Avoca and Pembroke Wanderers will be fully stretched this weekend as they engage in significant Leinster Senior League games against Glenanne and Corinthians, respectively, tomorrow, and meet each other in the Stephen Doyle Trophy final on Monday.
With decreased resources this season, Avoca need every ounce of shrewdness and energy to remain to the forefront and they may find that even with Stephen Mitchell settling in effectively at left-back behind Colin Hade, they will have too much defending to do against Glenanne at Rathdown. Having amassed 32 goals in five games, Glenanne can, furthermore, count on a full-strength squad including Paul Fitzpatrick tomorrow and the variety of options open to them should yield another victory, reversing the 3-2 result of a year ago as well as Avoca's Top Four win. Yet, the margin will again be tight, especially as Stephen Kinsella knows something about Stephen Butler's short-corner deliveries.
Pembroke, though established as champions, have been inclined to be unsettled by Corinthians in recent campaigns and will be well aware of the Rathfarnham's side's increasing prowess. Nevertheless, Pembroke are keeping on a particularly steady course at home and with Stephen Stewart ready to resume, it seems that their greater fire power at Serpentine Avenue will keep them unbeaten at the the top of the table.
Monkstown, unlucky to go under to Corinthians last Saturday, are likely to be without six first-choice players for their meeting with Trinity at Grange Road. This is because of a request from St Andrew's and Newpark to rest Justin Sherriff, Ian Allen, Richard Beere, Jamie Plower, Cliff Bailey and Stuart Moffett for the Irish Schools Championship in Belfast next week.
Among Monkstown's notable replacements, however, are David Jenkins, who has returned from playing in Harare, Paul McAndrew, captain of the Newpark side which won the allIreland title last year, and Robert McDonagh.
Trinity may still not be fit enough to save a Statoil point but UCD, in taking on Three Rock Rovers at Belfield, could be close to claiming a scalp if someone keeps Liam Canning out of range.
The plum tie in the initial stages of this season's Leinster Senior Cup will be the first-round pairing between Pembroke and Corinthians. At last night's draw, Eddie Brennan, managing director of Cable & Wireless, announced the fifth year of the competition in which vouchers worth £500 (of the £3,500 sponsorship) will go to the winners, £250 to the runners-up and £124 to each of the beaten semi-finalists.
