Clare will be aiming to secure their place in the last four of the Oscar Traynor competition when they take on Sligo/Leitrim tonight at 19:00 in McSharry Park, Sligo.
It is now less than ninety days since the Banner’s last game in the competition when they easily dispatched of the Roscommon challenge, winning 4-0. During the week, manager Mick Shiel has hit out at the structure of the competition and is worried over his side’s preparation due to the struggles in trying to keep his charges positive and ready with such long intervals between fixtures.
He is without Newmarket Celtic duo David McCarthy and Stephen Kelly as the pair are unable to make the journey to Sligo. Shannon Olympic’s Brian McGorrian is ruled out with a broken arm. The aforementioned trio were part of the fourteen man contingent that featured in Clare’s 4-0 win over Roscommon.
Sligo/Leitrim secured qualification to the quarter-finals after emerging from a group that contained Inishowen, Donegal and Cavan/Monaghan. The Western side have a number of former Junior Internationals in their ranks along with some former League of Ireland players. Keith Nibs, Chris Kelly, Colm Jinks and Sean Purcell will need to put in big displays for the hosts.
For Clare, big performances are required from Eoin Hayes, Garry Higgins, Darryl Eade and Captain Paddy Purcell. Having reached the penultimate stage of the competition in the last campaign, the philosophy of Shiel and his management has been a game by game approach. The big question remains if the huge gap in between fixtures and the journey to Sligo will prohibit the Banner from reaching the last four. That question will be answered at approximately 20:45 this evening.