Six in a row achieved by Waterford.

What is it with the GAA and doing things in a row?

Those of you who are around my age or who are older than I am will remember the talk 32 years ago how Kerry were going to become the first team to win five All-Ireland’s in a row.

People talk of the Kerry team of the time being great, and that is what it was. Everyone around at the time recognised the likes of the late Paudie Ó Sé, Sean Walsh, the Spillane brothers (Tom and Mike played with Pat), Jack O’Shea, Mikey Sheehy, Ger Power, Denis Ógie Moran and Eoin ‘Bomber’ Liston.

But in 1982 on a famous day in Croke Park not all went to plan for Kerry as Offaly stuck a late goal to deny the Kingdom the Five in a row.

The sign of a greatness I guess is how you bounce back after such a loss and Kerry came back winning three of the next four All-Ireland finals.

You don’t have to be as old as me to remember and be in awe of a great Kilkenny hurling team who in 2010 were going for five All-Ireland’s in a row. But just as Kerry almost three decades earlier they were denied. But how did they come back? Do I need to remind anyone that the likes of Henry Shefflin and Tommy Walsh have added to their medal collection?

And in even more recent times there was talk of another five in a row at Croke Park. This time it did not involve Kerry or Kilkenny. It did not involve hurling or football. Unless you spent the last while living on the moon you will know that American Singer Garth Brooks has been denied performing to a packed house five nights in a row. In a country that is supposed to be trying to get back on its knees after a number of years on the ground, I wonder how much of a mistake will it prove not to allow the five night time concerts to go ahead.

Over the past weekend, there was another ‘in a row’. There was no time of five in a row, as that had been done, this time it was of a six in a row. The team doing the six in a row was the Waterford Intermediate Ladies Football Team who beat Limerick at Rathmore.

Six Munster Finals in a row in any sport may seem special, but it is not to Waterford as it is something that they have done already. Not only has Waterford done six in a row in the past, they have bettered it when the great Waterford Senior Ladies Football team of the 90’s containing the likes of The O’Ryan sisters Martina and Geraldine, Áine Wall, Marie Crotty, Claire Ryan, Annalisa Crotty, Olivia Condon, Noreen Walsh, Sarah Hickey etc. put together seven provincial in a row from 1994 to 2000 inclusive.

Will Waterford equal that fete next year, well if they do it will mean one of two things. The first is that the side will have lost out on winning an All-Ireland later this year, or else it will mean that the seven in a row was achieved in two different grades.

I have no doubt that if Waterford were to win seven intermediate finals in a row, the players and none more so than those that would be involved in all seven would be very happy to have seven Munster Medals in their collection, but I am sure that all would prefer to have six (or less for some players) and one All-Ireland medals in their collection of honours won.

So to Saturday’s game.

Going into the game most of us were optimistic that Waterford would make it six in a row, but most of us were expecting the final outcome to be much closer on the score board than the game finished.

When the sides had previously clashed, goals proved to be the difference between the sides. Hannah Landers and Linda Wall both had a green flag waved in that game, while at the other end of the field, Aimee Jordan and Karen McGrath did brilliantly to deny Limerick two or three chances of having a green flag waved.

Seven points separated the sides in the first meeting of the two sides and this time around things were expected to prove to be even tighter.

Waterford had a tonic start to the game on Saturday as with four minutes on the clock, they held a three point lead after the impressive Michelle Ryan put over the first two of her nine points in this game and Hannah Landers put over one.

Limerick however came storming back and in no time the sides were level. A long ball was played through the Waterford defence which Megan Kelleher latched onto and Aimee Jordan was given no chance by the Knockainey Club player.

It was now Waterford’s turn to hit back and what a response to the Limerick goal Pat O’Brien’s charges made.

Mairead Wall pointed for Waterford six minutes and from there on in, it was Waterford all the way.

Liz Devine who is having a brilliant debut season with Waterford put over her first of the game. Elaine Power who was magnificent in this game put over her first of the game and points from Aileen Wall and Michelle Ryan soon followed which gave Waterford a 0-8 to 1-0 lead with just ten minutes played.

Even with a five point cushion on the score board, Waterford refused to ease up and to conserve some energy. Hannah Landers, Linda Wall Michelle Ryan who captained Waterford to their first provincial title at this level back in 2009 with a brace and Liz Devine all landed further scores for Waterford.

Michelle Ryan landed two more points for Waterford to bring to fifteen their tally for the first half, but in the closing minutes of the half Limerick came more into the game as Marie Curtin with a brace, Niamh Richardson and Dymphna O’Brien all kicked scores but they were not enough to stop Waterford going in at the break with an impressive 0-15 to 1-4 lead.

Limerick needed a good start to the second half and got it when former soccer player Marie Curtin who played in Norway with the past few season’s kicked an early point, but it was soon to be cancelled out by the impressive Elaine Power who would collect the player of the match at the end of the game.

Waterford went further in front on thirty-eight minutes when they struck for their seventh goal of this year’s championship. Róisín Tobin played a key role in the goal picking out Hannah Landers and the brilliant Ballyduff Upper club player showed why she is rated to highly as she put the ball past Kristina Hennessy.

The goal ended the game as a contest, but Waterford still continued to boss the game even if they did ease up some what.

The Ballymacarbry pair Michelle Ryan and Linda Wall shared the next three scores for Waterford, all points before Elaine Power slammed a second Waterford goal in the game.

Limerick did strike some late scores in the second half. Marie Curtin hit five points in the second thirty minutes while Claire O’Riordan and Stephanie Carroll also registered scores.

With just one game now to be played in the provincial series, that being the Leinster Final between Longford and Offaly, the All-Ireland series will now kick in.

Wicklow will play last year’s beaten finalists Tipperary in the first round of the qualifiers, while Antrim, Roscommon and London have received byes to round two where they will be joined by the winner of the first round game, the looser of the Leinster Final as well as Limerick, Sligo and Fermanagh who were beaten in the Munster, Connacht and Ulster finals.

Waterford, Leitrim, Down and the Winner of the Leinster finals will enter the All-Ireland series at the quarter final stages of the competition on August 16 or 23 where they will play the round two winners.

Waterford: Aimee Jordan; Nora Dunphy, Gráinne Enright, Mary Foley; Louise Ryan, Karen McGrath, Róisín Tobin; Michelle McGrath, Elaine Power; Linda Wall, Mairead Wall, Aileen Wall; Hannah Landers, Michelle Ryan, Liz Devine. Subs: Shauna Dunphy for Hannah Landers, Margaret Revins for Aileen Wall, Grainne Kenneally for Róisín Tobin, Megan O’Connor for Michelle McGrath, Caoimhe McGrath for Liz Devine.

Scorers: Michelle Ryan 0-9 (1 free), Elaine Power 1-3, Hannah Landers 1-2, Linda Wall, Liz Devine 0-2 each, Mairead Wall, Aileen Wall 0-1 each.

Limerick: Kristina Hennessy; Alva Neary, Janet Garvey, Siobhan Moloney; Vicky McMahon, Leanne Garvey, Aoife Meaney; Kathryn Fahy, Niamh Richardson; Michelle Norris, Megan Kelleher, Megan O’Shea; Dympna O’Brien, Marie Curtin, Claire O’Riordan. Subs: Cloda Kirby for Siobhan Moloney, Stephanie Carroll for Leanne Garvey.

Scorers: Marie Curtin 0-7 (4 frees), Megan Kelleher 1-0, Dymphna O’Brien, Niamh Richardson, Claire O’Riordan, Stephanie Carroll 0-1 each.

Referee: Seamus Mulvhill (Kerry)