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Title showdown in Clonmany on
Sunday
12.03.10
by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen Independent
All eyes will be on Clonmany this Sunday afternoon
as Premier Division champions Redcastle roll into
town for a title showdown with the hometown
Shamrocks.
The two fierce rivals have shared the Premier
Division trophy over the past five seasons and this
year will be no different as first and second clash
at Shamrock Park.
The winner of this game will take a giant stride
towards the title. Should Clonmany claim victory
they would move eight clear of Redcastle, who have
two games in hand, but if Brian Bell’s men win they
will close the gap to only two points.
Clonmany have been quietly picking up vital wins
without setting the world alight in recent weeks;
Jason Devlin’s solitary strike was enough to secure
all three points for the Shamrocks at Culdaff last
weekend.
Redcastle bounced back from a shock defeat at the
hands of Culdaff two weeks ago to record a
comfortable home win against Aileach last Sunday. |
Looking ahead to the
make-or-break clash, Redcastle manager, Brian Bell,
said that his team are struggling with injury.
“We have seven of our first eleven in a race for
fitness and that has been the story for much of the
season. We hope to have three or four ready for
Sunday but what percentage of fitness they are at
remains to be seen, he said.
“We are waiting on word back from the surgeon as to
whether or not Martin Farren can play at the |
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back while Brian Tracey
has only got a 50/50 chance of starting.”
Talking about the pressure on his team, Bell said it
was part and parcel of life as champions.
“When you win four out of the last five titles then
obviously people raise their game to try to beat
you. When we lost against Culdaff the other week
there were more than 250 comments on the Inishowen
League website! We accept the pressure,” he said.
Bell said his team would go out to win the game even
though a draw would leave the Foylesiders well
placed to retain their crown.
“Sunday’s game is not the be all and end all because
both teams have some tricky tests ahead but we are
certainly going out to win; it’s not in our nature
to sit back for a draw,” he said.
In contrast to their opponents, Clonmany manager
Martin Cavanagh said his squad is fully fit.
“Everyone is in pretty good shape so we have no real
injury worries. Both teams have the winning of the
league in their own hands so it should be
interesting,” he said.
“It would be foolish to consider the game a title
decider however as there are still some points up
for grabs. We still have to play Illies and Moville
and that won’t be easy.”
Hoping for a big crowd on Sunday, Cavanagh said that
a large attendance adds to the sense of occasion.
“There was a huge crowd at our win in Culdaff last
weekend and we are hoping for the same this Sunday,”
he added.
How they stand: Clonmany Shamrocks 33 pts /
Redcastle United 28 pts |
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