top spot and avoid the quarter-final route and a showdown with Camross.
Portlaoise almost certainly need a win and to do so they need to find form again quickly.
These sides drew in last year’s championship but all the evidence at the moment points to a Rathdowney-Errill win.
Prediction: Rathdowney-Errill
Laois IHC Quarter-final – Borris-Kilcotton v Slieve Bloom
In Trumera at 5pm
The first of the Laois IHC quarter-finals takes place in Trumera this evening with Clonad awaiting the winners in the semi-final.
Borris-Kilcotton recorded last-minute group wins away to Trumera and Ballypickas, either side of a heavy defeat at home to Mountrath.
Slieve Bloom started with two losses in a row – to The Harps and Clonad, but the sympathetic nature of allowing three teams through to the knockout stages meant that they advanced thanks to a win over Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe.
They have recent experience at the higher level and though numbers will always be tight, they do have a good spread of quality.
Borris-Kilcotton have a good team at this level but when push comes to shove, Slieve Bloom’s want might just be greater.
Prediction: Slieve Bloom
SEE ALSO – Laois SHC: Tensions high as Clough-Ballacolla come out on top over The Harps to ensure qualification
