One step away from the final – The Nire v Clashmore preview

20 October

The Nire v Clashmore (7.30 at Fraher Field)
The Nire are no strangers to the latter stages and they come up against the latest team to join the big three in the semi finals. Clashmore are back after a four year absence and their consistency from round one right through to the quarter finals gives them a shot at the decider. They have only lost one game in championship 2012.

The Nire lit up the group phase but they could only stumble over the line against Kilrossanty. They could yet pay a heavy price for the 140 minutes it took to shake off the challenge of John Kiely’s men. They will need to recover their form on Saturday night or else face elimination. Liam Lawlor knitted everything together last weekend while Shane Ryan also proved a handful in the corner and contributed 1-2. It will also take plenty of patience on the part of Clashmore to unlock a full back line containing Justin Walsh and the O’Gorman twins. Behind them stand goalkeeper Tom Wall, another player with inter county experience under his belt. On the minus side, a couple of injuries and niggles are staking up and Clashmore are a side brimming with pace and movement that will test any fitness issues.

Timmy O’Keeffe’s charges have moved steadily towards the semis after taking the scalp of Stradbally in round one. Clashmore’s six speedy forwards will seek to stretch the opposition rearguard. They all pose a scoring threat and two or three have always come up with the necessary scores in the championship to date. They are a well balanced side with no obvious weak spots. Their defence have only leaked three goals in six games.

The Nire hold the edge in terms of strength and experience and that should be sufficient after a couple of scares along the way. After earning promotion back to senior in 2010, Clashmore have made swift progress with some young talent on board like Tadhg Bourke and Paul O’Connor. They bring a different set of problems for The Nire to deal with but they can eventually come up with the solutions.

Odds: The Nire 2/5 Draw 7/1 Clashmore 5/2
Last meeting: 2008 – The Nire 0-13 Clashmore 0-10
Form guide: The Nire: WWWWWDW Clasmore: WWWWLW
Prediction: The Nire