Clara and Seir Kieran fancied to set up Senior 'B' final
By Kevin Egan
Injury issues continue to plague Kilcormac-Killoughey across both their club teams, meaning that the squad of players available to them for tomorrow’s Senior 'B' semi-final with Seir Kieran in St Brendan’s Park (3.30pm) is not as deep or strong as they might have hoped it would be at the start of the year.
Midfielder Brian Guinan was the latest to be called into action by Declan Laffan for the senior 'A' team, which further hands the impetus to an in-form Clareen side.
This still won’t be a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination, with Charlie and Richie Bracken, Conor Quinn and Mark Mulrooney among the leading lights for this K-K group, but expect the Division One league winners to advance, and to do so in a manner that will make them strong favourites for the county final as well.
Clara will have had a week to recover from their football disappointment, albeit Conor Doyle still didn’t look like he was operating at full health against Shamrocks last weekend, but they still look like a side that could take another massive step forward with a big performance against Clodiagh Gaels (Sunday, Glenisk O'Connor Park, 2.45pm).
Doyle’s likely battle with Liam Langton will have a huge bearing on the game but if that ends up as a break-even contest, Clara arguably have a few more potential match-winners in their side.
Likewise at intermediate level, the semi-final between Coolderry and Shamrocks looks like a ferociously competitive battle where the winner will be in good stead for the final. Shinrone haven’t really put a foot wrong so far this year and have done a reasonable job of preserving their second team – 20 players were used in their first senior game against Tullamore, and only JP Cleary has been added to that list in the three games since then. Shinrone should have too much for Seir Kieran, but whether that leaves them ready for a tough final is another matter.
At junior level, the form in Group One looks as if it might be a little bit stronger than Group Two, so expect Rynagh’s to account for Shamrocks, with a much tougher battle on the cards between Tullamore and Belmont at Kilcormac.