Following last week-end's series of games, the field in the race for the permanent tsb county senior hurling championship title has been reduced to just five teams, and three of last year's four semi-finalists are still involved, including holders Blackrock, who were in devastating form when brushing aside Midleton's challenge at Pairc Ui Chaoimh last Saturday night.

In the process, Timmy Murphy's men set the record straight after suffering an unexpected defeat at the hands of the East Cork Magpies in a third-round clash three years ago.

They are now just two games away from completing the three-in-a-row, a feat that was last accomplished by St. Finbarr's in 1982.

The Rockies, pipped by a point by Sarsfields in the '97 semi-final, have contested four of the last five finals.

Beaten by Imokilly in the '98 decider, they bridged a 14-year gap the following year when romping to victory over UCC, and they were almost equally convincing winners over Imokilly and Newtownshandrum in the finals of 2001 and 2002.

It's a tremendous record of consistency, and their display against Midleton last weekend made it abundantly clear that Blackrock's hunger for glory remains as strong as ever.

Brian O'Keeffe contributed all three goals during their 3-20 to 0-11 thrashing of Midleton, providing further evidence that he is one of most lethal forwards at club level in the county.

There is a great balance to this Blackrock side, and Wayne Sherlock, Fergal Ryan and John Browne were all in top form last Saturday night in a defence that has no obvious weak link.

In Adrian Coughlan and Paul Tierney possess a midfield partnership that grows in stature with every outing, while such as Alan Browne, Liam Meaney and Barry Hennebry can always be relied upon to make a worthwhile contribution in attack.

Browne took a long time to get motoring at full forward against Midleton, but he thundered into the picture during the last quarter as the Rockies began to function like a well-oiled machine.

By and standards, it was a highly efficient performance from the holders, one that was calculated to send shivers up the spine of all the teams hoping to replace them as champions this year.

Next on Blackrock's hit list are the men from Cloyne, who, having upset the odds against the Barrs in the previous round, claimed another prestigious scalp by lowering the colours of Avondhu at Fermoy on Saturday. It was a historic triumph for Cloyne in that it earned them a place in the semi-final for the very first time, and it was much more decisive than their winning margin of five points tends to suggest.

Avondhu looked a fairly formidable side on paper, and they went into the game on the back of a couple of facile wins over St. Catherine's and Seandun. The fact that the North-Cork divisional side hadn't been seriously tested in their previous two games probably told against them.

In any event, Avondhu seemed completely unprepared to meet the sort of passionate and determined challenge that Cloyne were always likely to present, and, as in last year's semi-final against Newtownshandrum, they had no real answers when the hard questions were asked.

It was a workmanlike rather than spectacular performance from Cloyne, and it featured particularly significant contributions from Conor and Victor Cusack, who scored two goals each, in attack, Ian Quinlan at midfield, and Maurice Cahill, Liam O'Driscoll and the outstanding Diarmuid O'Sullivan in the half back line.

Newtownshandrum also booked a semi-final slot at Fermoy on Saturday by virtue of a comfortable win over an Imokilly side that showed precious little appetite for battle. It was easily Imokilly's worst display since the East-Cork divisional representatives emerged as a major power in 1996 - when they qualified for the county final that was lost to Avondhu after a replay.

Crowned champions in '97 and '98, Imokilly, despite having their resources diminished due to the graduation of clubs like Cloyne, Castlelyons and Killeagh to senior ranks, remained a force to be reckoned with in the meantime. They qualified for the final again in 2001, and, indeed, their narrow failure to Sars in the second round last year meant that they were denied a place in the last four for the first time since 1994.

With a couple of good wins over Carrigdhoun and Na Piarsaigh under the belt, they were expected to take a bit of stopping again this year. They failed to raise a gallop last Saturday, enabling Newtown to qualify for a fourth consecutive semi-final appearance with consummate ease.

Even allowing for Imokilly's gross shortcomings, however, Newtown can be well pleased with their performance that was highlighted by the majestic play of Pat Mulcahy at centre back. The chance to avenge last year's slump to the Rockies in the final will obviously serve as a huge spur to 2000 champions when they face up to either

Sars or UCC in the semi-final, and they would have to be regarded as the main pretenders to the throne at this stage.

It should be remembered of course that Sars ran Blackrock to three points in last year's semi-final, and they can hardly be ruled out of the equation,

even if they were a little fortunate to take the spoils in a pulsating replay with East-Cork neighbours Erin's Own last Sunday night at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Effectively allowed off the hook in the drawn match, Erin’s Own produced a much better performance this time, and they would probably have prevailed had they not been forced to operate with 14 players for three-quarters of the game.

As it was, it took a point from key midfielder Pat Ryan deep in stoppage time to see Sars through, but the extra match is bound to stand to Teddy McCarthy's charges when they take on a UCC side that has been idle for quite a while now since accounting for Killeagh in their only outing to date.