Tight contest for East Clare rivals

While Newmarket are fancied to top group three, with opinion is divided as to who will join them from the group in the quarter-finals.

East Clare neighbours Whitegate and Smith O’Brien’s (Killaloe) are two of the other sides in this group and the outcome of their meeting at Scariff this Saturday evening could go a long way to determining who will make it into the play-offs.
It’s almost 50 years since Whitegate were senior county champions while Smith O’Brien’s haven’t been at the top of the pile at senior level since the early days of the association.
Both clubs have been threatening to make an impact in senior ranks and qualification for the quarter-finals would be a big step forward for either team this year.
Whitegate, who currently lead Division 1 of the Clare Champion Cup having lost just once in seven outings, were beaten in the opening round of the championship by Newmarket.
In that game, the East Clare outfit, just back in senior ranks following their intermediate title win last year, had their chances to win but inexperience cost them in the end.
Their opponents this week are unbeaten in competition this season. They top Division 2B of the Clare Champion Cup, with full points from their six outings.
In the opening round of the championship they accounted for Tulla and a win on Saturday would put them in a strong position to make it into the last eight.
Narrowly beaten in the U-21B final by Wolfe Tones, the Killaloe senior players have been undergoing a fitness programme this year drawn up by Killaloe native Keith Wood, the former Ireland and Lions rugby captain.
Indeed, when they played and beat Tulla, Wood was present with their management team on the day.
Seamus Gleeson, Trevor Howard and Pat Vaughan are experienced members of their defence while further afield they will look to Willie Neary, Pat Ahern, Liam and Kevin Walsh, Shane O’Brien and John Cusack to inspire them to maintain their winning run in 2010.
Shortly after their first-round tie with Newmarket, Whitegate were dealt a blow when the experienced Tommy Holland departed for Australia.
They will be looking to inter-county man Brendan Bugler, along with goalkeeper Andrew Fahy, who has figured prominently among their scorers this year with his accuracy from long-range frees and also Ian Fahy, John O’Brien and the Minogues.
All followers of the side from the Galway border will be hoping that George Waterstone, who was part of the Clare U-21 panel last year, will be much sharper on this occasion.
He only returned to hurling in the days before the Newmarket game because of injury but he has a few weeks’ training behind him now and should be much sharper.
A tight contest is in the offing and there should be a good attendance in Scariff on Saturday evening.