Senior League Cup – Matchday 2 Preview

There were some thrillers, some one-sided matches and some stellar individual performances as the IBI Corporate Finance Senior League Cup kicked off last weekend. With a double round of matches, this coming weekend already looks pivotal for a number of clubs.

Balbriggan caused the upset of the weekend in defeating Clontarf in Castle Avenue, last time out. They’ll be looking to back that up with victory over Pembroke in their first match at home in Group B on Saturday.

Balbriggan’s chances may be boosted by Pembroke having Josh Little and Barry McCarthy away with the Leinster Lightning this week. Pembroke looked impressive in beating Leinster last Saturday, but this will be a real test for Fiachra Tucker’s men.

Elsewhere in Group B, Clontarf will be looking to bounce back from that defeat to Balbriggan but that won’t be easy as Dom Joyce brings his Merrion side north of the Liffey. Merrion outclassed Terenure last weekend and will expect a closer run match tomorrow.

In the third match in the Group, Leinster will be looking to repeat their 2018 play-off victory against Rush, this time in Observatory Lane. Rush are opening their campaign and will sniff victory after running Instonians very close in a friendly last weekend while Leinster were struggling at Pembroke.

In Group A meanwhile, Malahide will be looking to make it two from two when they host Dublin University in the Village. After beating North County another victory could propel Malahide towards the Premier League after the split.

Dublin University will be looking to avoid back to back defeats after losing to Phoenix, and the men from the Park welcome YMCA on Saturday.

YMCA lost a nerve-shredder to The Hills on opening day with a couple of missed chances costing them dear. Despite young Tim Tector’s half-century, it was Daya Singh’s unbeaten 68 that proved the difference.

The Hills for their part welcome Railway Union to The Vineyard on Saturday and will be keen to add a second victory to their total. However, Ciaran Divney’s men are not to be underestimated, especially if Pakistan Test and One-Day international Sami Aslam can hit the ground running.

With seven teams in each group, North County in Group A and Terenure in Group B are idle on Saturday.

Stay tuned to the new match centre on the website, check out the CricClubs App and watch out for tweets on both @cricketleinster and from reporter Peter Boyd (@fibrofella), with a full match report and images to follow at the close of play in Clontarf on Saturday.

A preview of Sunday’s round of fixtures will be included in that report.

IBI Corporate Finance Leinster Senior League Cup

Saturday 27^th April 2019

All matches begin at 12pm