IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW – SEPT 2ND!

The penultimate round of games in the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League this season sees 6 teams still in with a mathematical chance of winning the title, and whilst The Hills are the only side which could be threatened by falling below Railway Union into the bottom slot and automatic relegation, there are still three other sides which could end up in 7^th place and having to fight for survival on September 16^th.

The top of the table is straightforward, Leinster are sitting in pole position, and they need 46 points from their remaining possible 50 to guarantee the title at this current moment in time. They face a trip to Merrion this weekend, with the Anglesea Road outfit not entirely out of contention as it stands, they would need to take all 50 points from their last two games and hope for a slew of results to fall in their favour. YMCA sit in second place and they visit Clontarf, if the Castle Avenue side were to take 23 points from the game it would see them leapfrog their opponents, however in all likelihood they would be hoping to see Leinster slip up in that scenario too. YMCA are one of three sides who could mathematically win both of their final two games, and potentially slide in the table depending on how bonus points pan out, however that also means they are within striking distance of the leaders should Leinster stumble to two close victories. YMCA need to outscore Leinster by 6 points over the last two games to overtake them, whilst the other team in that position at the top of the table is Balbriggan, who need to outscore YMCA by 2 points, and Leinster by 8 points, to move themselves past their two nearest rivals. The Brig kick off their back-to-back must win fixtures with a home game against Railway Union, with their visitors firmly in win-or-bust mode as they currently sit 27 points behind 7^th placed The Hills. The Skerries men are at home to Malahide, knowing a win would secure them at worst a shot at the play-off and condemn Railway to the drop. Malahide meanwhile could drag themselves into the title charge with a big win and results in their favour, whilst a loss would see them fall within the clutches of tomorrow’s opponents.

BALBRIGGAN VS RAILWAY UNION

There was something of a shock earlier in the season when Railway turned Balbriggan over in spite of an excellent Chris de Freitas century. That is one of just two league wins for the away side this season, and as they enter this weekend’s must-win fixture, Balbriggan will have their guards fully up to avoid another upset which would completely derail their title charge. The key men for the home side remain de Freitas and skipper Greg Ford with the bat, whilst with the ball, Sam Willemse produced an incredible opening spell last weekend and will be looking to continue that form again, with his efforts helping see to it that their victory was one of the only games completed across both divisions last weekend. Railway Union are without Liam McCarthy this weekend, but aside from the absence of their strike bowler are at full strength. With the bat, the fear for Balbriggan will no doubt be in the top three, Kenny Carroll hasn’t scored as many runs as he’d have liked this year, and these must-win scenarios have brought out the best in him for a number of years, Riley Mudford is naturally one of the most destructive players in the league, and he could take the game away from Balbriggan if he gets going.

KEY BATTLE: Sam Willemse vs Kenny Carroll

MERRION VS LEINSTER

Merrion come into this game with Leinster having spent most of the season looking over their shoulder, now with the opportunity to throw a cat amongst the pigeons. Jack Carty captains the side with arguably the most destructive top 5 in the league, Stephen Doheny has shown brilliant form, whilst last weekend’s runs for John Anderson are ominous for their final two opponents of the season. With the ball, Sam Harbinson has been in relentlessly good form, with support from Muhammad Sinan the pair have formed a very strong new-ball partnership. Leinster meanwhile haven’t been able to put a foot wrong in recent weeks, since their semi-final disappointment in the Senior Cup, they have won the Irish Cup and both completed league games, with some major bad luck with weather seeing their chase cut short after a brilliant bowling effort in last week’s fixture. Pete Francis is the heartbeat of the team, with the all-rounder having been crucial so far this season, however last weekend saw the spinners in the side doing the real damage, five-fer for Saqib Bahadur and three for Dev Ranolia being the main destroyers. Joey Carroll and Monil Patel remain key men with the bat, as they have done all season.

KEY BATTLE: Stephen Doheny vs Pete Francis

YMCA VS CLONTARF

YMCA for so long this season have been right there at the top of the table, and with their last two games set to be played at home, there’s no doubt they will be buoyed by their home support and look to finish off powerfully. Two big victories are what’s needed for the Sandymount side, and paramount to that as usual will be the power of Adam Rosslee, and stroke-play of Tim and Jack Tector, with the ball, Mikey O’Reilly and Tom Anders gave the side a great start last weekend, and the return of Padraic Flanagan to the side bore fruit also, with those three likely to be supported by the returning Olly Riley, YMCA become a tough force. Tarf meanwhile enter this game knowing it’s an unlikely set of results for them to challenge for the title, however they must win first and with David Delany and Fionn Hand’s all-round abilities in the side, winning is always an option! Ryan Karunakaran and Eoghan Delany have gelled ideally as a pair at the top of the order, whilst Cillian McDonnell will lead the spinners against his former club.

KEY BATTLE: Adam Rosslee vs Cillian McDonnell

THE HILLS VS MALAHIDE

The final game we look at sees The Hills host Malahide, the home side come into this fixture buoyed by two things, firstly, a win would guarantee their fate stays in their own hands for two more weeks at least, and secondly the return of their premier middle-order batter Mark Donegan, who hasn’t featured since picking up an injury on Bolts duty three weeks ago. Of course aside from Donegan, The Hills have a bundle of talent in Murray Commins & Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin and some massive ball striking in Nathan Rooney and Nicolaj Laegsgaard, so putting it all together this weekend will be the key for the side. Malahide enter the game near enough to full strength, Kelvin Donnelly and skipper James Newland will lead the way with the ball, whilst with the bat, the top three of Jamie Grassi, Hunter Kindley & Younas Ahmadzai will no doubt be the men to look out for. Ali & Mike Frost have both performed well enough at club level this year to be recognised with call-ups to the Munster Reds side, and will be looking to continue in that vein this weekend as The Village aim to end the season on a high.

KEY BATTLE: Murray Commins vs James Newland