Sports Preview - 6th Of March

0:00Derek Lynch, welcome to Studio. Thanks, it's very formal. Thank you. No problem. Let's try to take a different way to introduce it. You're here to look ahead to the weekend in sport. Obviously, we'll start with the visit of Wexford 2, Zimmer by my parking soak on Sunday, Brian Lowen's side looking to maintain the 100% record, everything going swimmingly. That game thrown in at 115 on Sunday, you can hear that won't be a clash live on Claire FM. Wexford should prove stiff opposition, but given the form Claire in at the moment, home advantage and so on, you would expect them to not win. It won't be an easy win, obviously, but maybe just get over the line. Yeah, I think conform, you'd have to say that. But then again, Wexford's record here in Parkies Hall has been pretty good. The last couple years, including a fairly comfortable win. 12 months ago, that was resulted ultimately sent Claire on the spiral 2 1 B because I think from memory, he came off the back of the win over Limerick and we were saying, she's maybe we'll get out of this hole and all of a sudden,

1:00Wexford put us from you back into it. So that might be something Brian Lads will remind the players of before they head out onto the field. And to be fair to Brian, like the home record is something that he's extremely proud of. And you know, I suppose the support that has traveled around the country in the last three games in particular to follow them is something he wants to know reward on our own doorstep. And I think that will be the message the players going out on Sunday. Team name tonight, expecting a couple of familiar names to be back featuring. I understand Shane O'Dannell had been away for a couple of weeks with a work-related trip as far as I know. He's back in the frame now. Adam Hogan, we haven't seen him. He is potentially on the way back. Peter Doggan, that uncle injury, maybe not as bad as those first fears. So hopefully he'll get returning. Tony Kelly, hopefully going back into the team, you know. So it is starting to stack up. No, Brian was saying those injuries are starting to lighten off a little bit. But like, I suppose that those, as we mentioned, particularly for Shane and Adam, like, they do need the game time now because games are running out before this water for clash. You have this weekend, obviously,

2:00and then the 1B final, where that B-Wex for the Dublin, to this are the results on Sunday were probably dictate that if Wex for the win, they're in to the final, if Claire win, it's down to the final round of games. The 1B doesn't finish this weekend. It finishes for Claire. We've had the straight run. There is a round where the body comes to Claire next week and then it'll come down to score and difference between Wex and Dublin. So for those two teams, we still have a lot to play for, but for Claire, it's all about performance now. You know, last game in Parkinson's, before that big game against Wutherford in a couple of weeks' time, so they're well set for it. Okay, well, look, they started the campaign with a big test that they came through at home to Dublin and they're finishing it, which you would imagine the same situation, hopefully the same results. Yeah, and it's well booked back, you know, to be fair. And as I said, they've gone off in the road since that Dublin game, primarily, you know, we were at home to down as well, but took in a good chunk of the country in between all that. So yeah, it's building nicely now, but as I say, they have to, you know, I think it has to ramp up from here now because regardless of whatever way you look at it,

3:01it has been 1B. The games in 1A have been, the hits have been bigger. You've had less time on the ball. The games have been far more intense. So you have to start ramping it up from here on in, but I think they'll do that. And just to clear one thing up, there have been a little bit of confusion about this. I contacted the GA during the week. There had been some reports that the team that would top 1B would have a home final. That's not the case. At the moment that the communication I got from the GA was that the CCC, CCC, CCC, I think that's all of them. Are looking at potentially a double header with the 1A final and the 1B final, if things work out, if not, they'll appoint a venue, but it's divisions 2, 3 and 4 for the top team as home advantage, not 1B. So the game will not be in Parkinson's. At the amount of times you've called upon them for to put on double headers, and they're finally listening to you then. Look, if you shout loud enough and consistently, you know, eventually the last time. What's that saying about the broken clock being right twice a day? This is better than I suppose. And speaking of twice, we have two games live here this weekend.

4:03Before we get to Clare and Wexford, to the vacancy and what's happening there in Saturday afternoon will be our focus because St. Flannin's taken on presentation, Atten Ray, hoping to advance past the last four of the Dr. Crow semi-finals and make it to their first final in 20 years. They obviously bounced back to winning ways, defeating Kilkenny CBC last time out. No, as we talked about in the aftermath, the immediate aftermath of the game, it took some late gold, but they pulled it out of the bag. That's a big test, but hopefully come through. Yeah, big test. Firstly, I think Clare Baconty is a brilliant choice for this game because it's been striking distance for both sides. It's only half an hour, 40 minutes up the road from here and something similar from Atten Ray. I was up there a couple of years ago for a Clare Galway Kamolke game, beautiful stand, lovely grounds, and fair pletical vacancy for making their grounds available. Things have been tough, I suppose, with pitches that last couple of weeks. And it should lend itself to a big crowd for that very reason. And a crack in atmosphere, which I'm really looking forward to, but from a Flannin's point of view,

5:04there's, I suppose, a double-edged sword in this perspective. The last atten Ray last year in the previous round will say in Gort, a certain Jason Rabbis and Evan Neiland put on a clinic that day in the second half to see off Galway or to see off Flannins. We see what they've done this year of a Galway in the National League. So that was no shame in that they are quality players. But I actually just found the program, which I believe was doing a bit of tidy, not at home the last couple of days and found the program from last year's game. I think there's only three players from the starting team atten Ray, that are still there. I think Flannins of the team, the player that they led that featured all the rest of it. I think there's something around it. So that would tell you that there should be an app it's stronger, but I've noticed like the lads will have them well-primed for this. The reality is, when it's and you're in an hour and finally you're heading to Dublin for Paddy's day, no traffic on the rest of the night's the thing on that particular day, as you well know, but it would be huge. Like for the lads, for a clarity and to get an hour and a file in Crow Park, it doesn't happen half often enough, but a huge test against a very, very good atten Ray team.

6:05But just got the feed and the way Flannins finished out the game the last day, like they got the two-legged goal and they have been finishing games really well. Like it was a late kick that saw them off against Toller. They had a late kick against Nina, that just fell short in the hearty final, bounce back. As you say, the last day out against the Kenny CBC. And I think their conditioning should be good enough and sorry, but it's gonna be a right battle. So it's a game I'm actually really, really looking forward to. Okay, look, you know, don't be previewing those games in some detail on sideline view. Obviously it's Q's the cup action, lads, clear sides, plain in the FAI junior cup and soccer as well. Correct. Yeah, absolutely. That is, it's a very busy weekend. And thankfully, I think it's the first weekend where please, God, pitches will be back to some hut near normal. We've had a couple of days now, you know, the good hard frost last night. And that will hopefully firm things up a little bit as well. And fair play to clubs that are minding their grounds and grounds that are doing fantastic work to have things ready. I see our own pitch back in Quilty was, you know, being well-minded and caught during the week for that big game tonight between Clemory and Ines Diamond. You know, that's a really intriguing game.

7:06On the sideline as much as anything, because Dex and Downs is over in a stymon. He's facing off against Clemory's new manager in the Cochland. And those two would have worked together with Claire, under Codham Collins, you know, so they know each other's intricacies really, really well. And then you have your own going out to Milton, who are under new management with Sean O'Brien, who manned the Goldstone from many years as a clitor of senior championship medals in his back pocket. And he's bringing a new fresh, I suppose youthful dynamic to that Milton team that, you know, he's well respected out there and rightly so. And then Shen Daniels is coming out with his new goalkeeping supreme or the coach that's in with the clear leds in the set up is now between the sticks for a rock. So there's just a lot of little intricacies like that. And it's great to have the club games back, a couple of Gary Cobb games as well. Well, Tones and Crackler down in Shannon tonight. And lots more over the weekend. So plenty, low collection for people to look forward to. OK, and Derek will have you covered this evening and then the two live games this weekend as well. Derek, thank you very much.