Demons hell-bent on continuing recovery
UCC Demons, who only collected their first points last weekend via Mustang Sallys/St Paul’s, will hope to increase their tally when they host Merry Monk Ballina at The Mardyke Arena but coach Pat Price insists they are still on a rebuilding mission.
“We bounced back a bit last weekend,” he said. “After losing to Tralee we were really backed into a corner and credit to the guys for coming out fighting.
“We will take as many positives as we can from it but we are not going to gush about one result.
“We have started over and there will be no talk about January, February or March. The most important game right now is Ballina.”
He made no secret of his delight in the performance of David Murphy who was handed his first start in the absence of injured Ahmad Smith last weekend.
“What can you say?
“He was handed the ball in the warm up and told to take a starting point. Then he plays 44 minutes without a rest, scores 16 points with seven rebounds and hits one of the biggest shots of the game.
“You cannot say enough about that but then his character never surprises me. He has been doing it since he was a kid.”
He admits it will take another big effort to deal with all Ballina have to offer on Sunday afternoon (3.15pm).
“Ballina are a big team. Chris Smith is doing a lot of damage inside and he is leading the league in both scoring and rebounding. Obviously he is going to need special attention,” he said. “Ronan McGarrity is shooting well so they are a pretty balanced team.”
After losing narrowly to Ballina in the first round of the SuperLeague, Limerick Lions subsequently beat them in the cup but they are still looking for their first league points. If they are to get them this weekend then Tom Hehir’s side are going to have to pull out something special to beat the defending champions, St Vincent’s, on their home patch in Glasnevin.
They sides met in Cork at the tail end of last season and that was in the final of the SuperLeague after the Lions had sprung a huge surprise on Demons. They did not perform against St Vincent’s in that final and it has always been a sore point with Tom Hehir.
DART Killester, after their derby game with Hoops last night, head south to Killarney to play Mustang Sally’s/St Paul’s tomorrow night (7.30pm).
It has been a difficult season for Mustang Sally’s but the indications are that it would take very little to turn it around.
Killester coach Mark Keenan will be without Ed Randolph but he is delighted with his newcomer, former University of New Hampshire player, Craig Walls, who debuted against Star.
“He literally stepped off the plane and played without any sleep. He was obviously going to be jet lagged,” he said. “But he showed us enough in the game to indicate we just might have a good one.”
Neptune must face a long trip up North to play Star at Jordanstown where Ciaran McVeigh has to be a major doubt for the home side after suffering a groin injury last weekend, while Mike McKillop is about three weeks away from being available due to damaged knee ligaments.
The Women’s Superleague is also gathering momentum and DART Killester will recognise some familiar faces when they host UL Aughinish. With Dearbhla Breen and Neasa O’Keeffe set to resume duties, UL will be back to full strength while Killester will be without their American, Sue Altman, who had to return to the US and won’t be back until midweek.
Team Montenotte Hotel, Cork, will be back on their home patch at Little Island to entertain a full strength Meteor side tomorrow night (7pm) where they can finally get their season off the ground.
They are the only team without points and while there is plenty of time to make up ground, they will be anxious to claim a big scalp to satisfy the fans.
The spotlight, however, will be on DCU, where DCU Mercy play host to high-flying Bausch & Lomb Wildcats. Mark Ingle will have Alison Smyth back for the game but Tony Hehir will be missing a number of Wildcat stars with Jillian Hayes, Erica Walsh, Lyndsay Dunne and Cathy Kavanagh all injured.
Their American star, Kate Kelley, will face a late fitness test.
