i3PTFr Mathew’s make a trip to Dublin to face DCU Mercy in a quarter final clash of the Paudie O’Connor National Cup at the DCU Complex.

It has been a strange season for Mathew’s as they looked a far stronger unit for this campaign but in truth their defence has let them down big time.

The Cork side played league leaders Trinity Meteors a fortnight ago and if they had taken their chances they could well have caused a major shock.

Last season Fr Mathew’s defeated DCU Mercy when the Dubliners had a stronger squad at this venue and coach Niamh Dwyer will feel her side can repeat that feat.

A lot of focus will be on how the Mathew’s American duo of Shannon Brady and Sydney Candeleria perform.

Brady has been playing in this country for many years and can be a serious player when fully focused on the job in hand.

In this game Brady could well expose DCU Mercy at the post but getting the right assists will be crucial.

Grainne Dwyer has been a revelation in Women’s basketball and although coming to the end of her illustrious career she is still a player capable of posing teams problems in this league.

DCU Mercy chief Mark Ingle is one of the most talented coaches in this country and no doubt will have his team primed for this game.

Ingle is aware that cup basketball can throw up unexpected results and his team will be taking nothing for granted.

Ingle said: “The reality is that Fr Mathew’s came to Dublin last season and defeated us so that’s the incentive we have going into this game.

“We played them for a short period in Cork this season when the game was abandoned due to floor condensation so really I know very little about them only that they are capable of posing us problems.” Coach Ingle will have been disappointed with his recent home defeat to Killester where players like Hannah Thornton and Maeve Phelan contributed zero points.

The American DCU Mercy pairing of Lindsey Abed and Brittany Roberts are solid without matching the level of former professionals at the club.

The Cork side will be hoping that Amy Corkery, Anna Lynch and Amy Murphy make telling contributions in the scoring department.

DCU Mercy are raging hot favourities to book a semi-final berth but they would be foolish to underestimate this talented Fr Mathew’s side.