Regional and Newmarket Tops the List of games in Limerick This Weekend

Regional United welcome Clare outfit Newmarket Celtic to Dooradoyle on Sunday afternoon in the last 16 of the FAI Junior Cup with a 2pm kick-off. Regional are the first of the Limerick sides to play at this stage in 2023 having overcome Strand Celtic 2-3 after extra-time in Sligo a fortnight ago.

Regional captain Kieran O’Connell was the hero on the day with the winning goal and he also rescued a point for his side in the dying embers of the league meeting with Pike Rovers last weekend. O’Connell has been a Regional stalwart for many years with his family entrenched in every aspect of the club. O’Connell is aware of how dangerous the Clare side are.

“They have been at the latter stages a lot more in recent years than we have. A few of them are also getting a little older so they will want to get over the line at some stage and that will drive them on. They will be a tough test for us on Sunday but its something I’m looking forward to. They came out here a couple of years ago in the Munster Junior Cup and we lost the game 0-1 after going down to ten men early. It would be nice to get a bit of revenge for that as well.”

Regional have reached the top 6 of the Premier League for the second consecutive season which O’Connell and manager Sean Russell believe was the minimum expectation for the group. The club have brought in the likes of Eoin Duff, Shane Carmody, Felipe Mostowy and Rhys Foley this season but have maintained the experience of brothers Dave and Andy Cowpar along with O’Connell, Rob Shier and Tommy Frawley.

Russell believes that the test offered by Strand Celtic in the last round will prepare his side for this weekend’s challenge but needs his squad to be focused in order to progress.

“When you get to the last 16 of the FAI, its always going to be a tough task regardless of where you play or who the opposition are. Newmarket will be well up for it and have been here before. It will be a fantastic game and we just have to be 100% focused and if we are, we have got every chance.”

Newmarket Celtic have plenty of familiar faces involved including Ireland junior captain Eoin Hayes and midfielder David McCarthy who have enjoyed a lot of success at local level but have suffered plenty of heartbreak at provincial and national level particularly with a Munster semi-final defeat to Pike in 2018. Former player Pat Purcell would be well known to Limerick football, supporters having spent many years captaining Limerick FC and he is a coach with the Clare outfit.

In the Lawson Cup, there are three games down for decision with Ballynanty Rovers hosting Fairview Rangers at Limerick Institute of Technology. Ballynanty were 4-1 victors in this fixture earlier in the campaign and trail their visitors by just two points in the league. Nenagh AFC will face Pike for the FIFTH time this season with the Crosagalla outfit coming out on top on each occasion outside of the abandoned game before Christmas. The game will take place at Brickfields. Division 1A side Summerville Rovers welcome Premier outfit Mungret Regional to Portland Park. All games in the Lawson Cup will take place at 11am.