*Elias Kunz returns to the Avenue Utd squad. Photograph: Natasha Barton
THREE Clare clubs are in action of the fourth round of the FAI Junior Cup this Sunday.
Success in the FAI Junior Cup is a target for every junior soccer team in the country and Clare clubs are no different.
On Sunday Clare’s current ‘big three’ will see action in the fourth round of this prestigious competition and all three will have home advantage.
Newmarket Celtic, the only Clare club to have won this competition, will welcome Limerick side Mungret to McDonough Memorial Park.
Avenue United who got to the final of this competition back in the early nineties, will have St. Francis from the Leinster senior league as visitors to Roslevan at 2p.m.
Meanwhile Bridge United will have Dublin side Crumlin as visitors to Sixmilebridge. The Clare side will be without Alan Mulready who is away with work while Kyle Kirby is ruled out through injury. There are doubts about the fitness of Ger Myles, Filip Mostowy and Aidan Moloney.
Bridge manager, Mark Culbert told The Clare Echo that Myles and Mostowy “are dealing with injuries at the moment but we are hopeful they will be fit in time to line out”.
“There is always excitement about playing in the FAI cup. It’s great to have a home draw and we expect there will be a big crowd at the game. We have had a good start to the season and we are looking forward to putting in a big performance. Crumlin, like all Dublin clubs, are a strong side and they will be favourites to progress. They get to the latter stages of this competition most seasons. Newmarket beat them at the quarter final stage two years ago. It’s a big challenge for us but we are looking forward to it”, the Bridge United manager added. They face Clonmel next weekend in the last 32 of the Munster Junior Cup.
For the first time this season Avenue United will have a full strength squad to select from will all panellists fit.
Having being out of action for the past six weeks, key player Elias Kunz is fit again and he is expected to be in the side which will be led by Ronan Kerin who, last week, played for the Irish Defence Forces team in their fixture against their English counterparts, a game played in Belfast. The Avenue side will also include the Clare Oscar Traynor team captain Conor Mullen.
“Our opponents had a great season last season but they have lost a number of that squad and they are currently in a re-building process. Since the FAI draw for this round was made they have had two wins and a draw. We know they will be strong but home advantage is huge. They play on astro so playing on grass will be a little different for them”, according to Avenue United manager David Russell.
Continuing the Avenue manager said “our aim every year is to be still involved in all competitions into the New Year. It’s a big week for us as we will be in action in the Munster Junior Cup on Sunday week when we will also have home advantage as we face Askeaton in a game in the last 32 of that competition”.
Like Avenue United, previous winners of this competition Newmarket Celtic, can call on a full strength squad for Sunday’s clash with Mungret. “For the first time this yeAr we are injury free and we have a full hand to select from. For the past few weeks the lack of Sunday action allowed us the opportunity to watch Mungret. They beat us in the Munster junior cup last year so we will have that in the back of our minds on Sunday. They have new management this year with Paul Danagher in charge. They are defensively strong and we know exactly what is coming down the tracks”, Newmarket Celtic manager Eoin O’Brien told The Clare Echo this week.
Goalkeeper Shane Cusack along with Harvey Cullinan and Tadhg Noonan who were nursing knocks last week, are fit again and ready for action on Sunday
“This is a fantastic competition and, naturally, we are anxious to progress. We were fortunate to get over Killarney Celtic in the first round. Sometimes you need a bit of luck to get through games,” the secondary school teacher said.
“Newmarket won this competition two years ago and we still have a few from that team. Overall, it’s a new squad and we have brought through a number of young players. We want to be competitive and it would be great to keep going in the competition,” O’Brien concluded.
