PREVIEW | Patrickswell battle it out with South Liberties for a place in the SHC semi-final

Kilmallock and Na Piarsaigh already await in the semi-final next weekend.

This weekend will see both of the Senior Hurling Championship quarter-finals take place with 2019 champions Patrickswell taking on South Liberties this Sunday.

It will be a quick turnaround for the side that’s successful on Saturday with a semi-final bout against either Kilmallock or Na Piarsaigh scheduled for the following weekend.

Despite reaching the last six, it was an all-round disappointing campaign for Patrickswell who managed a fourth place finish in group one to scrape a quarter-final spot. The side finished on four points, winning two games and losing the remaining three.

Holders Kilmallock handed them a first round loss but they bounced back the following week with a win against Ahane. Two consecutive defeats against Na Piarsaigh and Doon left Patrickswell with a must win game against Adare where they made no mistake.

After reaching the decider last season, it has been a disappointing campaign for the ‘Well who have had to do without twice Hurler of the Year Cian Lynch who underwent a leg procedure after missing the All-Ireland final.

South Liberties qualified for the last six by finishing second place in group two on head-to-head basis, despite finishing with a -2 point scoring difference. Nonetheless, three wins and two losses was enough for Barry Nash and co to secure a last quarter-final spot.

The side’s form was inconsistent to say the least with a WLWLW record, with the final day victory against Ballybrown proving the most important as they pipped the side on head-to-head and booked their place in the knockout stages for the third consecutive season. With qualification out of their hands, Blackrock’s draw with Mungret St Pauls and Kildimo Pallaskenry’s win over Garryspillane was enough to help Liberties who were impressive in their defeat of Ballybrown.

Not many teams have the experience of knockout stages quite like Patrickswell, with 2014 the last year that they failed to reach the last four. Since then, the side have managed to win the championship twice with two final losses to their name in that time. Their 2019 SHC win was their 20th and put them on top of the Roll of Honour.

South Liberties are relatively experienced at this stage of the competition, as they have been a part of three of the last four knockout stages. However, they’ve stumbled at the quarter-final stage in each of those seasons, losing to Kilmallock (2021), Doon (2020) and Patrickswell (2018).

Recent Meetings

• 2019 Limerick SHC Group Stage- Patrickswell 3-17 : 0-12 South Liberties
• 2018 Limerick SHC Quarter Final- Patrickswell 1-26 : 1-13 South Liberties
• 2015 Limerick SHC Group Stage – South Liberties 0-9 : 0-17 Patrickswell

Patrickswell have been dominant in recent meetings between the side, winning all of the last three fixtures and convincingly in most cases including their meeting at the same stage in 2018.

However, it could have been a very different story for both last year after they suffered contrasting results in the quarters. Kilmallock needed extra-time to see off Liberties while Patrickswell just got past the challenge of Adare.

Nonetheless, history would tell that the ‘Well will be comfortable winners on Sunday but they’ve struggled this season and they face a South Liberties side that will be relishing the opportunity of finally getting into the last four.

The game will be live streamed by Limerick GAA TV and can be purchased below.

Patrickswell v South Liberties

Patrickswell v South Liberties in the Limerick Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final throws in at 2pm this Sunday in Kilmallock.