McCarthy ready for Ballina challenge

STEPHEN McCARTHY will add a new and exciting dimension to an illustrious basketball career when he leads Neptune into their critical SuperLeague game against Merry Monk Ballina as coach in Cork tomorrow night.

A big favourite with the fans as a player when he captained Neptune to two SuperLeague titles there could not be a more fitting arena for his coaching debut.

He took over midweek after the departure of Dan Mobbs following the disastrous cup quarter-final loss to DART Killester and he is confident that he can put the Neptune machine back together.

“Let’s face it, they are a much better team than that,” he said. “Apart from Gordon (Fitzgerald) who is my era, we have a very young squad with lots of potential. We saw what they can do when they played Tralee a couple of weeks ago. OK, they lost down the stretch but we did not see anything like that or experience an atmosphere like that for three years at least.

“I know they can do it again and with a critical game against Ballina — in fact our next three or four games are critical in terms of qualifying for the play-offs — it should not be difficult to get them motivated.”

Merry Monk, too, will be anxious to drag themselves from the debris of a cup defeat to Tralee last weekend which came on the back of three defeats in the SuperLeague. They have a game against Limerick Lions who beat them in the opening game of the SuperLeague on Sunday.

When Ballina and Neptune met earlier in the season, Neptune dominated for three quarters of the game before losing out in the final quarter. Ballina will be without Shane O’Meara for the Neptune game but he will be available for the Lions game in Limerick.

UCC Demons will be hoping to shake off the effects of their shock cup defeat when they travel to Killarney to play Mustang Sallys St Paul’s who will also have a new coach. Shane Horgan has taken over from Cormac O’Donoghue who stepped down for personal reasons.

Horgan has featured for St Paul’s on the playing front this season but will concentrate on coaching duties for the rest of the season. The new assistant coach is Brian Clarke, another player with vast SuperLeague experience having enjoyed a successful national league playing career from 1993 to 2007.

Former SuperLeague player James Fleming has come out of retirement and is currently in training with the squad. He hasn’t played SuperLeague in over five years due to his decision to concentrate on GAA and he captained the Dr Crokes senior football team to an All-Ireland club final last season.

Abrakebabra Tigers return to SuperLeague business in buoyant mood after coming through a tricky cup tie at home to Merry Monk Ballina. The Kingdom giants entertain Limerick Lions tonight before travelling to Dublin on Sunday to meet UCD/Marian who will be their opponents in the semi-finals of the national cup.

“The Tigers are playing well and it will take a massive game from us to be in with a chance of getting a win down in Kerry,” Lions player/coach, Matt Hall, admitted.

UCD/Marian, in the last four of Ireland’s famous Cup competition for the first time in 20 years, have tough games away to DCU Saints tomorrow and Tigers on Sunday.

In the Women’s SuperLeague, Team Montenotte Hotel Cork travel to Limerick to play UL in a game that could be decisive in wrapping up the competition. Montenotte are the only side with an unbeaten record.