Attention turns to Football this weekend.

After the excitement of the Hurling championship last weekend where a number of unforeseen results threw the championship wide open, the attention this weekend turns to the County Senior Football Championship with games taking place at Fraher Field and Walsh Park over Friday evening and Saturday.

Three games are down to take place on Friday evening. At Walsh Park, Rathgormack take on Saint Saviours while at Walsh Park the clash of Ardmore and Gaultier will be followed by the clash of Stradbally and Kilrossanty.

Rathgormack have full points from their two games played to date and will be looking to add another brace of points here which would copper fasten their place in the quarter final stages of this years championship in the autumn.

Saint Saviours have been making steady progress in recent years, reaching the final of the last two Phelan Cups, beating Kilrossanty in the 2010 final and the semi final stages of the league last year. However, in the championship they have struggled somewhat and have been involved in a few relegation battles in recent years, and unless they begin to pick up a few points they could well be well drawn into another relegation battle.

Rathgormack won last years Under 21 County Final and recently won the County Minor Football Championship proving that they have some good footballers coming through and will go into this game in a confident mood.

Gaultier went into this years championship as one of the teams that were expected to cause a surprise or two along the way. To date, they have not won any of their two games and if they are to reach the knockout stages of this years championship, like Saint Saviours will have to start picking up some points sooner rather than later before it is too late.

Ardmore in their first game in this years championship recorded an eight point win over Saint Saviours before loosing by sixteen last time out against Ardmore. Which Ardmore side turns up at Fraher Field will be interesting, if they play as they did against Saint Saviours they will fancy their chances, but another performance like against The Nire, could mean it will be a long night.

Near neighbours Stradbally and Kilrossanty meet in the second game at Fraher Field on Friday evening. These two sides have clashed a number of times in recent years and on each occasion, victory has gone to Stradbally.

Both sides go into this game with a win and a loss in their games played to date in the championship. Kilrossanty beat Brickeys in their first game but lost out to An Rinn last time out. Stradbally began with a defeat to Clashmore but more than made up for it last time out when they recorded a comprehensive win over Dungarvan.

When near neighbours clash, results of previous games played should matter. If the two sides cannot motivate themselves to play their great rivals, then you have to wonder what they are at. I have no doubt that these sides will be well motivated but can only see one winner. You have to feel while Kilrossanty have improved a lot in recent years, Stradbally’s experience has to count for something.

Two games take place at Fraher Field on Saturday afternoon.

Great rivals Ballinacourty and The Nire clash in the first game. You have to wonder why this is not the second game to be played on this card as surely it is the main game of the weekend. What ever the reason its not I’m sure it’s a good one.

Ballinacourty go into this game having suffered a defeat to Rathgormack in their first game in this years championship and last time out they recorded a good win over Saint Saviours at Walsh Park.

The Nire go into this game with two good wins in their two games played to date in the championship.

Last time out Gary Hurney suffered a facial Injury which meant he missed two of Abbeyside’s games in the County Senior Hurling Championship as well as Waterford’s Munster Championship defeat to Limerick and it was expected that he would be out for 3 to 4 further weeks after this defeat. However last weekend he returned as a second half sub for Abbeyside in their draw with Dungarvan in the senior hurling championship which should mean he will be available to possibly start here.

Since their win over Ardmore, The Nire have lost Michael O’Gorman who has moved to the Southern Hemisphere and last weekend Shane Ryan picked up an injury with the Fourmilewater senior hurlers and it remains to be seen if he will be considered for selection in this one.

Who wins this game is anybody’s business. A case could be well argued for both sides. If the game was to end in a draw, it would not come as a surprise.

The final game of the weekend sees Clashmore who are unbeaten in the championship take on a Dungarvan side searching for their first win of the year.

While Dungarvan have some quality footballers, all their energy seems to be going into hurling this year. Like a number of teams who are a duel senior team in recent years they are finding it hard to juggle with both codes, and possibly will while they are involved in the hurling championship.

Clashmore have some quality footballers, many of whom have played with the county at various levels in recent years. On their day they can be a match for most. They are one of a number of sides that many who follow the football championship in Waterford that can break up the monopoly enjoyed by Stradbally, Ballinacourty and The Nire in recent years.

Its hard to look past Clashmore to collect another win this weekend and at the same time securing their place in the latter stages of the championship, but Dungarvan are not without their hopes.

The game between An Rinn and Brickeys will not go ahead this weekend owing to An Rinn’s involvement at the Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta competition in Gaoth Dobhair.

Weekend Fixtures

Friday Evening

Ardmore V Gaultier in Fraher Field at 7pm.

Rathgormack V Saint Saviours in Walsh Park at 7-30 pm

Kilrossanty V Stradbally in Fraher Field at 8-30pm

Saturday

Ballinacourty V The Nire in Fraher Field at 2pm

Clashmore V Dungarvan in Fraher Field at 3-30pm

League Tables

Group One

The Nire          2          2          0          0          +25      4

Rathgormack  2          2          0          0          +6        4

Ballinacourty   2          1          0          1          +7        2

Ardmore          2          1          0          1          -8         2

Gaultier           2          0          0          2          -12       0

St Saviours     2          0          0          2          -18       0

Group Two

Clashmore                  2          2          0          0          +9        4

An Rinn                       2          2          0          0          +8        4

Stradbally                    2          1          0          1          +14      2

Kilrossanty                  2          1          0          1          +2        2

Brickeys                      2          0          0          2          -11       0

Dungarvan                  2          0          0          2          -22       0

County Senior Hurling Championship Blown wide open

Games in round three of the County Senior Hurling Championship were played over the past weekend, and the outcome of some games have blown the championship wide open with two games to play in the league section.

Fourmilewater became the first team to reach the knockout stages of this years championship after they overcame the challenge of Mount Sion at Fraher Field. Shane Walsh once again proved to have an outstanding game for his side hitting 2-5 of his sides tally. Liam Lawlor and Jamie Barron also played key roles for Fourmilewater. For Mount Sion, Martin O’Neill proved to be their scorer in chief, hitting 1-6. Veterans Tony Browne and Ken McGrath also got their names on the score sheet for Mount Sion playing in the half back line.

Ballyduff Upper recorded their first win of this years championship on Friday evening proving too strong for an understrength Ballygunner at Fraher Field. Leading at the break 0-9 to 0-8, Ballyduff came out for the second half hitting three early points which proved to be the difference between the sides at the end. Both goalkeepers showed why they are the best in the county making some brilliant saves in this game. Stephen O’Keeffe was first to be called into action making a good save from Shane Kearney and Adrian Power showed what he can do when he saved well from first off Wayne Hutchinson and then Barry Coughlin.

At Walsh Park the Intermediate Champions from the last two years clashed on Saturday evening. Goals from Thomas Casey and Eamon Murphy helped Dunhill to a 2-6 to 0-6 lead at the break. In the second thirty minutes however, Dunhill hit just four further scores, while Roanmore with Gavin O’Brien once more to the fore and Daniel Murphy hitting a crucial goal ran out winners with two points to spare.

Abbeyside and Dungarvan clashed in the championship for the first time since the late 1970’s and drew the biggest attendance for a league game in the championship for some time. A Patrick Hurney goal on 17 minutes looked to have Abbeyside in a good position at the break, leading 1-9 to 0-8, but Dungarvan put in a very solid second half and with the hour almost up lead by two points. However, late points from Mark Ferncombe and Michael O’Halloran meant that neither side won the local bragging rights.

The Lismore and Passage game at Fraher Field reigned goals. Eoin Kelly hit 2-6 for his side, the first of his goals coming inside the first minute of the game when he reacted quickest after Thomas Connors show hit the woodwork. Lismore lead by nine points with twelve minutes to play after Paudie Prendergast hit a brace of goal. However goals from Eoin Kelly from a penalty, Liam Flynn and John Whitty as well as a brace of points from Eoin Kelly had Passage a point up with two minutes to go. A pointed free from inside his own ’65 metre line off the hurley of Maurice Shanahan in added time however meant that both sides had to settle for a share of the spoils.

The last game of the weekend was all over with a quarter of an hour played. Two early goals from Dean Twomey for De La Salle against Tallow was added to by Jake Dillon who hammered home a twenty metre free to give his side a 3-5 to 0-2 lead.

On 46 minutes, Jack Kennedy hit De La Salle’s fourth goal of the game when he reacted quickest when the Tallow defence failed to clear a cross field pass into their goal area. Shane McNulty was De La Salle’s top player in this game hitting seven points all from play.

Meanwhile, the latest round of games will have Waterford manager biting his nails in the build up to the Munster semi final meeting with Clare on June 17. Stephen Molumphy was reported on Sunday afternoon to have picked up a shoulder injury while playing with Ballyduff against Ballygunner, and on Sunday Noel Connors made his first competitive appearance of the year lining out at full back for Passage but his return lasted just 19 minutes before he had to be replaced after picking up an injury after he was challenged for procession of the ball in his own goal area.

Weekend Scores

Fourmilewater             2-15     Mount Sion      1-12

Ballyduff Upper           0-16     Ballygunner     0-13

Abbeyside                   1-15     Dungarvan      0-18

Lismore                       2-18     Passage          4-12

De La Salle                 4-20     Tallow              0-9

Roanmore                   1-15     Dunhill             2-10.

League Tables

Group One

Lismore           3          2          1          0          +9        5

Dungarvan      3          1          1          1          +4        3

Abbeyside       3          1          1          1          -1         3

Passage          3          1          1          1          -3         3

Ballyduff          3          1          1          1          -4         2

Ballygunner     3          1          0          2          -5         2

Group Two

Fourmilewater             3          3          0          0          +25      6

De La Salle                 3          2          1          0          +27      4

Roanmore                   3          1          1          1          -13       3

Tallow                          3          1          1          1          -17       3

Dunhill                         3          1          0          2          -5         2

Mount Sion                  3          0          0          3          -17       0

Limerick prove too strong for Waterford.

 

Waterford bowed out of this year’s Munster Senior Football Championship at the first hurdle at the Gaelic Grounds where they suffered an eleven point defeat to Limerick.

Trailing by just one at the break, things looked good for John Owens men but they never got going in the second thirty five minutes and failed to hit the range with any effort they had at goal.

In truth, the difference between the sides on the scoreboard gives a false indication to the gap between the sides. On the day the home side were the better side and deserved their victory, but few if any could have predicted the gulf between the sides on the score-board.

Questions will be asked in some quarters after this game and rightly so. The result will give fuel to those who believe for whatever reason that Waterford should forget about football. These people however should be taken with a grain of salt, as we all have to accept that Waterford is a duel county, even if on the inter-county scene hurling is considerably stronger than football, but on the club scene we can as we have seen on more than one occasion in the last twenty plus years, we can hold out own with some of the best.

Most of the questions that are to be asked will be directed towards our county board, or at least sections of it. While they had no control over the fact that there was a long lay off between Waterford’s last game in the league in April, meaning there was no competitive games for the players to play together collectively, and the game with Limerick today (May 20), what happened in between they had full control over.

After the game with London, two rounds of the senior football championship were played followed by two rounds of hurling at a county and divisional level leading up to the Limerick game.

While few would or should suggest that the games should be called off, you have to seriously wonder why the Bord’s (County and Divisional) did not play the two rounds of hurling first and then the two rounds of football, which would have meant that those selected to travel to the Ennis Road venue would have done so having played football right up to the time of the game which while maybe not ideal, it would have been of some help to the selectors and the players.

Waterford began this game well. Points from JJ Hutchinson and Mark Ferncombe were hit in the first three minutes of the game commencing to put Waterford two points up.

Limerick hit back with a brace of points from Ian Ryan, both from frees to leave the sides all square after eight minutes.

Tony Grey and another Ian Ryan effort from another free for their respective sides had the sides all square once more at the end of the opening quarter.

The games crucial score came on nineteen minutes. A mistake by Kieran Cotter in the Waterford goal was capitalised upon by Seamus O’Carroll who hit the games first goal which gave Limerick a 1-3 to 0-3 lead, one they never lost.

JJ Hutchinson and Tony Grey hit points for Waterford to leave just one between the sides with twenty-seven minutes played.

On the half hour mark, Ian Ryan hit his first from play reacting quickest after Thomas Lee hit the Waterford post.

Mark Ferncombe and Seamus O’Carroll hit points for both sides before Shane Ahearne hit a point for Waterford in first half added time to leave one between the sides (1-5 to 0-7) heading into the break.

Waterford began the second half looking sharp. The introduction of Liam Ó Lionáin looked a good move by the selectors.

Within two minutes of entering the game he put Tony Grey through on goal but was pulled down for a penalty for Waterford.

With regular free taker Gary Hurney not playing because of injury, Mark Ferncombe was the one who took responsibility to kick from twelve metres, but his effort was saved.

From here on in, there was only one team really in the game.

Ian Ryan hit three points on the trot all from frees to extend Limerick’s lead (1-8 to 0-7) with fifty-five minutes played.

Stephen Kelly put five between the sides on sixty-two minutes and three minutes later Ger Collins ensured the victory was going to be Limerick’s when he kicked his first score of the game to extend his sides lead to six. Ian Ryan soon put seven between the sides when he kicked another free.

With a minute to play John Cooke put ten between the sides when he netted Limerick’s second major score and in added time Ger Collins closed the scoring in this game when he pointed for Limerick.

Waterford now have some time before the qualifiers begin.

A round of the senior hurling championship is down for decision next weekend followed by another round of football.

After this defeat some questions are going to be asked by players, mentors and supporters and possibly some officials. Will answers follow – we will see.

LIMERICK: B Scanlon; J McCarthy, P Browne, L O'Dwyer; S Lavin, J Riordan, P Ranahan; T Lee, P Kinnerk; E Barry, E O'Connor, S Buckley; G Collins, S O'Carroll, I Ryan. Subs: I Corbett for Barry, J O'Meara for Kinnerk, S Kelly for O'Carroll J Cooke for Lee, S Lucey for Ranahan.

Scorers: I Ryan 1-08 (0-07f), S O'Carroll 1-00, G Collins 0-02, S Kelly, J Cooke 0-01 each

WATERFORD: K Cotter; M O'Gorman, T O'Gorman, K Connery; W Hennessy, T Grey, S Briggs; S Ahearne, S O'Hare; P Hurney, S Dempsey, C O'Keeffe; T Prendergast, JJ Hutchinson, M Ferncombe. Subs used: L O Lionáin for T Prendergast, J Veale for Ferncombe, P Whyte for Dempsey, S Fleming for Hutchinson.

Scorers: JJ Hutchinson, T Grey, M Ferncombe 0-02 each, S Ahearne 0-1

Referee: Conor Lane (Cork)

Footballers make trip to Limerick

The third weekend of May is upon us and it can only mean one thing. The quest for All-Ireland glory is upon us once more.

For Waterford this weekend, two teams begin their championship campaign. Waterford’s senior and junior team make the journey to the Ennis Road in Limerick to play their counterparts from Shannon-side at the Gaelic Grounds.

Defeat for the Juniors would mean an end to their year for 2012, while a defeat for the seniors would mean that they would at least have one more chance to advance to a much bigger day through the qualifiers. But lets not talk about defeats and look forward to possible Munster semi finals against Clare in June.

Last night, both sides were officially named. The junior team was known for some days previous to its official announcement and contains some very experienced players.

The senior team named goes with along expected lines. However, how official it is, is hard to know as there is some talk that there is changes to be made to the one announced before the game and we can as always expect the usual number of positional changes.

Kieran Cotter gets the nod to play in goal ahead of Stephen Enright. This must have been one of the hardest calls the selectors made as both in their own right are fine keepers and when they got their chances to play in the league, both acquitted themselves well.

Thomas and Maurice O’Gorman are named in the full back line along with Kieran Connery. Thomas O’Gorman is named to start between the other two but maybe we should expect some changes. Limerick in their full forward line have to lethal corner forwards in Ian Ryan and Ger Collins and it could be expected that the twins could be told to man mark them and the Clashmore man could start in the middle.

Expect some changes as well in the half back line. Wayne Hennessy could well move from the number 5 position to the number 7 with Tony Grey moving from centre back to the right wing and team captain Shane Briggs taking up the centre back position.

Sean O’Hare is likely to start as selected in the middle of the field but who is partnered by is anyone’s guess. As things start it is Shane Ahearne that’s named there.

The Half forward line of Patrick Hurney, Paul Whyte and Cillian O’Keeffe looks a strong line but will it start that way?

After a long lay off its great to see Tommy Prendergast back in the side. The big Kilrossanty man offers the team a lot. He is named at Corner Forward but with Gary Hurney missing because of injury, expect him to be deployed on the edge of the square where he could prove very dangerous especially with the new rules in regard to the square ball rule now in place.

Mark Ferncombe is named at corner forward but there is reports all week that he might not start because of an injury he picked up recently playing with his club in the senior hurling championship. If he does not start it will be a massive blow to Waterford especially with Gary Hurney also out but Waterford do have options if he does not start or even if he does start and needs replacing.

Shane Ahearne could well be moved to centre forward and Paul Whyte could be switched to the corner forward position. Sean Dempsey or Eamon Walsh could also be brought in to play at Centre Field or another option could be to bring in Liam O Lionáin who could start at Centre Forward or Corner Forward.

The latter move could well prove to be the best option if changes have to be made to the team as in recent weeks he has shown signs of remerging as the player he was before picking up a serious injury while playing with An Rinn against Ballinameela in the latter stages of the club championship back in 2010 which forced him to miss much of last year.

Sean Fleming is the player that makes up the team. He is named at full forward but expect him to move to the corner where he plays best.

Limerick will go into the game as the favourites and rightly so. This is something however that will not phase Waterford too much as they often play best when they are not expected to win.

In recent years, games between the sides have gone both ways. Waterford have won the league game in 2010, 2011 and 2012, but Limerick have won the 2010 league final at Croke Park, the 2010 championship meeting between the sides and the 2011 All-Ireland qualifier between the sides. Therefore Waterford on the law of averages are due a big time win over Limerick.

Waterford has what it takes to win here. I believe they can, but it won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

In the Junior game, John Kiely has a strong starting fifteen named and will be there or there about when it comes to advancing.

Something very pleasing to see is the naming of Ardmore’s Declan Prendergast at full back.

For over a decade he gave terrific service to the county as a member of the senior hurling panel, winning four Munster Finals medals and a league medal along the way.

What some might not be aware of is that he is also a terrific footballer, maybe even a better one than a hurler, and will offer the team so much when he lines out.

Full marks must go to John Kiely for getting him involved. What a pity with the way our games are structured now and the amount of effort put into them that we don’t see players like Declan line out for the county in both hurling and football in the same year as we would have in the past.

Oh yes, for those travelling to the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday, there is another team in action on Sunday. The Waterford Primary Schools teams will play their Limerick Counterparts during the day and they are wished well.

Unexpected Results Thrown up.

Round two of this years JJ Kavanagh & Sons County Senior Hurling Championship took place this past weekend with three games taking place both at Walsh Park and Fraher Field over Saturday evening and Sunday.
 

At Fraher Field on Saturday evening, De La Salle and Fourmilewater clashed in what was the billed the game of the weekend. Most if not all, made the city side the favourites to win this game, but nobody rode off the chances of Fourmilewater too easily.

 On the day, the sides did not fail to live up to the billing bestowed on the game and a lively game was fought out. The first half proved to be a tight affair, at the end of which Fourmilewater held a 0-6 to 0-5 lead, but the city side will have been cursing their luck as just before the break, Stephen Daniels had a penalty saved by Conor Ryan after John Mullane had been fouled in the Fourmilewater goal area.

The second half say Fourmilewater prove to be the better of the two sides as they lead throughout. A goal from Jack Kennedy on fifty four minutes meant that there was just two points between the sides, but a strong Fourmilewater finish in which Shane Walsh scored three excellent points in the last ten minutes was good enough to see them win on a 0-18 to 1-10 scoreline.

The second game at Fraher Field on Saturday evening say Roanmore and Tallow clash. A week previously, at the same venue, the Sky Blues put in a very poor hours work against Fourmilewater and were written off by most going into this game. However, this time around, they put in a much better performance against last years beaten County Finalists who had beaten Dunhill in round one after a late surge.

Roanmore in this game got off to a flying start, and with just eight minutes played they held a four point advantage. A goal from Thomas Ryan on the quarter of an hour mark brought Tallow back into the game. At the break the city side with Gavin O’Brien almost unerring in his shooting held an 0-11 to 1-6 advantage.

The second half proved to be an even contest and at the hour mark the sides were level. In the second minute of added time Thomas Ryan landed a point for Tallow which looked as if it had given them the points on offer, but just a minute later and just seconds from the full time whistle Tommy Aldridge hit a crucial score for Roanmore to earn a share of the spoils on a 1-13 to 0-16 scoreline.

Passage and Abbeyside clashed at Walsh Park on Saturday evening. A week previously, Passage did well to beat Ballyduff Upper at Fraher Field while at the same venue, Abbeyside minus the services of Gary Hurney did well but had to settle for second best against reigning champions Ballygunner.

This suggested that a tight clash was in store at the Keane’s Road venue on Saturday evening and the two sides did not fail to deliver. For much of the game little if anything separated the sides. In the end, it was a John Hurney goal, four minutes from the hour mark the proved the difference between the sides as Abbeyside ran out 2-17 to 2-13 winners.

Two games at Walsh Park on Sunday afternoon threw up two massive results that few if any had predicted.

Ballygunner in the opening thirty minutes against Dungarvan proved to be well on top in their own half of the field, holding the Old Boro scoreless and at the same time tagging on six points of their own at the other end of the field.

Dungarvan in the second half put in a near faultless performance restricting the Gunners to just three points and at the same time raised twelve flags themselves including two green ones.

Playing with the wind at their backs in the second half, Dungarvan tailed 0-8 to 0-3 after 40 minutes when Cathal Curran hit the first goal of the game. A second goal from Ryan Donnelly was the insurance score and they went on to win 2-10 to 0-9.

Last year’s Intermediate Champions Dunhill faced up to Mount Sion also at Walsh Park. With the talent Mount Sion have at their disposal, most would have expected them to record a victory, but Dunhill were not going to listen to anyone making such calls.

Trailing by half a dozen points at one stage, a goal from Paul Doyle mid way through the second half proved to be the vital score and Dunhill went on to record a 1-18 to 1-16 victory that was fully deserved and will possibly make others sit up and take notice for the next three games in the group stages of the championship.

The final game of the weekend saw near neighbours Lismore and Ballyduff Upper clash at Fraher Field. As expected, little separated the two sides, but the old adage that goals win games, proved correct once more.

A goal from John Prendergast in the first half helped Lismore to a 1-6 to 0-6 lead at the break and a second Lismore goal from Paudie Prendergast three minutes into the second half from a long Ray Barry delivery put the icing on the cake as far as Lismore were concerned as they ran out 2-13 to 0-13 winners.

Weekend Scores

Fourmilewater             0-18     De La Salle     1-10

Tallow                          1-13     Roanmore       0-16

Abbeyside                   2-17     Passage          2-13

Dunhill                         1-18     Mount Sion      1-16

Dungarvan                  2-10     Ballygunner     0-9

Lismore                       2-13     Ballyduff          0-13

League Tables

Group One

Lismore           2          2          0          0          4

Dungarvan      2          1          0          1          2

Abbeyside       2          1          0          1          2

Passage          2          1          0          1          2

Ballygunner     2          1          0          1          2

Ballyduff          2          0          0          2          0

Group Two

Fourmilewater             2          2          0          0          4

Tallow                          2          1          1          0          3

De La Salle                 2          1          0          1          2

Dunhill                         2          1          0          1          2

Roanmore                   2          0          1          1          1

Mount Sion                  2          0          0          2          0