Newcastle West v Glenroe: Intermediate Hurling Championship final preview

This Sunday a place in next years Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship is up for grabs as Newcastle West and Glenroe meet in the Intermediate decider.

For Glenroe, it will be a case of going that extra step that has proved so elusive for them over the years.

They fell at the final hurdle in 2017, against Kildimo-Pallaskenry who have since proved their worth in the PIHC grade.

Indeed, Glenroe have reached the last four in each of the past six seasons, losing the semi-final in 2018, ’16,’15 and ’14.

This year they finished top of group two, with four wins from five in the group stages.

They accounted for Effin, St Pats, Granagh/Ballingarry and Drom Broadford but fell to Hospital Herbertstown in Round 3.

In the semi-final, despite finding themselves eight points down in the first half, Glenroe produced an incredible comeback to seal their place in the final.

This will be Newcastle West’s first county hurling final appearance since 2001 when they won the Junior A championship.

They are looking for a hat-trick of county titles with their camogie side capturing their first senior title ever last Sunday and their footballers to face Oola in the senior football final next Sunday.

Compared to their opponents, they have very little experience in the knockout stages of the competition with their last trip to the knockout stages coming in 2017 when they were defeated by Kildimo-Pallaskenry in the quarter-finals.

Yet, Newcastle West are on the back of a five game winning run this year.

After losing their opening pair of games to Na Piarsaigh and Croom, the magpies bounced back with successive victories over Knockaderry, Feonagh and Tournafulla to secure a quarter-final berth.

There they faced an Effin side, putting them to the sword in a comprehensive 2-19 to 0-8 win.

In the last four they were paired with a fancied Croom side whom they also beat in impressive fashion, winning 1-19 to 1-9 to secure a place in the final.

Glenroe will be favourites with so much experience in this stage of the competition, but Newcastle’s momentum make them a hard outfit to back against.