PREVIEWS AND PREDICTIONS: Who will book their place in the Laois SHC last four?

The Laois Shopping Centre Senior Hurling Championship reaches the knockout stages on Sunday with two intriguing quarter-finals down for decision.

Abbeyleix and Rosenallis meet first before The Harps take on Borris-Kilcotton in what promises to be a fascinating second clash. Here’s a look at both games and our predictions for who will book their place in the semi-finals.

Abbeyleix v Rosenallis

The first game on Sunday afternoon is the meeting of Rosenallis and Abbeyleix. Rosenallis finished second in Group A and were pretty much assured of their place after they beat Rathdowney-Errill in Round 3 on Saturday, August 1.

Rosenallis ended with four points, with their other win coming against Ballyfin in Round 2. They opened their campaign with a narrow loss to county champions Clough/Ballacolla. They’re not coming into Sunday’s game in the best form, though, having lost their last two games against The Harps and Borris-Kilcotton.

Abbeyleix, on the other hand, will come into Sunday’s game on a high after leaving their best performance until the final round, when they beat Rathdowney-Errill to leapfrog both Ballinakill and Portlaoise in Group A. They went into the last game knowing they needed to win to have any chance of qualifying.

The defeats for Portlaoise and Ballinakill, along with Abbeyleix’s win over Rathdowney-Errill, put them through in third place and set up the game against Rosenallis. Abbeyleix’s win also pushed their neighbours Ballinakill into the relegation play-off against Ballyfin on Sunday afternoon.

Abbeyleix have yet to set the world alight up to this point and shipped three big beatings in the group stages against Borris-Kilcotton, The Harps and Clough/Ballacolla. However, that win against Rathdowney-Errill could be the lift they needed to kick-start their championship.

If recency bias is anything to go by, I predict Abbeyleix to replicate their performance against Rathdowney-Errill on Sunday and get the better of Rosenallis to set up a semi-final clash with Camross, in what would be a repeat of the 2023 Laois SHC County Final.

Abbeyleix v Rosenallis is at 2.15pm on Sunday, September 20.

Prediction: Abbeyleix

The other quarter-final clash is set to be a feisty one, with The Harps taking on Borris-Kilcotton.

The Harps look to be finally fulfilling their potential after a few years where they’ve contested quarter-finals and relegation finals, as well as being crowned Senior ‘B’ champions in 2025.

Clough/Ballacolla and Camross have been the two standout sides in the championship, but The Harps aren’t far behind them and, with the two Duggans, they’re deadly in front of goals. Last time out against Ballinakill, James (2) and Justin scored three goals inside 12 minutes.

The Harps also raised five green flags against Camross, so Borris-Kilcotton should be well aware of their power in front of goal.

The Harps finished with eight points from 10, with their only slip-up coming in that game against Camross where the two sides played out a 54-score epic in Round 1. Their four wins came against the aforementioned Ballinakill, Rosenallis, Portlaoise and Abbeyleix.

Borris-Kilcotton would have thought that they’d need to win last time out in Round 5 just to make sure of their place in the quarter-finals, as a loss to Rosenallis coupled with a win for Rathdowney-Errill would have seen them finish fourth and out of the championship.

However, the way the results fell and Abbeyleix pipping Rathdowney-Errill, their game against Rosenallis became a dead rubber, with both sides guaranteed quarter-final places no matter the result.

Even with the game not meaning anything, Borris-Kilcotton won to finish the group stages with seven points from 10. They would have been disappointed earlier on in the campaign to draw with Portlaoise, while their only defeat came against Camross after Borris-Kilcotton had recovered from 11 points down to draw level before Camross and Zane Keenan won the game in added time. Their three wins came against Rosenallis, Abbeyleix and Ballinakill.

The loss of PJ Scully through injury is a big blow to Borris-Kilcotton and then the last day, Aaron Dunphy didn’t feature at all. They’re lucky in a way that they had Neil Foyle to strike the placed balls, but they’ll be hoping Aaron Dunphy starts on Sunday if they’re to have any chance.

With all that being said, I predict The Harps to get through to the semi-finals for the first time since 2012.

The Harps v Borris-Kilcotton throws in at 4pm on Sunday, September 20.

Prediction: The Harps