Senior Football round 3 preview
August 20, 2010
The last round of group games takes place in the Clare senior football championship this weekend with six teams hoping to follow Eire Og and Shannon Gaels into the last eight.
Group 1
In group 1, Ennistymon and Cratloe will do battle at Cusack Park on Saturday at 6.45. In order to advance from the group stages a win or draw is needed for Ennistymon while for Cratloe nothing less than a win will do. Last time out Ennistymon drew with St. Joseph's Doora/Barefield whilst Cratloe recorded a good victory over Lissycasey. It promises to be a good game with players such as Sean and Paudge Collins, Barry Duggan, Martin Murphy, Liam Markham (Cratloe) along with Lawrence Healy, Brian Conway, Joey Dowling, Sean McConigley and David McInerney (Ennistymon) on display. As to Saturday's game it could well be Cratloe who are facing into a quarter-final appearance.
Verdict: Cratloe
St. Joseph's Doora/Barefield and Lissycasey will face up to each other on Saturday at Eire Og with throw in at 6.45. St. Joseph's need a draw here to progress to the quarter-finals with Lissycasey needing a win to avoid relegation. In round 3 St. Joseph's drew with Ennistymon and Lissycasey lost out to Cratloe. Going on recent form St. Joseph's ,with the likes of Ger Fannin, Enda and Greg Lyons, Colm Mullen and Declan O'Keeffe in their ranks, are expected to win this one. It has been a disappointing championship for Lissycasey and unless Colin Lynch, Alan Nagle, Enda Finnucane, Joe Hayes and Martin Daly can produce the goods here they will be heading into a relegation play-off.
Verdict: St. Joseph's Doora/Barefield
Group 2
Wolfe Tones v Kilmihil
Throw in for this game takes place at 1 pm on Sunday at the Eire Og grounds. Both sides are out of the race for Jack Daly but both will be eager to get the victory required to avoid a relegation play-off. Kimihil will be underdogs for this one but they are however the defending Senior B champions and will be hoping to get a chance to defend that title. Last time out both sides went down rather easily with Wolfe Tones losing to Shannon Gaels and Kilmihil falling to Eire Og. The Shannon side will look to Chris Dunning, Stephen Monaghan, Kevin Cahill, Johnny Bridges and Sean Brennan to lead the way. Kimihil will look to Mark O'Connell, Shane Mangan, Timmy and Philip Ryan, and Conor Crowley to fire them to victory.
Verdict: Wolfe Tones
Eire Og v Shannon Gaels
The Townies and the Gaels have already qualified for the last eight. This weekend they will do battle at 6 pm on Sunday in Lissycasey. Whoever wins this one will top the group and going on recent form it could well be a hard game to predict. Both sides had easy victories last time around and will have been pleased to have qualified from the group at this stage. Players central to the Townie cause are Stephen Hickey, Eoin Glynn, Donie Lyne, Darren O'Neill and Alan Malone. Meanwhile the Gaels will call on Barry Toner, Bryan Cunningham, John Paul O'Neill, Brian Bermingham and Keith Ryan. The Gaels get the vote and could very well have a say in the concluding stages of the 2010 championship.
Verdict: Shannon Gaels
Group 3
Doonbeg v Kilrush Shamrocks
The men from the Long Village and their neighbours "the Shams" will renew rivalries on Saturday at 6.30 pm in Cooraclare. At the start of the year both sides were being touted as the main teams who could end Kilmurry Ibrickane's reign this year. Doonbeg have two out of two thus far while the Shams have one win and one defeat. Therefore a win for the Sham's is crucial while at the same time they will be hoping other results go their way. However given Doonbeg's recent form they will be expected to win this one and progress to the last eight. Key operators in action on Saturday evening for Doonbeg are David Tubridy, Enda Doyle, Conor Whelan, Frank O'Dea and Colm Dillon. Kilrush impressed last time out against O'Curry's and can call on the likes of Donal O'Sullivan, Paddy Clancy, John Hayes, Peader McMahon and Ruairi O'Connor.
Verdict: Doonbeg
Cooraclare v O'Curry's
Cooraclare will fancy their chances of qualifying for the last eight when they take on O'Curry's on Saturday at 6.30 pm in Doonbeg. Last time out Cooraclare lost to Doonbeg by a goal whilst O'Curry's were hammered by Kilrush. This all points to a Cooraclare victory and with players such as Mark Tubridy, Rory Donnelly, John O'Looney, Joe Considine and David Hedigan at their disposal they can cause trouble for any team on their day. O'Curry's have shown they can mix it with the big boys in recent years but so far this year they have failed to ruffle any feathers. Their main man is Ger Quinlan and other important players for them include Sean Haugh, Ollie Quinlan, Michael Carmody and Michael O'Shea.
Verdict: Cooraclare
Group 4
Kilmurry Ibrickane v St. Joseph's Miltown Malbay
A mouth watering clash between the county champions and the Cusack Cup champions. This match between two great rivals goes ahead on Sunday at 6.30 pm in Ennistymon. Kilmurry Ibrickane are thus far undefeated while Miltown have one win and one loss with Liscannor beating them in round one. It promises to be an exciting game; Kilmurry will start as favourites but will face a stiff test from Miltown who will need a result from this game to keep their championship aspirations alive. In recent weeks they have been playing some lovely football with Michael Barry producing some excellent performances from full forward. If they are to upset the defending champions then they will need big game performances from the aforementioned Barry, Graham and Gordon Kelly, Dessie Molohan and Eoin Curtin. The men from the barony of Ibrickane will look to Odhran and Michael O'Dwyer, Enda Coughlan, Darren Hickey and Martin McMahon to lead the way. It could very well be the game of the weekend with the county champions getting the nod.
Verdict: Kilmurry Ibrickane
Liscannor v St. Senan's, Kilkee
Kilmihil is the venue for this game with throw in on Sunday taking place at 6.30 pm. A win for Kilkee would ensure that they don't have to face into a relegation play-off while for Liscannor a win would see them progress to the last eight. It has been a disappointing year for an ageing Kilkee side considering that they were in the final last year whereas Liscannor showed great character when disposing of Miltown in round one before putting up a good fight against Kilmurry Ibrickane last time out. It could very well be a tight game with a draw a good possibility. Key to the Liscannor cause are Niall and Brian Considine, Ronan Slattery, Alan Clohessy and Darragh Blake. Kilkee will look to the likes of David Russell, Gearoid Lynch, Michael O'Shea, Brian Clancy and Kevin Larkin to get their first victory of the 2010 championship.
Verdict: Draw
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