St Thomas’s of Galway and Loughgiel Shamrocks of Antrim meet in the rearranged All Ireland Senior Hurling Club Semi Final, in Clones at 2pm on Saturday afternoon. The match was originally scheduled for Parnell Park in Dublin, but the pitch was deemed to be unplayable.
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Form
Last weekend’s encounter between the two sides produced a thrilling contest and hurling fans will be hoping for more of the same this Saturday. The sides were deadlock 1-25 to 3-19 after extra time, with the Galway side looking set for victory until Liam Watson scored a goal with the last puck of the match. It was no more than the northern side deserved, and they will approach the replay feeling that they now have the psychological advantage.
The Antrim side have much more experience at this level and would have fancied their chances in the drawn game, so to be given a second chance could see them make the most of it. Their opponents who only won the Galway championship for the first time this year, lack the big match experience but will have learned plenty from last weekend.
Players To Watch
Antrim county player Liam Watson is the undoubted star of the Shamrocks side. He scored 1-7 of his teams tally last Sunday and is a man to fear in front of the posts.
St Thomas will be looking to county stars Conor Cooney, James Regan and David Burke to guide them through to the final.
Betting Advice
Loughgiel Shamrocks may have been fortunate to get a second chance and it is unlikely they will slip up at the second time of asking. The Antrim champions are given the verdict to reach the final.
