The Sem and The Green will be fancied to make it an all Kerry Corn Uí Mhuirí final – Independent.ie
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William Shine, in action for St Brendan's College against Colaiste na Sceilge in the Corn Uí Mhuiri quarter-final, is one of The Sem's outstanding forwards who will be a thorn in the side of Hamilton Highschool Bandon defence on Saturday
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Paul Brennan
January 28 2022 06:00 AM
CORN UÍ MHUIRÍ (Munster Colleges SFC ‘A’) SEMI-FINALS
Saturday, January 29
Both in Mallow GAA Complex
Tralee CBS v Skibbereen Community School at 3.30pm
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If Skibbereen Community School are looking for angles to latch on to, to give them grounds for optimism against defending champions Tralee CBS, they might start with the fact that the Tralee school have only played two games thus far in this competition and haven’t really had any hard questions asked of them. That suggests two things of course: either The Green are untouchable and will remain so, or that they might come into this semi-final a little undercooked. That’s where Skibbereen CS will hope to find a chink in the armour.
The champions were comfortable 2-11 to 0-9 winners over ISK when they started their title defence – a result that earned them a byer through round 2 and straight passage to the quarter-finals. In the last eight, Tralee CBS faced a Clonakilty CS team that was well regarded and which might have fancied their chances of dethroning the champions, but The Green swatted away the challenge with a convincing 4-13 to 1-8 win.
That’s the fear for Skibbereen: that they come up against a CBS team in no-nonsense form, tuned in to the task at hand and being at their best. And if Tralee are at their best this might be no contest at all. This Green team is backboned by Austin Stacks players, from Ben Quilter in goal through Armin Heinrich, Conor Horan and Jordan
Kissane, with fellow Rockies Colm Browne and Donnacha Sayers also starting the quarter-final. Kissane is the team’s scorer-in-chief, but this is as side that will mine scores from many sources, and the fear for Skibbereen is that they simply won’t have the defenders and defence to contain them.
The West Cork school has notched totals of 1-19, 2-10 and 1-14 in their own games, the latter scored against SPSL Rathmore in a character-building quarter-final win, so they won’t be found wanting in the scoring department, although the Tralee defence is likely to be a step up on anything Skibb have faced so far.
Verdict: Tralee CBS
St Brendan’s Killarney v Hamilton Highschool Bandon, 5.30pm
Whether or not St Brendan’s College might have thought they would be facing Kerry opposition in this semi-final is immaterial now. That Hamilton Highschool Bandon beat Mercy Mounthawk Tralee in a hard-fought quarter-final will have put The Sem on notice that The Hammies are no team to be taken lightly, and the Killarney side would do well to enter this contest with a healthy degree of wariness.
For their own part, St Brendans had absolutely nothing easy in their own quarter-final, and on another day Bandon well be facing Colaiste na Sceilge in this penultimate stage of the Corn Uí Mhuirí. In Cromane, The Sem escaped with a 2-8 to 2-7 win over a gritty and gutsy Cahersiveen side, and if Bandon bring as much determination, which they surely will, then the Killarney lads will have a serious battle on their hands.
St Brendans inside forward line of Cian McMahon, Alex Hennigan and William Shine is where the 22-times Munster Colleges champions will seek to win the game; it’s getting enough quality ball into that terrific trio that will be key. Much of the onus for that will lie with Liam Randles and Killian O’Sullivan around midfield, but The Sem’s effort will have to be a collective one.
The Sem’s goals against Colaiste na Sceilge came from midfielder Randles and substitute Charlie Keating, and it is that sort of scoring assistance that the full forward line will need.
From Bandon’s point of view the brief is fairly simple: curtail the scoring threat of that aforementioned inside trio for St Brendans and be equal to their opponent in the matter of scoring goals. St Brendans don’t always raise green flags – as they didn’t against ISK in round 2, though they did rack up 20 points in that win – but they are just as capable of going to town on that front. They put five goals on Clonmel on round one, along with the two in the quarter-final, and anything less than parity on that front and Hamilton High will be in trouble.
The West Cork school were comfortable winners over Colaiste Choilm Ballincollig and then St Flannan’s before their 3-5 to 1-10 win over Mounthawk, which is exactly the sort of game that will stand to them hugely.
The overall form and pedigree suggest The Sem will pull through this game, and they probably will, but only after a tough and tight contest.
Verdict: St Brendan's Killarney
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