The Cork Admirals will be looking for a little sweet revenge on Sunday as they host the South Dublin Panthers for the second time in just three weeks. The last time these two met, on July 1st, the Panthers took the victory by 20 points to 9.
Since that game, the Panthers have beaten the Louth Mavericks before losing last weekend to the reigning champion Dublin Rebels. As for the Admirals, they were beaten by UCD 21-3.
Admirals Head Coach Alan Lomasney says his side are ready for the Panthers challenge, “Obviously we were disappointed with the result of the last game and we will be doing our very best to reverse that result this time around. We have been practicing well all week and the guys are ready for a tough physical game.”
“We are really looking forward to the game, it’s always good to be at home for a playoff game. We have great respect for the Panthers. They are a very good team and are very well coached by Coach McDonnell and his coaches.”
His side have a 5-3 regular season record this year and coach Lomasney is happy with the teams progress , “The season has gone reasonably well so far from our perspective. We are only in our 2nd year back in the SBC (Shamrock Bowl Conference) and to have won 5 games this year is about where we thought we’d be development wise.”
The sides have met twice already this season, with both sides having a victory apiece and Lomasney knows it will be a close game, “The two teams are well matched, there has been very little between us in the last two games and this game should be similar.”
The Admirals coach says his side should be all more or less at full-strength on Sunday, “We have been fortunate with injuries this season, we have a few minor knocks, but we have players returning from injury at the right time as well.”
When asked which Admiras players to keep an eye on in the big game, coach Lomasney said, “I don’t want to single out any of our guys in particular for Sunday as they all put in the same level of effort and dedication and are all deserving of a mention.”
The coach is calling on all sports fans in Cork to come out and support his side this weekend as the Admirals look to reach the semi-finals and a clash with UCD. He said, “We always have good support from the Cork public at our games and I’d ask them to come down to PBC Sportsground (Presentation Brothers Cork) again this Sunday to cheer us on in the playoffs.”
The game kicks-off on Sunday at 2pm.