Dungarvan Colleges and St Kierans do battle in All-Ireland semi final

Dungarvan Colleges and St Kieran’s College from Kilkenny will be hoping to get their All-Ireland Colleges semi final fixed for the WIT Sports Campus at Carriganore played on Tuesday afternoon where the prize on offer is a clash with Kilkenny CBS in the All-Ireland Final.

Originally fixed for last Saturday at the same venue, the game had to be called off in the hours leading up to the game owing to the heavy rain that fell over much of the South-East of Ireland from late on Wednesday evening.

It’s hard to know if the three day delay playing the game will be a help or not to both sides. Colin Dunford has not played since he picked up a shoulder injury while helping the Dungarvan Colleges to a second Dr Harty Cup Final in two years, retiring early in the game against Our Lady’s from Templemore.  He has however returned to training with his club side – Colligan in the last week or two which has to be a plus to his side’s chances, but it remains to be seen if he will line out in this game.

The Kilkenny side also have had their injury worries as Paddy Mullen who scored 1-1 in their All-Ireland Quarter Final win over Our Lady’s Templemore recently retired early with a rib injury and it remains to be seen if he is fit to start the game. They have also seen Simon Rafter pick up a finger Injury recently while Michael O’Neill broke his Collar bone in his sides Leinster Final loss to Kilkenny CBS and it remains to be seen if these two will play any part in this game.

Both sides will go into this game in a confident mood. Saint Kieran’s in their most recent game had a 4-11 to 2-8 win over Our Lady’s Templemore, where they inflicted much of the damage in the opening half, at the end of which they held a 3-7 to 0-3 advantage.

Dungarvan College’s most recent game was against the same opposition in the Dr Harty Cup Final at Tipperary Town, where they proved to be equally as effective in front of goal, winning 2-21 to 1-11. On the day the sides were locked at eight points a piece at the break, but the Dungarvan/Abbeyside combination put in a terrific second half to win the game comfortably in the end.

The Kilkenny students have a number of players that will have to be watched carefully in this game. Chris Bolger playing in the middle of the field and Vincent Teehan at full forward both finished as joint top scorer’s last time out, finishing with 1-2 to their credit. Patrick Mullen who came in for Bolger against Our Lady’s from Templemore also impressed, the Ballyhale Shamrocks man finishing the game with 1-1, while James Maher at Centre Forward and Michael Kenny who began at right corner forward finished with 0-3 and 1-0 respectfully.

Patrick Curran is Dungarvan College’s top scorer for his side this year. However, they are by no means a one man team. Ryan Donnelly and Christy Breathnach also finished the game with Our Lady’s from Templemore with impressive tallies behind their name. Others that could well play a vital roll in this game for the combined side are Aaron Donnelly, Darragh Lyons, Michael Harney and Cormac Curran while the importance of their half back line of Tadhg Bourke, Kevin Daly and Captain Tom Devine cannot be under estimated.

No Kilkenny side will enter any game any other way but feeling confident. St Kieran’s will be no different. Dungarvan Colleges however will also make the trip to the outskirts of Waterford City in a confident mood. Both Dungarvan CBS and St Augustine’s College, the two sides that make up the Dungarvan Colleges formation, since winning the Dr Harty Cup have qualified for All-Ireland Finals. St. Augustine’s get to play their final this Saturday when they take on Strokestown at Newbridge.  There will be some that heading into Tuesday afternoon’s game that the minds of the players will not be on other up coming fixtures. The management team of Dungarvan Colleges could have a big job on their hand to get everything out of the heads of the players under their charge for over an hour apart from the task in hand. If they succeed, Dungarvan Colleges have a great chance of advancing to an All-Ireland Final against Kilkenny CBS, a side that beat the Dungarvan side in last years All-Ireland quarter final, but it wont be easy.