Chasing Oscar Traynor quarter-final spot

The unavailability of Eoin O’Brien is a big blow to Clare for Sunday’s Oscar Traynor clash away to Cork AUL at Douglas Hall on Sunday.
O’Brien picked up a red card in Clare’s 5-0 win over Roscommon at the Connacht county’s venue at the beginning of January and the appeal against that decision failed last week.
Clare manager Liam Murphy agreed this week that “Eoin is a huge loss but we have to move on now”, before adding that Stephen Hickey has been added to the panel. The Ennis Town Rock player is very experienced and his availability is a boost to the team’s hopes of getting through to the quarter-finals.
Sunday’s game will kick-off at 2pm at Douglas Hall and will be played on an AstroTurf surface. Playing on the artifical surface won’t be a problem for Clare, however. The manager pointed out that practically all the team’s preparations have been done on AstroTurf venues at UL, Ashling Annacotty, Lees Road and Kilmaley.
“We have played six or seven friendlies on AstroTurf and if we don’t succeed, the surface won’t be an excuse,” he said.
Murphy, who led Newmarket Celtic to the league and cup double last season, has been in Cork to see Sunday’s opponents in action.
“The Cork AUL league has a strong reputation and they will carry the favourites tag into this game,” he said.
The winners on Sunday will enjoy home advantage against Dublin in the quarter-final of the competition.
The fact that the domestic schedule has been greatly disrupted over the past three months has proven a problem for Murphy ahead of this fixture.
“Because of the cancellations, we haven’t been able to see the lads in action. When they have assembled for friendlies they have lacked that bit of sharpness which the domestic leagues would have provided,” the Newmarket man told The Clare Champion.
“My biggest worry about this game is that the lads have not been getting enough competitive action”.
Travelling to Roscommon a few weeks back, the odds on Clare progressing were considered slim but they produced an impressive display to win 5-0. They will be boosted by that result heading to Cork and will be looking to the likes of Daryl Eade (who captained the side in Roscommon), David Russell, Shane Daniels, Eoin Hayes, Daithi O’Connell, John Mulready, Mark Donlon, who missed the win over Roscommon due to suspension and Daithi O’Connell, to mention some.
The Clare team will be selected from the following panel: John Mulready (Bridge Utd); Darren Murphy (Bridge Utd), Darren Cullinan (Newmarket Celtic), David Russell (Avenue Utd), Shane Daniels (Ennis Town Rock), Mark Donlon (Newmarket Celtic), Colin Smyth (Avenue Utd), Daryl Eade (Ennis Town Rock, capt), Eoin Hayes (Newmarket Celtic), David Reidy (Ennis Town Rock), Daithí O’Connell (Newmarket Celtic), David McCarthy (Avenue Utd), Pat Darcy (Lifford), Alan Brigdale (Newmarket Celtic), Ruairi Norrby (Lifford), Darragh Fitzgerald (Bridge Utd), David O’Grady (Newmarket Celtic), Ritchie Fitzgerald (Hermitage), Alan Kelly (Newmarket Celtic), Johnny O’Brien (Rhine Rovers), Niall Quinn (Connolly Celtic), Stephen Hickey (Ennis Town Rock).