Do or die time for UCC | Stephen Barry

UCC go into today’s Fitzgibbon Cup group stage tie against NUIG needing to avoid a defeat if they are to keep their Fitzgibbon Cup destiny in their own hands after a last minute Luke O’Farrell goal earned a draw for Mary I on Thursday.UCC have been far from convincing so far in this year’s competition, but they have faced tough conditions and teams motivated by home finals weekend advantage (GMIT) and a return to the top-flight (Mary I). However, they will be expected to defeat the Galwegians, who drew both of their encounters with GMIT and Mary I.UCC’s big name Cork seniors Seamus Harnedy and Conor Lehane were instrumental in UCC’s 18 points to 14 win over GMIT but both have had to deal with injuries in the past week. But in the 1-13 draw against Mary I, it was Brian Hartnett and Paul Haughney who picked up the slack up front.Defensively Kieran Murphy and William Egan have been impressive, but Egan and James Barry will be particularly crucial on Tuesday as the face up to an NUIG half-forward line of Niall Burke, Joseph Cooney and Kevin Downs. Certainly the extent to which UCC can limit this triple threat will be vital in the winning and losing (or drawing) of Tuesday’s game.However, elsewhere UCC have the edge over NUIG and their first fifteen looks stronger and their bench deeper.If they win, they will likely face WIT, or possibly CIT, in the quarter-finals. Should they fail to win and manage to finish second, then a strong DIT side will more than likely await them. But for now the focus will be on getting out of an unexpectedly tight group A.Meanwhile the Sigerson quarter-finals see UCC face up to St. Mary’s.UCC earned their passage through the first round with a 1-14 to 0-9 win over UUJ in a game played in a gale. That gale gave UCC the opportunity to construct a decisive lead in the first half, where they scored all but one of their points as well as an excellent Peter Crowley goal.Again UCC look strong all around the field. Up front an all-Kerry full-forward line poses a solid scoring threat, with Paul Geaney and Conor Cox getting look-ins with the Kingdom in the league. In both lines of defence the college looks strong too.The main threat to that defence will be Tyrone’s Peter Harte, who led the Belfast-based side to a nine-point victory over Tralee IT. St. Mary’s weren’t overly impressive that day and were particularly sluggish early on.They were unlucky to lose the Ryan Cup final to a last minute goal but had their preparations disrupted by a number of inter-county call-ups for their top players during the McKenna Cup.A win would see UCC progress to finals weekend and they seem to be on the easier side of the draw with the three major Dublin outfits on the other side, including the Michael Murphy led, favourites DCU.