Killester aim to extend winning run at Moycullen
Last season Killester won everything - the National Cup, the SuperLeague and the Conference — and they are still the hot favourites to retain all three trophies.
They end the first half of the season at home to Moycullen tomorrow night and it is very likely that they will head into the New Year unbeaten unless Enda Byrt’s side can pull something extraordinary out of the Christmas stocking.
After beating everyone else of note, it is highly unlikely they’ll fall to the Westerners, but Killester coach, Mark Keenan, was not taking anything for granted.
“This time last year we slipped up,” he recalled. “This season our objective is to take it one game at a time and make sure we don’t lose our focus.”
The two Cork SuperLeague teams, Bórd Gáis Neptune and UCC Demons make the long trek to Belfast to face tricky assignments. Neptune have enjoyed a fine run since they lost that thrilling derby game to UCC Demons and their National Cup. Three quick-fire victories have left them just a point behind high flying UL Eagles in the Southern Conference and they shocked Eagles in the SuperLeague before losing to them in the cup.
Star, still smarting from their cup loss to Ulster Elks, are always tough on their home court and they won’t be offering Christmas presents to the visitors who conceded 89 points last weekend in their 10 point win over old rivals, DCU Saints. That was something of a concern to coach, Pat Price.
“We are hoping to have a better defensive display against Star in Belfast,” he said. “The 89 points that we allowed get past us last weekend is not a figure we’re comfortable with, and if we are to meet our goals we’ll need a better commitment to execution. Star are an obviously improved side since signing Clayton Longmire and Scott Summersgill is always a threat.”
Belfast Star were quickly back to SuperLeague business after their shock loss to Ulster Elks and coach, Danny Fulton, is hoping to have Stephen Dawso available but predicts Longmire could make a big impact.
“The last time we played Neptune we didn’t have Clayton,” said Fulton. “I think his influence could make a big difference for us,” he added.
After the cup win over Star, everybody is wary of Ulster Elks these days although Star were quick to reverse that result in the SuperLeague last weekend which disappointed Elks’ coach, Deirdre Brennan.
“I was very disappointed to lose out to Star after the previous weekend’s big result,” she said. “They were out for revenge after the cup and they certainly got it. We just never got going against them.”
Demons’ coach Paul Kelleher is hoping his side can bounce back from stinging losses to Eagles and Killester in recent weeks.
“We’ve hit a bit of a skid in the past few weeks, albeit against the best two teams in the country,” he said. “We missed a bit of leadership without Shane Coughlan and Markus Van in the last game.”
UL Eagles, who face UCD Marian this weekend, are pleasing coach Mark Bernsen no end. Since he took over the coaching assignment at the University Arena they have gone from strength to strength.
“We have our moments,” he said. “We have a very unselfish team but in terms of matching up to our potential we are still a long way off.”
UCD Marian coach Fran Ryan thinks this weekend’s clash with UL Eagles will be a defining moment for his team.
“This weekend will show us where we are at as a team,” he said. “Eagles are very strong, but we definitely believe we can win the game. If we can control our own boards I think we have a chance.”
In the Women’s SuperLeague, UL have back to back games against Black Forge Oblate Dynamos and DCU Mercy while Waterford Wildcats coach, Sean O’Regan, admitted that his side face a huge assignment against Team Montenotte Hotel but their preparation hasn’t been ideal.
“We haven’t had a game in three weeks and the snow was so bad that it wasn’t possible to get together for training,” he said.
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