The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
A request by Cratloe GAA to have the Senior Hurling Championship replay with Kilmaley deferred for a week has failed.
Representatives of the club put their case to the CCC earlier this week when they pointed to the amount of games they have played in the senior hurling and football championship in recent weeks and also to the involvement of five of their players with the Clare U-21 All-Ireland under winning side.
The fact that their footballers were involved in an extra time game with Liscannor on their way to the quarter-final of that championship, four days after the All-Ireland U-21 final, followed by last week’s draw with Kilmaley in the senior hurling quarter-final has added to the fixture congestion that resulted in their request to have the hurling replay delayed for a week.
“In an effort to ease the situation we now find ourselves in, we offered, earlier in the season, to bring forward our first round football championship game with Kilmurry-Ibrickane. Later we suggested a toss in relation to our hurling game with Clonlara when we both had qualified for the quarter-finals. Had that draw taken place we were then prepared to play Liscannor in the football championship, two weeks before the All-Ireland U-21 hurling final. This would have eased the situation. Neither offer was accepted,” Cratloe chairman Jack Chaplin told The Clare Champion this week.
He went on to point out that Cratloe had co-operated with the fixture schedule so Clare teams could have the assistance of their players.
Having heard Cratloe’s request, Clare GAA’s fixtures body confirmed the replay will go ahead on this Sunday evening in Cusack Park at 4.30pm.
The championship semi-finals are scheduled for the following weekend (October 13/14) with the final scheduled for October 28. The Clare winners are due to play in the Munster Club Championship on November 11 when they will have home advantage against the Waterford champions, De La Salle or Dungarvan.
For Sunday’s replay, Cratloe won’t make a final decision on Cathal McInerney’s fitness until nearer match time. Clare’s All-Ireland winning U-21 star only played the final five minutes of the drawn game because of a hamstring injury picked up in the football championship game with Liscannor, an injury that saw him miss the football quarter-final with holders Kilmurry-Ibrikane.
Liam Markham picked up an injury towards the end of last week’s draw and, while he finished the contest, there is some concern as to his fitness ahead of the replay.
Kilmaley have injury worries also with Niall McGuane struggling to be fit. He was replaced early in the drawn game and is considered a major doubt for the replay.
Another close contest is expected and there should be no more than a point or two between the sides when the final whistle sounds.
