Canon Hamilton race continues

IN round two in the race for the Canon Hamilton Trophy, four teams will have their first outing in the campaign this weekend.
It is a big weekend for Scariff, Wolfe Tones, Broadford and Clooney-Quin, who will all be hoping to make a winning start as they seek to progress in the Clare Senior Hurling Championship title race.
It is also a huge weekend for the remaining 12 teams involved in this weekend’s round. For Whitegate, Cratloe, Clarecastle and Killanena, a second successive defeat would leave them struggling to make the play-offs, while Sixmilebridge, Tubber, Tulla, Newmarket, Kilmaley, St Joseph’s, Clonlara and Crusheen will know that a win this weekend will put them in a strong position for a quarter-final place with half of their games played in the league section of the title race.

Sixmilebridge v Wolfe Tones
THE first of this weekend’s games will take place at Cusack Park on Friday evening when Sixmilebridge take on neighbours, Wolfe Tones.
The fact that Wolfe Tones have been badly hit by emigration this season has been well documented. They have lost such experienced players as Brian and Gary O’Connell, Jamie Roughan and John Coen to Australia and Canada, while Ray Carley and Frank Lohan have retired.
They have struggled in the league and have just one point from five outings. They have, it must be said, been unlucky in a few of those games but their lack of experience has proven costly.
The shortage of numbers led to manager Patsy Keyes coming out of retirement in recent weeks and he played at full-back in their last league game. He is expected to be in the team for this Friday’s clash with the ’Bridge and he will be joined by Bobby and Gareth McPhillips, Daithí O’Connell and Barry Loughnane, survivors from the club’s last championship-winning team in 2006. In addition, they will be looking to Aaron Cunningham, a member of the Clare minor hurling team this year.
Sixmilebridge, currently near the top of the table in the Clare Champion Cup, carry the favourites’ tag and they will be looking to Niall Gilligan, Tony Carmody, the Morey clan, Shane Golden and Tadhg Keogh. They were anything but impressive in their opening round when they were fortunate to beat Clarecastle by a point. That said, it will be a huge surprise if they fail to win this week.

Whitegate v Tubber
TUBBER were, arguably, the most impressive senior team in the opening round of the championship and were full value for their win over a fancied Cratloe side.
Going on recent seasons, the real test for Tubber comes now as they have failed to build on impressive performances in the past. They head to Shannon for their meeting with Whitegate in the knowledge that another victory will leave them in a strong position to make it into the quarter-finals.
Whitegate lost their opening-round tie to Inagh-Kilnamona but, as they have shown in recent times, they can match the best on a given day. They need to win this week to keep their hopes alive so the management team of Brian Minogue, Mark McKenna and Kenneth Doyle will be looking to Brendan Bugler, Ian Fahy, George Waterstone and Andrew Fahy to inspire the side.
Tubber have some injury worries heading into the tie. Jack Neylon hobbled off the pitch in their first-round win over Cratloe, while Blaine Earley is still a doubt due to a hand injury. Justin McMahon is also a doubt and they will be looking to Clive, Conor and Mark Earley and the O’Connors.
It is likely to be a close affair but if Tubber reproduce their first-round form it should be good enough to see them ahead at the final whistle at Shannon on Saturday.

Tulla v Clarecastle
CLARECASTLE should be going into their tie at Shannon with a win under their belts but failure to avail of the scoring chances that came their way against Sixmilebridge resulted in a one-point defeat.
Manager Kenny Morrissey will be looking for an improvement in this area for Saturday’s clash with Tulla, who have been doing well in recent weeks.
With Conor Plunkett ruled out for the season, it is likely that Stephen O’Halloran will continue at full-back after his impressive performance in the opening round. In that game, Seanie Moloney excelled at corner-back, while Patrick Kelly did well at centre-back. The Magpies will again be looking to this trio to repeat that form.
From here on they will need to show improved form and will be looking to Jonathon Clancy, Tyrone Kearse, Derek Quinn, Danny Scanlan and Eamonn Callinan for a bigger return.
Tulla are backboned by a number of their championship-winning team from 2007, including the Torpey brothers, Sean and Eanna; the Brennans, Philip, John and Ciaran; Eugene Cooney, Cian McInerney, Mark and Andrew Quinn and Aidan Lynch, while they have introduced David McInerney and Darragh Corry from last year’s Clare minor team.
It’s a difficult one to call but Clarecastle’s need for a win may see them get over the line.

Newmarket v Kilmaley
AFTER their easy first-round win over Ballyea, Newmarket are likely to meet a much stiffer test this week when they take on Kilmaley at Cusack Park on Saturday evening.
Kilmaley go into the game on the back of a hard-earned draw with defending champions, Crusheen. This was a tie Kilmaley feel they should have won as they enjoyed the better of the exchanges in the final quarter.
Newmarket look to be a more experienced side and will be looking to Stephen Kelly, James McInerney, Kieran Devitt, David and Enda Barrett, Shane O’Brien and Colin Ryan to give them an edge.
On the last day out, Kilmaley included seven of their minor A winning team from 2009 in their starting line-up. Five of these were replaced during the course of the tie and it remains to be seen what starting line-up John Carmody and his backroom team will decide on this week.
Alan Markham will captain the side from centre-back and he will be joined by the experienced Colin Lynch at midfield, Diarmuid and Conor McMahon, while Kieran Dillon will continue between the posts.
Brian McMahon played in last week’s league tie, while Seamus Hurley, who impressed when introduced against Crusheen, will also be pressing for a starting line-up place. Noel Casey, Daire Keane and Kenneth Kennedy are others who are likely to be in the starting team.
Colin Ryan and Eoin Hayes, playing in the full-forward line, ripped the Ballyea defence apart in round one and Kilmaley will need to ensure they keep a close watch on this duo this week if they are to succeed.
Another close tie is expected here with both sides confident they can win. Newmarket may be more settled at this stage and could swing it in their favour.

Killanena v St Joseph’s
ST Joseph’s manager, Kevin Kennedy is likely to have mixed emotions ahead of their tie, which takes place at Sixmilebridge on Sunday. A native of Killanena, he played much of his hurling with the East Clare club and was one of their representatives on the Brian Boru’s championship-winning amalgamation in 1975.
That said, he has been deeply involved with a selection of teams in St Joseph’s over the last 20 years and is sure to be doing all in his power to guide them to victory this week.
They suffered a heavy defeat to Cratloe in the league last week but, in fairness, they were without a number of key players for that game, including Ken Kennedy, Darragh O’Driscoll and Sean Flynn. This trio will provide valuable experience if available this week and they will also be looking to Cathal O’Sullivan, Marty O’Regan, Noel Brody, Kevin Dilleen and Ivor White to give them an edge. They were a trifle unlucky not to have defeated Clonlara, managed by another Killanena man, Pat Conlon, in round one.
Killanena made their debut in the senior championship two weeks ago when they drew with Smith O’Brien’s. They will be disappointed that they didn’t win, as they dominated for much of the hour. The Noones and the McNamaras will be joined by Enda Collins, Joe Clancy and their top scorer, Mark Flaherty.
They will make the Doora-Barefield side battle hard for victory but, at the end of the day, it will be a surprise if St Joseph’s aren’t ahead.

Cratloe v Scariff
CRATLOE head into their game at Sixmilebridge in the knowledge that anything other that a win will leave them in danger of not making the play-offs.
They will have to improve on their first-round performance when they went under to Tubber. Last week, they ran up a tally of 6-11 against St Joseph’s in the league and this would suggest they won’t be easily stopped this week.
Scariff have shown mixed form so far this season but Mike McNamara can be relied upon to have a fit and determined side in action. Barry Murphy and Kenny McNamara, two vital cogs in their line-up, returned from injury to help the team beat Ballyea in the league last week.
They will be joined by Michael Moroney, Darragh Kelly, the Nash brothers and Conor McNamara.
Cratloe look to be a more settled and better balanced side and they look to have a stronger attack, which will feature Conor McGrath, Cathal McInerney and Paudge Collins. Elsewhere, they will be looking to Sean Collins, Liam Markham, Michael Hawes, Barry Duggan and Conor Ryan and should do enough to get their first points of the campaign.

Clonlara v Broadford
BROADFORD will have their first championship outing of the season when they take on neighbours, Clonlara at Cusack Park on Sunday evening. They have struggled in the league and will need to improve considerably if they are to get the better of Clonlara, who are unbeaten in competitive action this season.
Clonlara had to come from behind to earn a draw with St Joseph’s in the opening round. The hero on that occasion was Domhnaill O’Donovan, who scored two late points for the side.
He is unlikely to be available this week due to a back injury, which flared up last week and which is expected to keep him out of action for a while. He will be a major loss to club and county.
Clonlara will be looking to John Conlon, Darach Honan, Cormac O’Donovan, Ger, Nicky and Cathal O’Connell, Tomás O’Donovan and Colm Galvin to give them the edge against a Broadford outfit that will be looking to Cathal and Craig Chaplin, Padraic Hickey, James Gunning, Aonghus and Peter O’Brien for leadership.
On their best form, Broadford can trouble the best but they have struggled so far this season and a more settled Clonlara should come out on top.

Crusheen v Clooney-Quin
CLOONEY-Quin make their debut in the championship a few weeks after they scored a one-point win over Sunday’s opponents in the league. Both sides were short some players on that occasion, which may have contributed to the result.
Crusheen will be hoping to have Cronan Dillon back from injury and manager, Michael Browne and his selection committee will want to see the side win and edge closer to a play-off place.
There is a keen rivalry between these neighbouring sides and this should ensure a lively contest. Inconsistency has been a problem for Clooney-Quin in recent seasons and the new management team, headed by Mike Corry, will be looking for improvement in this area.
They have had a number of injury worries this season and Cillian Duggan has missed a lot of their league campaign but all are keeping their fingers crossed that he will be able to take his place at centre-back this week.
Conor Harrison, Fergal Lynch and Cathal Egan are experienced members of a side that will also be looking to Martin and Peter Duggan to get some vital scores.
The Dillon brothers, Donal Tuohy, Pat Vaughan, Ciaran O’Doherty; Alan Brigdale, Fergus Kennedy and Conor O’Donnell will be in the champions’ line-up and they will carry the favourites’ tag on Sunday. It should be another close tie with Crusheen expected to record a narrow win.