Academy without star man Rowe for Burney semi-final

Jake Rowe will miss this week’s semi-final as he’s off to Spain with his Tandragee Golf Club team.

It is Inst who stand between the Academy and yet another end of season showdown. The two sides go head to head on Wednesday at Comber Road (pass-back 2.30pm) and coach Mark Cordner is optimistic his boys can make it through without their key player.

“Jake’s a big miss for us but we have Kyle Marshall back from injury so that’s a plus,” he said.

“We have Lewis Bingham. a Year 11, making his debut in place of Jake. He’s a big, strong young player who have been providing midfield and defensive cover. He’s looking forward to getting out there.

“It also gives Mark Barlow an opportunity to see what his drag-flicks are like.”

The sides met back in September in the second round of the McCullough Cup. That day, the Academy ran out easy 8-0 winners but Cordner says their opponents will pose a different threat on the bigger stage.

He said: “They will have improved quite a bit since then. They are doing well and got a really good result in Cookstown in the quarter-finals.

“I don’t want the lads going into this match complacent. We need to perform to make sure we get through to the final.”