PREVIEW: Naomh Mearnóg V Bray Emmets- AIB Leinster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship Semi FINAL

Mon, 20th November 2023

By Conor Martin

Naomh Mearnóg’s Leinster journey continues this weekend as they travel to Aughrim to take on Wicklow’s Bray Emmets in the AIB Leinster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship Semi-Final.

Get match tickets here.

Their spot in the last four is their reward for their victory over St Oliver Plunkett’s from Westmeath in the quarter-finals. They had beaten Raheny in the Go-Ahead Dublin Senior 3 Hurling Championship Final before they beat intermediate champions Fingallians in the Leinster play-off.

Their quarter-final against Westmeath’s St Oliver Plunkett’s was one-way traffic as they advanced in style with a 2-20 to 0-7 win.

Liam Mullin, Josh Phillips and Sean Hawkshaw all put in excellent shifts as a solid Mearnóg performance all over the park clinically dispatched Plunkett’s.

Bray Emmets made history this year when they became the first Wicklow club to secure five senior titles in a row in their win over Carnew Emmets.

Christy Moorehouse led the way on the scoring front as he scored eight while Eoin McCormack added 1-2 during Bray’s historical feat.

Moorehouse would produce more magic with his hurl in the quarter-final against Portlaoise; he scored 11 frees on his way to pointing 0-13 of Emmets' total of 18 points.

The Wicklow champions dug deep to edge out their Laois opposition and solid battling performances in defence from the likes of Ben Kearney and Seanie Maloney saw them through with a slender two-point win.

Bray are also the current intermediate hurling kingpins within the province. They claimed their first-ever AIB Leinster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship last year when they beat Trim before losing out to Monaleen in the All-Ireland Semi-Final.

It may sound like a tough task on paper for Naomh Mearnóg, but games aren’t won on paper, and Mearnóg have more than enough to push the defending Leinster champions all the way.

For those who can't make the game, it will also be streamed live on Clubber.ie.