The coming weekend sees the first round of
this year’s Under 14 Hurling Championship. This Championship involves ‘A’ and
‘B’ grades with the ‘B’ competition comprising Cup and Shield competitions.
In the first semi final of the ‘A’
competition, the hurlers of Portaferry and Ballycran clash on Monday 29 August
with the winners awaiting the outcome of the following weekend’s meeting of
Ballygalget and a Down Academy team, made up of hurlers from mainland teams.
Those mainland hurlers will themselves be
busy with their own Clubs in the ‘B’ Championship in the coming week. In a
recent preliminary round game, Castlewellan defeated Ballyvarley by 5-4 to 3-2
and so have progressed to play Bredagh in the ‘B’ semi final this weekend.
Bredagh have participated in the Ards league this year and would therefore be
favourites but with home advantage, Castlewellan will be hoping to cause an
upset against the Belfast team.
In the other semi final, scheduled for
Sunday, Warrenpoint await the winners of the preliminary round match between
Carryduff and Liatroim. That game takes place on Wednesday evening with
Carryduff going in as underdogs against a Fontenoys side who annexed the Under
14 mainland league title with a win over Carryduff earlier in the summer.
The preliminary rounds of the Under 16 ‘B’
Championship are also down for decision this weekend. Shamrocks host Ballela on
Friday while Clonduff take on Ballyvarley on Sunday. On league form, Ballela and
Ballyvarley would begin as favourites but as Galway showed against Kilkenny,
anything can happen in Championship hurling and both travelling teams will have
to perform to their full potential to live up to their favourites tag and
progress to the next round.
