Kiltale and Trim nominated to make it to the last four

PREVIEWS Jubilee Cup holders can tighten grip on the trophy

Now the real serious action begins, the edge-of-the-seat, do-or-die stuff. It's quarter-finals stage in the various hurling championships and teams are on the vege of doing something really significant. They are just an hour's hurling away from a place in the semi-finals. A step away from taking another giant stride in the championship.

In the SHC the reigning champions Trim are still there, still looking to make it a two-in-a-row, still clinging with dogged determination to the Jubilee Cup having gone through a group campaign that was full of pitfalls and setbacks.

They looked like they were going to lose out, but they have hung on and who would bet against them now?

Killyon, Dunboyne and Kiltale are the others involved in a race for a place in the last four where Kildalkey and Ratoath will be waiting.

There is a similar scenario in the IHC where Boardsmill, Ratoath, Drumree and Kildalkey are engaged in a battle for semi-final positions, Dunderry and Rathmolyon have already made it into the last four of the IHC - but who will they face?

The answer to that will be decided when Boardsmill take on Ratoath and Drumree tackle Kildalkey in the two quarter-finals.

In the JHC Dunboyne, Kilmessan and Kiltale remain in the running.

The top team in the JHC group placings was Kilmessan and their reward for winning four of their five games was a place at the summit and in the final.

It's between Kiltale and Dunboyne as to who Kilmessan will be playing in that decider.

The hurling season is hotting up as quickly as a desert at midday and no team still in contention will want to be left out in the cold. It's all hands on deck for a weekend of hectic hurling action.

My predictions are:

SHC

Killyon v Kiltale: Before the last round of group games even the most optimistic Killyon supporter must have felt that the odds were stacked against them.

They were third in the table and looking like they might lose out in the quest for a place in the knock-out phase.

Then the pendulum swung in their favour in the final group games - and they have made it through.

Killyon defeated Wolfe Tones and they were also helped by the fact, of course, that Dunboyne overcame Kilmessan.

Since Killyon and Kilmessan drew their game (1-21 apiece) it all came down to scoring difference. That's where Killyon had the advantage. They made it through.

That augurs well for them going into this match.

Killyon have forwards who can have a big impact. Adam Gannon, as underlined again in the way he bagged 2-3 against the Tones, is among the quickest, most clinical attackers around.

David Raleigh, Justin Coyne, Stefan Kelly, Keith Keoghan are others in the Killyon forward division who can cause real problems for Kiltale - but will it be enough?

Kiltale have had their issues too. Defeats by Na Fianna and Ratoath exposed a vulnerability in defence especially.

Yet when they find their form, they can be fearsome as they showed in the 7-23 to 1-12 demolition of Longwood.

When they needed to they dug out a win, defeating Kildalkey, 1-16 to 0-15. James Kelly, Mark O'Sullivan, Jack Regan and Chris Reilly are just some of the quality players Brian Gilsenan can call on.

Verdict - Kiltale.

Dunboyne v Trim: No matter what happens here Dunboyne know they are in pole position to be playing in the top tier next year, but a victory here would be, well, something special - and they have real grounds for hoping they can ambush the champions.

Dunboyne were undefeated in Group B. With first-rate forwards like Sean Quigley and Daragh Gilmartin, Dunboyne can certainly cause a stir.

Trim well, are the champions. They have tethered on the edge of elimination only to rescue themselves.

They lost James Togher to injury in their last group game against Na Fianna yet still prevailed. If anything they upped their game with Ian Bermingham coming on for Toher to make an impact, highlighting Trim's strong bench.

Neil Cole's side showed glimpses of their best form against Na Fianna. Joey Cole, Sean McGee, Dylan Farrell, James Murray, Mikey Cullen form the basis of a powerful unit that have yet to spark. They can win this one.

Verdict - Trim.

IHC

Boardsmill v Ratoath - Edged out for one of the top two places in Group A Boardsmill find themselves having to play this quarter-final encounter.

Ratoath's second team will have raised eyebrows by finishing ahead of Kilskyre/Moylagh in Group B to secure their knock-out place.

Ratoath won four of their five games in the group phase, but the 'Mill still look a better bet. Verdict - Boardsmill.

Drumree v Kildalkey - This should turn out to be a fascinating contest between Drumree who finished fourth in Group A and Kildalkey who topped Group B.

Drumree's record of having won just two games out of five suggests a level of inconsistency that can be exploited by their rivals on this occasion.

Kildalkey are a club who have a deep reservoir of players. Their second team have gone through the IHC so far undefeated.

Kildalkey have yet to experience defeat and they are unlikely to do so here.

Verdict - Kildalkey.

JHC

Kiltale v Dunboyne - Both teams gave encouraging performances in the group phase, with Kiltale winning four of their games, Dunboyne three.

When they met Kiltale won by 2-16 to 1-8 and that has to be taken as a significant yardstick ahead of this game.

Kiltale have some well-known names in their ranks including Peter Durnin, Stephen Donoghue and Padraic Harnan the Meath and Moynalvey footballer who is now part of the Kiltale set-up.

Dunboyne chalked up some significant results on their group campaign including a whopping 6-20 to 0-8 defeat of Navan O'Mahonys so they have firepower. Kiltale, however, have a scoring difference of plus 69 while Dunboyne's is plus 51.

Another factor that suggests that when it comes to a shootout Kiltale will prevail.

Verdict - Kiltale.

J2 HC

Boardsmill v Drumree: Boardsmill include Vinny Guy, Stephen Gibbons and Mark Flood but the recent loss of four players to their intermediate team is a blow. Drumee will make it tough for them but Boardsmill should still prevail. Verdict - Boardsmill.

Kildalkey v Ratoath: Kildalkey’s 3-22 to 0-8 demolition of Boardsmill was impressive. The prolific Paul Fagan leads their attack. Ratoath can cause problems but only one outcome expected here. Verdict - Kildalkey.