Dubs duo open campaign
July 22, 2008
Defending All-Ireland Senior Doubles champions, Dublin's Eoin Kennedy and Egin Jensen will get their title defence underway this weekend as they take on Tipperary's Paul Mullins and David Maloney.
Mullins was last year's Intermediate Singles Champion but made his exit from the senior competition on Saturday last when he went down to Westmeath young-gun Robert McCarthy Junior. Mullins and Maloney will have to pull out a top performance to see of the Dublin challenge but Kennedy is under no illusions that this will be an easy battle.
"It's early in the championship and that's when most of the upsets happen, when you take your eye off the ball, so we know we have to be on top of our game," said Kennedy.
The Dublin pairing are bidding for their fourth consecutive title, but will have to overcome some tough opposition if there are to reap glory.
"We have a tough route to take to make the final, but we're not looking any further that the next game, and making the quarter-finals is our first priority," said the six-time senior singles champion.
Jensen and Kennedy have been one of the top doubles pairing in the big alley for some years and their recent domination of silverware is no surprise given the talent of both players. Jensen is formidable on the right, while Kennedy's athleticism is something to behold. A win for the Dubliners looks certain in this tie.
Elsewhere, number two seeds Mayo's Dessie Keegan and Joe McCann take on Dublin's Ian Griffin and Kerry Hennessy on Saturday in Mullingar. The Ballaghaderreen pairing reached last year's final, but McCann was forced to withdrawn due to a collapsed lung and the pair will be anxious to return to Croke Park centre-stage in September.
Also at the Midlands venue, Cavan ace Paul Brady will pair up with Michael Finnegan as the Breffni men face Meath duo, Karl Browne and Peter Reilly. This is Brady's first big alley appearance since his hardball defeat to Keegan earlier this year, and the current world 40x20 champion will be hoping to extend his run in senior doubles championship.
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