The chase begins......
Two days of action, which will be played over February 24-25, will see the cream of the crop from our universities and third level institutions descend upon the campus of NUI Galway in search of prestigious honours.
UCC, the defending champions, are back to try and successfully defend their crown but they face a difficult task. With four teams qualifying for the Friday’s semi-finals the Cork outfit have been paired with NUI Maynooth, while on the other side of the draw 2010 winners DCU will clash with UUJ.
All in all an exciting two days of third-level GAA action awaits and here we preview the four teams that have qualified for the Irish Daily Mail Sigerson Cup weekend.
UCC
How have they got there? As the defending champions UCC were always expected to qualify for the weekend. They began their campaign with a routine victory over GMIT and followed that up with a narrow win over Sligo IT to qualify for the last four.Who do they play? UCC meet an NUI Maynooth side that has been knocking on the Sigerson door quite heavily over the last number of years and who will be confident of causing an upset.
Star Man: Stylish centre-forward Mark Collins has become a lynchpin of the UCC attack in recent seasons and having featured prominently in Cork’s NFL campaign this year looks set to be one to watch in 2012.
DCU
How have they got there? DCU began their campaign with a hard-earned victory at home to Cork IT and they followed that up with a convincing win over their city rivals DIT.Who do they play? DCU have been paired up with UUJ in the semi-finals and this meeting looks set to be an enthralling encounter as both sides will fancy their chances.
Star Man: Blessed with attacking talent such as Dublin’s Paul Flynn and Eoghan O’Gara, DCU have an attack that will worry most defences. However, at the back it is Westmeath’s Kieran Gavin that has caught the eye and he will be crucial in thwarting a quality UUJ offence.
NUI Maynooth
How have they got there? Maynooth have had to overcome two stiff challenges already this season. Wins away to Queens and at home to UCD don’t happen by accident and they will fancy their chances of causing another upset.
Who do they play? NUIM will have to overcome the defending champions UCC if they want to make it to the Sigerson decider.
Star Man: Mickey Newman has grabbed the headlines so far for Maynooth and if they are to shock UCC they will need the Meath man firing on all cylinders.
Who do they play? NUIM will have to overcome the defending champions UCC if they want to make it to the Sigerson decider.
Star Man: Mickey Newman has grabbed the headlines so far for Maynooth and if they are to shock UCC they will need the Meath man firing on all cylinders.
UUJ
How have they got there? UUJ survived a scare in the competition’s opening round against UL and then dug deep to carve out another win over hosts NUIG to confirm their place at the weekend.
Who do they play? The Belfast outfit have been paired with the 2010 champions DCU and although they will be underdogs there is no doubt they will fancy their chances of pulling off a shock.
Star Man: Tyrone’s Mattie Donnelly will be expected to provide the scores for UUJ once again after chipping in with five points in their quarter-final victory over NUI Galway.
Who do they play? The Belfast outfit have been paired with the 2010 champions DCU and although they will be underdogs there is no doubt they will fancy their chances of pulling off a shock.
Star Man: Tyrone’s Mattie Donnelly will be expected to provide the scores for UUJ once again after chipping in with five points in their quarter-final victory over NUI Galway.
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