Doon determined to finish on top of Harty Cup group
Both schools are level on four points from two games which guarantees them a place in the quarter-finals next February.
According to team official Liam Ryan, Doon will enter tomorrow’s match reasonably confident they can complete the Round Robin programme on top of the group.
“It would be a tremendous achievement if we could win all three
matches”, said Liam. “Our school is situated in an area where a number of others also draw pupils. Our numbers aren’t huge by comparison, but we are fortunate to have a number of inter-county players with both Tipp and Limerick.
“We completed in the Harty before after winning the All-Ireland “B” title in 1995 and acquitted ourselves well. Every so often we manage to get a very good crop of players together and like competing at the top level.
“Everyone is fit for tomorrow and eagerly looking forward to the challenge. Our Lady’s have been through it all before and are far more seasoned at Harty hurling than we are, but there is an air of optimism among our players that we can win this one. And who knows where that will lead us after Christmas”.
Doon have an excellent defence, built around Edward Kelly, Diarmuid Ryan and Niall Lysaght; midfield is solid with tipp county minor Paudie ryan the main driving force, while in attack, Brian Fenton, the bustling Roger Ryan and Paudie McNamara will pose a lot of problems for the Templemore defence.
If one were to go on recent results, Doon should win. They had eight points to spare over Midleton while Our Lady’s had just two. However, the Tipp school are equally determined to finish on top of the group.
They are beaten finalists from last year and are keen to go one better. They have lost over half of last year’s team, but Tipp minor Evan Sweeney is still there and their top forward.
They have an excellent goalkeeper in James Coady while Ian Delaney, Liam Burke and Davy O’Connor are teak tough defenders. Apart from Sweeney, Kieran McGrath and Jody Ryan are also good for scores.
If experience counts for anything then Our Lady’s will start favourites, but this Doon side is physically strong, well able to hurl, and I fancy them to win.
Two other schools involved in a similar situation tomorrow are St. Flannan’s and Thurles CBS and their clash in Nenagh should also be well worth a visit.
Flannan’s team may not be a patch on those of former years, but to date they have done all that has been asked of them by winning their two games. But tomorrow’s match will tell a lot more about their potential.
Both Flannan’s and Thurles weren’t really tested in their two previous outings, but a Tipp/Clare clash should bring the best out of each, with the Clare college favourites to win.
Youghal CBS, who are taking part in the Harty Cup for the first time, would take a giant step towards reaching the knock out stages if they manage to beat Waterford Colleges tomorrow.
They have two Cork minors in their ranks, Brendan Barry and Brendan Ring, and with a number of students from over the border attending their school, Youghal have every incentive to win this one and claim second place in the group. St. Colman’s will finish top with maximum points from four games. They already have six from three.
Group C is shaping up to go right down to the last round of matches. Tipperary CBs are unbeaten after two games, but they play Scarriff tomorrow in Claughaun well aware that the Clare side would throw the group wide open if they managed to win.
Cashel CS are expected to beat North Mon in Mitchelstown and that could leave a tie at the top of the group with three teams on four points. In the event of that happening scoring averages will count, hence the necessity to chalk up big scores tomorrow.
Both Coláiste an Phiarsaigh and Midleton CBS will be playing for pride when they clash tomorrow at a venue to be decided. Neither school has any chance of being involved after Christmas but such is the intense East Cork rivalry, neither of them will want to finish propping up the group.
The same could be said about the Coláiste Chríost Rí/Limerick CBS tie which the latter are expected to win.
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