Elks on the hunt for high-flying Eagles
Ulster Elks went desperately close to ending their search for a third win of the season last weekend at the Parochial Hall where UCC Demons edged to a 83-80 win. Elks coach Deirdre Brennan hopes to make amends this weekend.
She admitted: “We were gutted, we played well despite suffering a number of injuries. This weekend we hope to have Paddy McGaharan back after five weeks out with an ankle injury. Damien Gallagher is still doubtful (ankle), as is Andy O’Hare.”
It is going to take a big performance to beat UL Eagles as they tighten their grip at the top of the table although coach, Tony Hehir, won’t take things for granted. “They have some good scorers in Paul Cummins, Ian O’Boyle and David Neal. We will need to play tough, aggressive defence and contain their shooters. Stephen King missed the last game through injury and is likely to also miss the Elks game.”
Last weekend’s win over Elks was just what UCC Demons needed after their cup final drubbing. Their coach, Luke D’Alessio, hopes for more of the same this weekend with back to back games against Hoops and Moycullen.
“This is a very important game against a Hoops side which gave us our first loss of the season,” he said. “On defence, we must do better guarding Carlton Aaron and Philip Taylor, both excellent against us at home.
“On offence, we must handle Hoops’ zone defence by working the ball patiently to find our open shot. We will continue to limit turnovers and crash the boards on rebounding. We are looking forward to playing Moycullen on Sunday in Galway. Their team has vastly improved since we played them and we must contain Nathaniel Fritsch and Cian Nihill.”
Pat Price has lifted Neptune with a succession of quality performances. Virtually assured of a place in the play-offs, they want second spot and the coveted home draw that goes with it. He is preaching caution ahead of tomorrow night’s home tie with Belfast Star who are currently second to Killester at the top of the Northern Conference.
“Belfast Star will be a tough challenge for us,” Price admitted. “Kevin Ratzsch, Scott Summersgill and Stephen Dawson are all capable scorers to whom we’ll give special attention. We hope to continue our good run and will rely on our defence to hold our home court. We were very pleased with our bench contributions against DCU Saints, in particular from Kevin Reddy, Paul Stapleton and Jason Bennett. We have shown steady improvements in a number of areas, and hope to carry this momentum to the last weekend of the season.”
Star welcome Fergal Toner back but will be without Michael McKillop through work commitments and have doubts over the availability of Scott Summersgill and Ciaran McVeigh.
Following their devastating performance against Demons in the cup final, Killester now have the SuperLeague in their sights but will be wary of UCD/Marian, who beat them earlier in the season.
In the IrishSport.TV Women’s SuperLeague, pacesetters Team Montenotte Hotel Glanmire, face Bausch & Lomb Wildcats this weekend while the new cup champions, DCU Mercy, meet Killester. Sligo All Stars are still looking for a win and this weekend have back-to-back games against UL and Tolka Rovers.
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