UCC and DCU set for final showdown

THE most conspicuous aspect of this weekend’s Sigerson Cup semi-final line-up is those that are marked absent. No Cork IT. No UUJ. No Queen’s. No IT Sligo. No NUI Galway.

No UCD.

Were it not for the presence of DCU in this afternoon’s second semi-final in Maynooth there would be none of the last 14 champions involved at the business end of this year’s competition. That’s a remarkable statistic, so there is a novel quartet left to scrap it out for this year’s honours.

First to duel are UCC and Athlone IT, at 12pm. The Cork side’s football has improved immeasurably from the first round tie against Dublin IT, where they racked up an astonishing 20 wides, and they impressed in last week’s quarter-final against GMIT.

Although, it took them a long time to stave off GMIT, UCC, with a fully fit Barry O’Driscoll now sparkling for a full hour as opposed to the snatched cameos of earlier rounds, have a matchwinner up front. The assured free-taking of Daithí Casey and the creativity of Sean Kiely are other strong attacking facets. Elsewhere, UCC have strong points in their potent midfield duo of Michael Shields and Johnny Buckley, while Eoin Cotter, Eoin Hegarty and Adrian Greaney lead a defence that has only conceded an average of eight points to date.

Athlone IT have displayed solid credentials in advancing to this stage. They turned on the style to emphatically dispose of UL in the second round and then toughed out a narrow victory against IT Sligo last week that will bolster their hopes. Gary Connaughton is a standout presence in goal while they have a trio of livewire attackers in Ray Galligan, Paul Doherty and John Reynolds. Galligan can cut loose if afforded the space and UCC will need to be wary of his potential. But UCC’s defence will be the most resolute Athlone IT will have faced to date and the suspicion is that all over the pitch they will provide a step up in standards for the Westmeath college.

The other semi-final at 3pm sees DCU clash with NUI Maynooth. The hosts sprung a seismic shock in dumping UUJ out of the competition last week and they’ll be emboldened by that result. The pressure associated with trying to reach the finals is now off and they have excellent players in Niall Coyne, Nigel Dunne and David Quinn. But DCU are an imposing force and the bookmakers’ favourites to collect ultimate honours. Their form is impressive as they dispatched reigning champions Cork IT in the last eight and saw off UCD before that.

All over the pitch they look strong, with Kieran Gavin, Phillip McMahon and Brian Cullen the defensive stalwarts, and attacking class in the form of David Kelly, Paddy Andrews and Paul Flynn. The talent and strength-in-depth are certainly evident in Niall Moyna’s side but they have tripped up in the past and will be wary of how UUJ came unstuck last week. Still, being forewarned should serve them well and they get the vote to set up a final against UCC tomorrow afternoon.

Meanwhile, in the Trench Cup semi-finals today, Waterford IT meet former Sigerson Cup kingpins IT Tralee, 11am. Waterford IT will be backboned by Chris O’Connor (Meath), Colm Coss (Laois) and Cillian O’Keeffe (Waterford) while IT Tralee will look to Kerry players Paul O’Donoghue, Patrick Curtin and Alan O’Donoghue, along with Limerick’s Cormac Joyce-Power. The other semi-final sees Trinity College Dublin face Napier University Edinburgh, 2pm.