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 Depleted CIT face full force Newtown The Examiner | |||
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PLAYER availability is the main concern for CIT as they prepare to face county and All-Ireland champions Newtownshandrum in the Cork SHC quarter-final on Sunday in Fermoy (2pm).
Already out are two key players, Michael Phelan and Jacky Tyrell, both members of this year's Kilkenny senior squad. They are unavailable due to club commitments.
CIT coach John Meyler makes the point that they weren't available either for the first round, won by the students.
"It's one of the drawbacks we face, but more serious for us is the fact that several of our players will be on club duty tomorrow, and we cannot afford to pick up any injuries at this stage," said Meyler.
"Competing in the Fitzgibbon Cup has certainly lifted the profile of the college. Students now want to play with us. Defeating Newtown in the first round earlier this year was a big boost, but they have recovered well and there is a huge incentive for them to turn that result around.
Newtown selector Patsy Morrissey is concerned that the sharpness which has been the hallmark of the team during their triumphant march in 2003 is missing.
"The All-Ireland triumph was magnificent for the county but I hope it hasn't come at a cost for the club," he said.
"Having said that we don't intend to surrender our hard won titles easily. CIT beat us earlier in the year but that was too long ago to have any bearing on this game. We'll give it all we have and hopefully that will be good enough."
NA PIARSAIGH v SARSFIELDS
Both Na Piarsaigh and Sarsfields, who have been inactive for four months, finally get to play their quarter-final tie on Sunday night (6.15pm) in Páirc Uí Rinn.
The possibility of Setanta Ó hAilpín lining out with Na Piarsaigh will surely add to the attendance. The return of their two inter-county stars, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín and John Gardiner, along with team captain Mark Prendergast, suggests Piarsaigh are well geared for this game.
Four months is a long time to be without a competitive match and trying to keep the players interested hasn't been easy. Injury has ruled Paul O'Sullivan out with a fractured a finger. He had been shaping up well, scoring 4-2 against DLS (Waterford) in a recent challenge game.
For Sars coach Conor McCarthy this is a new experience.
Just a few short years ago he was a member of the team, but circumstances changed and he took the opportunity when it presented itself.
"The biggest problem we faced this year is the huge gap between matches, but it has been the same for our opponents, so there's no real advantage to either team," said McCarthy, who recently won a divisional junior championship medal with Sars.
"Kevin Goggin is out through injury and will be hard to replace.
"There has been very little between the two teams in recent years and on our last meeting in 2002, we were successful.
"This is a huge game for us, one we desperately want to win, but we'll need to improve on the form we showed against Douglas in the previous round."
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