Daly and Cooper should give Tralee the edge
Tralee have been out of the limelight since the heady days of the late 1990’s when they won this coveted title three years in-a-row with a team that included Donegal star Jim McGuinness and Seamus Moynihan.
Daly has been ever-present on Tralee team but Cooper’s inclusion should add help should see off the Dundalk challenge.
Throw-in is at 2 p.m.
Athlone IT should also advance against University of Limerick whose main priority this season is to retain their Fitzgibbon Cup title.
Galway/Mayo IT should carry too much firepower for MICEL in the same competition in Limerick this afternoon (2.30) .
Kildare senior Dermot Earley, and Joe Bergin (Galway) will spearhead the westerners challenge, and despite the best efforts of Kerry’s Declan Quill, Cristeoir Ó Cathasaigh and Joe Bulfin should go through with something to spare.
Home advantage may swing it for Garda Training College, who entertain Waterford IT in Templemore tomorrow (2 p.m.).
Waterford will include Kildare senior Ronan Sweeney, Diarmuid Kinsella (Wexford), Setanta Ó hAilpín, Paul Deane, Con Burns (Cork) and Kevin Coffey (Waterford) in their side, but the men in blue, with Brendan Philips (Sligo), Tom O’Sullivan (Kerry), Niall Sheridan (Longford), Fergal O’Callaghan (Tipperary) and Cormac Dineen in their ranks, will start favourites.
Dublin City University, with Dublin seniors Stephen Cluxton, Paul Casey, Tomas Quinn, Barry Cullen and Ian Robertson available, will fancy their chances against Trinity College at St. Vincents Grounds this afternoon (2.30 p.m.).
TCD are without Brendan Teehan (Kerry) and Michael Brides who is still recovering from a broken leg sustained with Cavan last summer. They will include current Sligo senior Kieran Quinn and Colm Hannon (Cavan) but don’t have the same resources as DCU who are taken to advance to a meeting with title holders Sligo IT.
University of Coleraine journey to the capital as favourites against Dublin Institute of Technology this afternoon after a couple of excellent results in recent challenge games.
Stephen Kernan, son of Armagh manager Joe, Peter Sherry and Kieran Boyle (Fermanagh), and Rory O’Loan will spearhead the northerners’ challenge against a side that will include Dermot McCormack (Kildare), Shane McCague (Meath) and Liam Mooney (Wicklow).