Stackstown and Milltown play a local preliminary match, with 3 games to be played on the steep slopes of the Garda club. Both clubs put plenty of effort into their club teams, but were both hopeless last year. Milltown made a surprise exit in Round 1, being turfed out by Tulfaris, a club with only a handful of serious players to choose from. Stackstown were disqualified in Round 1 for fielding what was thought to be a 4/10 partnership, only to find the 10 handicap player had been 9 for a brief period the previous season.
Arklow used a good win in last years' Garden Trophy, (a Barton Cup warm up tournament among ten clubs in Wicklow), as a springboard to reach last years BC Quarter Final. This time around, Arklow kick off with a very tough away tie with 2008 Barton Cup winners, Enniscorthy. My money is on Enniscorthy.
Naas should be a strong side this year, having won the Junior Cup last season. They kick off with a home fixture with Rathsallagh. Rathsallagh had a poor showing in 2010, following a dismal performance in the Garden Trophy with a Round 1 exit from Barton Cup to Craddockstown. That said, there does seem to be some development in their squad, as they fielded a number very young, and very talented players in the opening game of Garden Trophy last week. I expect some of Brendan McDaid's new crop of students will improve their team, but Naas will be much too strong, especially with three matches at home.
This season sees the members of Druid's Heath make their interclub debut, for the first time entering seperate teams from their wealthy buddies at Druid's Glen. They have a tough opening game with the European Club, but interestingly, if they progress we will see a Glen V Heath match in Round 2. What an opportunity to stick it to the landlords!
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Sheet I am going to be biased and mention my Club Dunmurry Springs who came within a hair of Beating Laytown & Beattystown last year. Would have been interesting to have read your opinions on their chance's this year after such a strong showing from a young club, but alas not a mention?
ReplyDeleteYeah, great to see a young club do so well, especially after going out in Round 1 the previous year. Just goes to show how unpredictable the competition can be year on year.
ReplyDeleteI didn't hear much of the details of the final, hence the lack of mention. I'd imagine the damage was done in the first leg, where you guys went down 3/2 on your own course. Feel free to post up your own synopsis of the match, or what your club did to put such a good team together.
Thanks for reading, and best of luck to you guys in 2011.
Your spot on with your observation on the first leg defeat 3/2 after being well in control and seemly going for a healthy lead for the away match. The second leg was a very even contest but the home advantage really played its part and the home team did the job and won. As a side note the level of friendliness and good will shown by the winning team was first class, impeccable hospitality. Regarding the formation of the team, well there is no magic formula, and the Dunmurry team literally played well at the right times. There is no doubt that there are talented individuals on the team, take the Top golfer winner this year as an example. However golf is such a fickle game and when your on it seems you cant be beaten but the same guys could go out the following week and just not play well. Its the beauty of the game.
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