St Patrick's hopes rest on Murphy’s fitness

Ashbourne is the venue for an intriguing IFC quarter-final bout between St Patrick’s and Moynalvey at 7.30pm on Saturday.

On their day, St Patrick’s are real IFC contenders and they were very unfortunate at this stage of the competition last year when a contentious decision proved costly to them in their defeat in extra time to the eventual champions Kilbride.

Jamie Murphy was unavailable for selection for their last round group stage outing against Longwood but Murphy’s absence aside, question marks remain over their performance that day as they were largely second best and needed a late two-pointer to salvage a draw.

Moynalvey were one of the warm favourites pre-competition, but they were slightly stunned by Meath Hill in round one. They have recovered well since and put together two good performances ahead of this quarter-final. The three O’Sullivan brothers, Mark, Cillian and Hugh, were particularly impressive against Dunsany last time out and they will require a lot of attention from the Stamullen-based side.

If Jamie Murphy is fit to return for St Patrick’s, he would be hugely beneficial to Colm Nally’s side and realistically give them a much better chance of knocking out the only IFC side to compete in the FL Div 1 this year.

In truth St Patrick’s hopes rest on the fitness of the young forward who is widely considered as Meath’s brightest young prospect. Without the participation of Murphy, you would expect Moynalvey to get the victory. Verdict - Moynalvey.

RESULTS SO FAR

Round one : Meath Hill 2-11, Moynalvey 1-10; St Patrick's 1-14, Navan O'Mahonys 0-13.

Round two : Moynalvey 0-22, Blackhall Gaels 1-11; St Patrick's 3-20, Bective 2-15.

Round three : Moynalvey 1-18, Dunsany 1-10; St Patrick's, 1-15, Longwood 3-9.