Moran brothers set for battle as WIT meet UL

THE clash of Waterford IT and University of Limerick in the Fitzgibbon Cup semi-final today at Ardfinnan (2pm) takes on an added interest for a variety of reasons.

The Moran brothers, Ollie and Niall, will be on opposite sides and could find themselves marking each other in midfield. Last year Ollie coached UL to their first title when they beat WIT in the final in Galway.

This year he is a student at WIT and has been very impressive for the college at midfield.

WIT mentor Conor Power said his side has been itching for a rematch since last year’s final defeat: “We had no complaints with the result but we played very poorly on the day and that was very annoying after we had done so well in the earlier rounds.

“We are getting the chance to atone for that defeat. We have lost most of last year’s team and it’s an indication of the college’s strength that we are back again competing for honours.

“We have built up a very good tradition of hurling in the college over the last few years and are now attracting the cream of young hurlers from the surrounding counties.

“The strength of our team is down the centre where we have Paul Curran (Tipperary), Joe Brady (Offaly), Ollie Moran (Limerick), Mick Jacob (Wexford) and Setanta Ó hAilpín (Cork), all inter-county players.

“This game is a step up in class for us, but we have the players capable of turning the tables, provided of course they play for the hour.”

“In the earlier rounds we tended to take our foot off the pedal when we go in front and that would be fatal against a team of UL’s calibre.

UL manager Ger Cunningham breathed a sign of relief yesterday when all his players reported fit after weekend National League games.

“It was the one fear I had that we’d lose a player or two through injury, but thankfully we have a clean bill of health, and we’re going to need it,” said Cunningham.

“It’s a huge game for us as defending champions. We caught WIT in last year’s final and we’re expecting them to come at us with all guns blazing this afternoon.

“We have 10 of last year’s winning team which is a great base to be working from, and with the league title already won, it would be great to complete the double.

“While we are quietly confident in our own ability to get a result, I would be very conscious of Waterford in that they are a very big physical team, particularly down the middle.

“Overall I feel we are better balanced, then they are, but we’ll need every player to perform to his maximum.”