Permutations | Three quarter-final spots to be filled with straight shoot out for last four berth in final round of Limerick SHC

The curtain comes down on the final round of the Limerick SHC this weekend.

The race for the Daly Cup will be reduced to six this weekend with the concluding round of the group stages of the Limerick Senior Hurling Championship.

All but one side can qualify for the quarter-finals at the least heading into the fifth round with Blackrock’s relegation already confirmed.

Na Piarsaigh have booked their semi-final berth while Kilmallock and Doon have secured a knockout berth, they meet this Sunday with the winner straight into the semi-finals.

Patrickswell, Adare and Ahane will all be hopeful of that last quarter-final spot but are also in relegation danger.

In group two, there is a scenario where five of the six teams finish level on points, should results go a certain way.

Ahead of the final round, check out the permutations for each team below.

Group One

Na Piarsaigh – Already qualified for the semi-finals. Guaranteed to top the group.

Kilmallock – A win/draw against Doon will see the side qualify for the semi-finals. A loss means the side only qualify for the quarters.

Doon – Must win against Kilmallock to qualify for the semi-finals. A draw leaves the two sides level, which will see Kilmallock qualify whereas a loss means the side only qualify for the quarters.

Patrickswell – A win/draw against Adare guarantees the side a quarter-final place. If the side lose and Ahane beat Na Piarsaigh they face relegation to group two.

Ahane – A win against Na Piarsaigh and an Adare win against Patrickswell means the side qualify for the quarters on point difference. A draw alongside an Adare draw will not be enough to qualify but they will avoid relegation. However if the side lose and Adare win/draw they will be relegated. If both sides lose and Ahane’s margin of defeat was eleven points or more larger than Adare’s, Ahane will be relegated.

Adare – A win against Patrickswell and an Ahane loss/draw means the side qualify for the quarter finals. If the two sides draw and Ahane lose then Adare will avoid relegation. If Adare lose they will be relegated unless Ahane lose by a margin of eleven or more points compared to Adare’s loss.

Group Two

Kildimo Pallaskenry – A win and not only will they qualify for the quarter-finals, but they will also be promoted. A draw will also be enough for a quarter-final spot. If they lose and so do Ballybrown, their scoring difference will come into play as they currently sit at +16 with Ballybrown +26.

Ballybrown – Guaranteed to advance to the quarter-finals with a win. Need Kildimo Pallaskenry to slip up if they are to earn promotion. If they better KP’s result then they will go up.

Garryspillane – Need a win to qualify. If they beat KP and Ballybrown & Blackrock pick up wins, they will go through regardless of scorelines as they will hold the H2H over their final round opponents. If they win and Ballybrown lose or Mungret St Pauls/South Liberties are victorious it will come down to scoring difference which they currently sit at -2.

South Liberties – In the same boat as Garryspillane as they face Ballybrown and can draw level on points with them. Will be hoping for a KP win and a Blackrock result which would give them the head to head over Ballybrown. Similarly, if they win, KP lose or Mungret St Pauls/Garryspillane win, then it will come down to score difference with Liberties currently -6.

Mungret St Pauls – Definitely the outsiders to advance, Mungret other results to go in their favour. First off, they need to beat Balckrock, and win well to compensate for their -14 score difference. If that happens and Garryspillane and South Liberties, there will be five teams on six points with scoring difference to decide top spot and the quarter-final places. A tall order but not impossible.

Blackrock – Relegated back to the premier intermediate ranks after their round four loss to KP.