UCC Glanmire hope to turn tables on Killester in Super League rematch
Annalise Murphy with possession for UCC Glanmire against Killester. Picture: Larry Cummins
Another exciting weekend in the Women’s Super League with UCC Glanmire hoping to get revenge on Dublin side Killester when the sides clash at the Mardyke Arena on Sunday.
It was a disappointing cup semi-final defeat for the Cork side, but coach Mark Scannell is hoping his side can bounce back.
“I couldn’t fault the effort and commitment of my players who trained and prepared hard over Christmas but it wasn’t to be as Killester played better coming down the stretch,” said Scannell.
The Glanmire chief is a realist when it comes to basketball, but he firmly believes this Killester team are a very talented outfit.
“Look the bottom line is that Killester have two good Americans and a quality Bosman plus some very good Irish players so you need a near perfect performance to defeat them.
“We were well in the game until the last quarter and then we were punished by some excellent shooting but now we have to close the chapter and make sure we make it harder on this occasion,” added Mark.
Killester under coach Mark Grennell possess a lot of weapons and it will be interesting if he risks playing star American Samantha Haibi with their cup final against Liffey Celtics looming the following weekend.
Irish internationals Michelle Clarke and Hannah Thornton are players capable of hurting Glanmire but the main focus for the Cork side will be winning their boards, which they failed to do in the cup loss.
Make no mistake Glanmire are capable of upsetting Killester but they will need to improve in key departments to get the all-important win.
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell are also at home on Sunday at the GCU Arena when they host Cavan Eagles.
Brunell looked a far better side in their Christmas win over local rivals UCC Glanmire and coach Liam Culloty will be expecting more of the same against the league debutants.
The Eagles were jubilant with their Christmas home win over Trinity Meteors and will have no fear in the challenge of playing Brunell on their home court.
Looking at Brunell they will be happy with the success of their U18 and U20 teams in the national cup semi-finals and will be hoping this will give them a lift for the remainder of the league campaign.
In Edel Thornton, they have jewel in the crown as she looked back to her best before the Christmas break and no doubt she will be driving her team for the second half of the season.
Americans Maddie Cluse and Braillyn Joseph are decent players but lack consistency but they need more scoring contributions from Kelly Sexton and Ava Walshe to be league contenders.
The Dublin side are a tough outfit to dispose on their home court and it will be interesting to see how Mathew’s match up to them.
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