Club hurling round-up: Ballyhale Shamrocks defend Kilkenny title, upsets in Cork semi-finals
A round-up of the weekend's club hurling action; Ballyhale Shamrocks defeated O'Loughlin Gaels in the Kilkenny SHC final, while there was semi-final action in both Cork and Galway
Monday 8 November 2021 12:28, UK
Ballyhale Shamrocks are back into another provincial campaign.
Kilkenny SHC
Ballyhale are the Kilkenny county champions for a fourth consecutive year, after a 3-19 to 3-15 comeback win over O'Loughlin Gaels.
The city club had led 1-11 to 0-9 approaching half-time, but the 2019 and 2020 All-Ireland champions closed the gap to three at half-time.
Goals from Adrian Mullen, Joe Cuddihy and Brian Butler after the break turned the tide, as Ballyhale march on to another Leinster Championship campaign after a four-point victory.
Following the win, Shamrocks captain Colin Fennelly confirmed he has retired from inter-county hurling, having sat out the 2021 season with Kilkenny.
Cork PSHC
Midleton and Glen Rovers will contest the 2021 Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship decider.
2013 champions Midleton dethroned reigning champions Blackrock in a high-scoring affair at Pairc Uí Chaoimh, 4-22 to 3-19.
Former county star Conor Lehane led the scoring for the east Cork outfit with 0-10, while Cormac Beausang, Ross O'Regan, Luke O'Farrell and Pa White all found the net for the Magpies, who are managed by Cork great Ben O'Connor.
Meanwhile. 'The Glen' defeated Sarsfields in the second contest on Sunday afternoon. The Glanmire club had received a bye to the semi-finals after finishing the round-robin stages as the top group winner. But they fell to the northside city club, inspired by Patrick Horgan who had originally been suspended for the contest before his successful appeal.
Horgan hit 1-11, 1-5 of which came from play, as the 27-time winners reached their third consecutive final.
Galway SHC
Clarinbridge are through to the Galway final after a 3-18 to 1-14 victory over Craughwell.
New Tribesmen boss Henry Shefflin was in attendance, as the 2011 All-Ireland champions came through by a margin of 10 points. County star Evan Niland hit 0-13, while Gavin Lee, Mikey Daly and Niall Armstrong all found the net for Clarinbridge.
They will need to wait until they learn their final opponents, however, after Gort vs St Thomas' was postponed due to Covid-19 issues.
In Laois, Clough-Ballacolla edged Borris-Kilcotton 1-25 to 2-21 to retain their title. Raharney won their first Westmeath championship since 2016, overcoming Castletown-Geoghegan, 0-21 to 0-18.
St Ryanagh's and Coolderry will contest the Offaly decider, after wins over Kilcormac-Killoughey and Shinrone respectively.
Meanwhile, Eire Og Carrickmore, Middletown Na Fianna and Cootehill Celtic won county titles in Tyrone, Armagh and Cavan.
