CBL Game of the Week Preview: SURO Cars v Cork Hospitals
This week’s CBL Game of the Week features the fascinating pairing of First Division Suro Cars taking on fancied premier opponents Cork Hospitals in a CBL Shield group H encounter at Mayfield Sports Complex on Friday night, kick-off 7.30 pm, writes Finbarr Buckley.
Both teams had contrasting fortunes in their opening fixtures last week. Suro were first into the fray on Friday night, going down by the odd goal in seven to Longboats in their First Division meeting. On the other hand, Cork Hospitals had it all their own way in their opening Shield fixture against Curry House Hungry Tigers, winning comfortably at MTU.
The teams last met in a league match back on January 8th 2023 at The Farm. The Hospitals 6-1 win went a long way to gaining promotion to the Premier Division later in the season. Suro are an established First Division team who are on the verge of a breakthrough which could well result in a first major trophy in the not too distant future. Having evolved from the highly successful EMC / Dell EMC teams of the first fifteen years of the decade with some quality additions from TELUS International, Suro can look to their predecessors for inspiration.
Cork Hospitals have really come to the fore after a couple of seasons of getting established under the stewardship of John Browne and current CBL Treasurer Gavin Woods. After gaining promotion behind Andy Sull’s Hair and Arc Rovers in 2022/23, the team really came of age last season by reaching the final of the Jackie O’Driscoll Premier Cup for the first time where they narrowly lost 4-3 to quadruple winners Dollan’s Cow in without doubt the best showdown in the competition’s nearly fifty year history. The Hospitals also had the distinction of being the only team to defeat Doolan’s last season by coming from two down at half-time to win 3-2 at The Farm on December 3rd 2023 in the premier division.
Both teams have plenty of fire power up front with Callan Dempsey, the 2023 First Division Player of the Year with TELUS International, anxious to get off the mark this season for Suro. Ken O’Brien scored last weekend against Longboats and will need to be watched carefully on Friday night. Goalkeeper Jack Milne and centre-half Conor Philpott are solid at the back while Charlie Millea pulls the strings in the middle. The Hospitals can look to Jamie O’Neill and Conor Whelan for their goals while at the back former Kerry senior goalkeeper Padraic McCarthy and central defender Richard Bambury are quality defenders.
And so, there is one thing for sure. Expect plenty of goals on Friday with experienced referee Paul Higgins once again the man in the middle as he was last Friday night in the thriller between Andy Sull’s Hair and Swyft at Mayfield Park all-weather.
