Abbeyside and Fourmilewater do battle in first of hurling quarter finals

This weekend is the second of three big weekends in Waterford hurling. Last weekend, 12 teams competing for the Waterford News and Star Cup were cut to eight and barring the need for a replay this weekend that number will be cut to seven.

Abbeyside and Fourmilewater have the distension of playing the first game in the knockout stages of this year’s championship and what a game it would well prove to be.

Fourmilewater go into the quarter finals as the only team with a 100% record in this years local championship, while Abbeyside will be the first to admit that they are rather fortunate to be playing this weekend and they will be hoping that they have not used up all their ‘Get out of jail free’ cards.

Last weekend they were well in control against Ballyduff Upper at the break in Cappoquin and to many it was going to be a mere formality for them in the second thirty minutes, all they had to do was to go through the formality’s and victory was to be theirs.

However, someone forgot to give Ballyduff Upper this script and what-ever was said to them at the break must have struck a cord. If there was a way of bottling it and putting it on the market, in these recessionary times, someone could be onto a winner.

The side from the far west of the county came out a totally different side. They started without Adrian Power, Stephen Molumphy and Tom Feeney, three players that are so important to them in recent years, but you would never have guessed that they were not on the field of play in the second half as they completely overwhelmed Abbeyside.

With just two minutes to go, they had overturned a 2-12 to 1-3 half time defecate and were one point in front after Brendan Hannon sent a penalty to the net. In fact they could have been even further in front as they had missed a first half penalty.

Credit Abbeyside however, they showed great bottle and refused to throw in the towel and with just seconds of the hour to play, they levelled matters after Mark Gorman put over a free.

This score not only gave Abbeyside a share of the spoils on the night, it gave them a place in the last eight of the competition at the expense of Ballyduff Upper who would have advance to the last eight had they won the game.

Fourmilewater have impressed people immensely this year. Its not too long ago that we were speaking them as the ‘hard luck’ team of Waterford hurling as time and time again they lost many of their games by a point or two.

We cannot speak of them as the ‘hard luck’ team any longer as they have turned things around. They are now not just winning some of their games but are winning them well.

Last weekend they played without Maurice O’Gorman, Brian Wall and Shane Walsh and despite trailing at the break by two points, superbly lead by Jamie Barron in attack, they were able to hit the scores that helped them to a eleven point victory.

Both of these sides are physically built and as a result when the two sides clash in Fraher Field it is expected that some hard digs will go in and the team that can withstand the most of these could emerge as winners.

Both sides have some very good players to pick from. Mark Gorman, the Gorman and Collins Brothers as well as Shane Briggs will be key for Abbeyside. For Fourmilewater, Liam Lawlor in the centre of defence, the O’Gorman brothers, Shane Walsh and especially Jamie Barron will be vital to their chances of victory.

To pick one over the other as victors with any degree of certainty is not an easy task. However, if pushed, I would join most and make Fourmilewater the slightest of favourites to advance to the last four of the championship. However, as so many scribes are tipping Fourmilewater to win, this will be an incentive for Abbeyside to raise their game and if they do, come out on top, it would hardly be considered the biggest shock of the year.