Saturday August 7th - Irish Cup Semi-Finals
Fox Lodge v Railway Union
On paper this looks like a bit of a mis-match. However Fox Lodge lie third in a crowded top of the league table in North-West Senior 1 and in their South African professional batting all-rounder Darryl Brown they have a potential match-winner.
Being at home Fox Lodge will enjoy strong vocal support, will play their cricket hard, will function well as a team and will more than likely punch well above their weight.
On the other hand Railway, if anything, can punch below their weight.
That said a team containing Kenny Carroll, Trent Johnston, Kevin O'Brien, Tom Fisher, Conor Mullen, Graham McDonnell et al shouldn't lose. Following a disappointing league loss to North County on Monday I expect Railway's attitude to be spot on for this one. Anything less and it could spell trouble for the Leinster outfit.
Verdict: Railway to win a hard-fought match.
Waringstown v Merrion
On paper Waringstown boast a strong team - a line-up which includes Lee Nelson, Gary Kidd, Kyle McCallan, James Hall, Josh Hall and others.
However in reality a huge amount seems to depend on McCallan. If he fires then all is good but if he doesn't? (To be fair he usually does).
To win this competition however I think they will need more contributions from the rest of the team - time for a Lee Nelson to step up to the plate?
Merrion have already been written off in some quarters. I heard one respected northern journalist comment that victory in The Hills v Waringstown quarter-final was 'a passport to the final'.
Merrion may not have reached the heights of North County or Railway Union this season but as anyone in Leinster will attest they are always opponents to be respected - they can beat anyone on their day. Merrion are currently 4th in Leinster's Division 1 ahead of such teams as Irish Cup 2009 champions Leinster and Clontarf. Plenty of quality in the Merrion line-up too.
Waringstown will rightly start as favourites but I'm backing Merrion's fighting spirit.
Verdict: Merrion to win.
Liam Rooney
