County Cup Hurling Championship — it's a knockout!

AT long last, the Cooper-sponsored Galway Senior Hurling Championship goes knockout, with the four preliminary quarter-finals to be played this weekend. The draw, made on Monday night, is as follows: Craughwell vs Sarsfields; Liam Mellows vs Mullagh; Loughrea vs Tommy Larkin's; St Thomas's vs Tynagh-Abbey-Duniry. The four clubs who have won direct entry into the quarter-finals are: Carnmore, Clarinbridge (holders), Gort and Portumna. The quarter-finals' draw will be made on Sunday evening. A big talking-point in last week's final group games in the S.H.C. was the decision of referee Peter Murphy to issue four straight red cards at Duggan Park, Ballinasloe after a melee in a 0-12 apiece drawn game â€â€ to Portumna players Joe Canning and Andy Smith and Athenry's Diarmuid Cloonan and Shane Donohue. S.H.C. relegation will be decided in a play-off between the losing teams in these two matches: Ardrahan vs Pádraig Pearse's; Castlegar vs Kinvara. In the Finnerty Plant Hire Interemediate Hurling Championship, Cappataggle and Meelick-Eyrecourt are through to the semi-finals.