De La Salle v Clarinbridge
After the long winter break De La Salle’s club championship campaign swings back into action with a tricky assignment against Galway champions Clarinbridge this weekend. While the bookies make Michael Ryan’s men hot favourites Clarinbridge are familiar with upsetting Waterford opposition in this competition.
A look back to the 2002 All Ireland semi final will forewarn De La Salle. On that day Ballygunner came up to Thurles after claiming the Munster crown the previous winter only to come unstuck against a Clarinbridge side coming off the back of their first Galway county title.
De La Salle looked impressive in Munster coming through winter battles with Sarsfields and Thurles Sarsfields. At crucial periods in both games the momentum swung against Salle but they found all the answers to win by the minimum. It should stand them in good stead on Saturday because Clarinbridge don’t shirk a dogfight either.
In the county final against Loughrea they battled back from three points down late in the replay to force extra time. They eventually won out by 0-18 to 0-15. Goalkeeper Liam Donoghue, Alan Kerins, Mark Kerins and David Forde have all soldiered with the Galway seniors. Eoin Forde is an exciting young forward while Barry Daly at midfield starred in NUIG’s Fitzgibbon win last year. Their style of play involves sending low ball into the inside forward line. The Clarinbridge fitness levels are also very high and they tend to finish games strongly as a result.
De La Salle are an improved model on the side that last won Munster and should Kevin Moran command the centre as impressively as he did before the turn of the year they will have one foot in final. The defensive unit has been solid throughout the campaign with unsung heroes Darren Russell, Ian Flynn and Michael Doherty forming one of the strongest full back lines left in the competition. John Mullane’s accuracy from frees and play as always will dictate De La Salle’s final tally and he can’t afford his radar to misfire as it did against Sarsfields of Cork. Michael Ryan will also rely on his midfield pairing to put in a strong hour with Conan Watt and Dean Twomey surprising many in stepping up to the plate thus far.
The great imponderable however is how quickly both sides will reach the pitch of the game after being out of action since before Christmas. Little should separate them by close of play with De La Salle’s strength in defence and experience from two years ago edging out the Galway side.
AIB All Ireland Club Hurling Championship Semi Final
De La Salle v Clarinbridge
Throw in 3.45 at Semple Stadium
Referee: James McGrath (Westmeath)
Wexford v Waterford
Wexford were given a cold welcome back to Division 1 hurling last weekend and will look to this home game with Waterford as one to restore some pride. For Davy Fitzgerald’s men losing cannot be entertained as an option.
Colm Bonnar will hope to reintroduce some of the Oulart the Ballagh players after the massacre in Salthill. If Keith Rossiter, David Redmond and the Jacobs all line out on Sunday it will give a more experienced look to the team. The most disappointing aspect from last weekend was the mere six points Wexford produced and the absence of Diarmuid Lyng for the entire year is already being felt. A revamped forward line can be expected for Sunday. The one positive note came in the form of goalkeeper Niall Breen who pulled off three first half saves and prevented an even more embarrassing score line.
Davy Fitzgerald knows that his team cannot afford another sluggish start like last Sunday. It wasn’t until the latter part of the first half that Waterford really hit their stride. Newcomers Darragh Fives, Philip Mahony and Pauric Mahony should again receive the vote of confidence. Shane Fives is likely to take the full back slot after shoring up that area against the Dubs with Wayne Hutchinson another with strong claims for inclusion. In the forward line Tomás Ryan may lose out with Eamonn Murphy the man in position to profit. Maurice Shanahan may also come back into the picture after serving his suspension from the Waterford Crystal Cup.
Wexford are never overawed by any Waterford team and in the 2008 All Ireland quarter final they only came up short by a single point. They will also improve on last weekend’s showing in front of their home crowd and given a lift by the return of established players. It seems that they have too much ground to make up however and it would be surprising if Waterford went into the last ten minutes without a comfortable lead.
National Hurling League Division 1
Wexford v Waterford
Throw in 2.30 at Wexford Park
Referee: Johnny Ryan (Tipperary)
Waterford v Limerick
A must win fixture for both sides after unexpected opening day defeats to Wexford and Tipperary. Waterford and Limerick clashed on three occasions over the course of league and championship last year so familiarity should result in a close fought contest.
Waterford will be unhappy with the manner of their downfall to Wexford a fortnight ago. They collapsed before half time and although they rallied with two goals they conceded a worrying total of 4-11. They are still likely to be without Tony Grey, Liam O’Lionain and Gary Hurney, three of the driving forces behind last year’s promotion. Still the O’Gorman twins, Shane Briggs, Patrick Hurney and Tommy Prendergast are all available and John Owens will send out a team capable of causing plenty of problems for Maurice Horan’s visitors.
Limerick meanwhile suffered at the hands of Tipperary where a number of areas malfunctioned on the day. They were over reliant on Ger Collins in a forward line that featured John Galvin at full forward. In a poor quality game Tipp proved the more cohesive unit and won by 0-10 to 0-6. Stephen Lucey and Stephen Kelly are both injury concerns ahead of this weekend’s game.
After the Shannonsiders’ disappointing outing last time out big performances will be expected from John Galvin, Ian Ryan and Ger Collins in particular. With all three of them on song Waterford will struggle to cope especially when the forward line is missing reliable scorers. Limerick’s aim is promotion from Division 3 and a win here should help them get back on track.
National Football League Division 3
Waterford v Limerick
Throw in 2.30 at Fraher Field
Referee: Michael Collins (Cork)
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