Tigers look to overcome significant Quirke absence
Joey Boylan will have to start without Mike Trimmer who is likely to miss the remainder of the season with an tendon injury but the loss of Quirke and Kieran Donaghy to the Kerry football team has left them with a mountain to climb.
“Every time I look at the semi-final game against St. Vincent’s I just can’t believe what I see,” Tigers’ manager, Junior Collins, said. “I have never seen an Irish player perform like Micheál did that day. In fact few Americans have played that well.
“And that just highlights how important he has been to us all season and how significant it is that he has not been playing in the games we have lost.
“I would hope that Pat O’Shea will let us have one or both of them for the play-off stages because we need them desperately.
“We have two derby games with Mustang Sally’s over the coming weeks — both midweek games — and maybe he might let us have them for at least one of those. Other Kerry managers had no problem.”
After losses to Belfast Star and UCC Demons, Tigers could do with a win although they are virtually assured of a place in the play-offs.
UCC Demons were ultra impressive last weekend against Tigers and Pat Price will be hoping for more of the same when they entertain Northern Conference pace setters, DART Killester, at the Mardyke Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Killester got a reality check with a loss to St. Vincent’s but, overall, they have been very consistent and Mark Keenan will have a full strength squad apart from Damien Sealy.
There is now precious little separating the teams in the Southern Conference. Mustang Sally’s travel to the National Basketball arena to play struggling Hoops while Neptune can close the gap when they visit UCD Marian for a game they should win.
In Limerick the Lions will be hoping to roar back to winning ways when they host in-form Belfast Star tomorrow evening. Lions will be looking for their fourth victory of the campaign in their final cross-conference game but with Star’s fantastic recent form and having noticed Ramell Ross demolish Marian last weekend with 44 points to his credit Lions coach Matt Hall will tread warily.
“Star are going well with some great results recently and they will have a big influence on the qualifiers in the Northern Conference,” the player/coach said.
In the women’s SuperLeague, Bausch & Lomb Wildcats will be without Jillian Hayes again for a busy weekend. They play DCU Mercy in Waterford tomorrow night and then travel to the Oblate Hall on Sunday to play DART Killester.
Team Montenotte Hotel, Cork will be aiming to shoot down Meteors at Little Island tomorrow night. Marie Breen will be at the centre of attention following her VHI Healthcare Sportswomen of the Month award for January.
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