WATERFORD LADIES WIN LOCAL DERBY CLASH

Who remembers what happened at the start of last years Ladies National Football League and how the year ended for Waterford.

I’m sure most with an interest in the G.A.A. in Waterford and maybe beyond will know how it ended. Team Captain Linda Wall led his playing colleagues up the steps of the Hogan Stand after Waterford won the biggest piece of silverware on offer to the side after beating Kildare in the Intermediate All-Ireland Final.

Some however might not remember how the year started, so let me remind you. Waterford opened the league with a South-East Derby game against Wexford at Fraher Field. When the two sides met twelve months earlier Waterford recorded a massive win over the Model County Ladies, but they went on to win the Junior All-Ireland Final that year and travelled to Dungarvan a much better side than they were twelve months earlier. The visiting side pushed Waterford very hard on the day before Waterford won out in a low scoring game.  

This years National Ladies Football League began on Sunday afternoon. Waterford for the second year in a row began with a South East Derby game, this time against Tipperary. The game was to be a home game for Waterford but was eventually played at Piltown in Co. Kilkenny after the game was fixed for a number of games in Waterford only to have the game pulled as recent weather conditions took its toll.

For the second year in a row, Waterford ran out winners, again in a very close game, but this time around in a much higher scoring game as both sides shared thirty-one scores.

Just as was the case twelve months ago, Waterford fielded an experimental looking team as team manager Pat Sullivan and his selectors just as they did twelve months ago gave new and fringe players from last years panel the chance to stake a place in the side for the year ahead.

Tipperary from the off playing with a strong wind at their backs pilled pressure on the Waterford defence, and they did not trail at any point of the game till it had gone to added time at the end of the second half.

Within twelve seconds of the game starting, the Premier County Ladies had taken the lead with a point from Sheelagh Carew. And when Edel Hanley followed up with a brace of points from frees by the fifth minute of the game, just as it was when the sides met in the league at Ardfinnan last year, Waterford were looking as though they were going to be in for a tough afternoons work.

Waterford hit their first score of the game on seven minutes, a pointed free off the boot of team captain Sinead Ryan. But there would be no let up for Waterford after this as Edit Carroll and Niamh Lonergan landed points for Tipperary to give them a 0-5 to 0-1 lead with nine minutes showing on the clock.

Katie Murray last year made history by becoming one of the first set of triplets to win an All-Ireland Final at Croke Park. While she often had to watch her sisters play from the side lines she did her chances of staking a place in the team no harm in this game and got her name on the score sheet to help cut Tipperary’s lead to three when she was played through by Rebecca Casey who is another of the rising stars of the game within the county and a player to keep an eye on in the coming years.

Eimer Myles and Aileen Wall swapped scores for their respective sides by the end of the first quarter of the game to give Tipperary a 0-6 to 0-3 lead.

Tipperary with the wind at their backs continued to dominate in the early part of the second quarter of the game as Edel Hanley and Mairead Morrissey hit points to stretch their sides lead to five, one which went to eight on twenty minutes as Mairead Morrissey played through Jennifer Grant and Lorraine O’Shea for the games first goal of the game.

Sinead Ryan put over a brace of points for Waterford to cut Tipperary’s lead to six points but Edel Hanley soon put a little more day light between the sides with another score.

There can be little disputing that the best player by a ‘Country Mile’ in last years Intermediate Championship was Aileen Wall, and she has began 2016 where she left off at the end of 2015, putting in another solid performance in this game.

She was very unlucky not to have put the ball in the Tipperary net late in the first half but her effort clipper the crossbar after she was played through by older sister Linda and her effort went over instead of under the crossbar.

Emma Murray followed with another score for Waterford on twenty seven minutes but the Premier Ladies would turn around with a six point advantage after Edel Henley hit the last score of the first half to give Tipperary a 1-10 to 0-7 lead.

Waterford with the wind at their backs in the second half and with a numerical advantage after Anne O’Dwyer was sin binned towards the end of the first half came out with all guns blazing, kicking the first three scores of the game all from the impressive Sinead Ryan to leave Lorraine O’Shea’s goal between the sides with eight minutes of the second half showing on the stop watch.

Anne O’Dwyer was no sooner on the field again after sitting out ten minutes when her side were done to fourteen once more as Elaine Fitzpatrick was sin binned on forty two minutes, but a minute later the sides were even in numbers as Aileen Wall was sent to the side line for ten minutes by referee Kathy Forde.

Waterford called on their experience as the game wore on and points from Sinead and Michelle Ryan were registered in a three minute spell to leave just one between the sides and when Linda Wall followed up with her first of the game with ten minutes of normal time remaining things were beginning to look good for Waterford.

However, this is a good Tipperary side and they hit back with a second goal of the game eight minutes from time, this time the rolls were reversed from the first goal as Mairead Morrissey was set up by Lorraine O’Shea to give Tipperary a 2-10 to 0-13 lead.

Caoimhe McGrath and Aoibhe O’Shea swapped scores for their respective sides inside a minute of each other to keep three between the sides in Tipperary’s favour, but Waterford would finish the game strongest as Sinead and Michelle Ryan tagged on a point each before another set of sisters Linda and Aileen Wall landed points, the latter proving to be the winner and was the score that gave Waterford the lead for the first and only time in the game after she was set up by Michelle Ryan.

This was a game that Waterford manager Pat Sullivan will have been very happy with. As expected little separated the sides at the end of the hour. With Waterford playing in the senior championship this year, tough close games like this where Waterford had to fight hard right to the end will help the side come championship time in the summer months.

Waterford: Katie Hannon; Rebecca Casey, Caoimh McGrath, Linda Wall; Emma Murray, Hannah Power, Liz Devine; Katie Murray, Megan Dunford; Mairead Wall,  Ciara Hurley, Emma Murray; Aileen Wall, Michelle Ryan, Gráinne Kenneally. Subs: Louise Ryan for Liz Devine, Nicola Fennell for Ciara Hurley, and Roisin Tobin for Hannah Power.

Scorers: Sinead Ryan 0-8 (7f), Aileen Wall 0-3, Michelle Ryan, Linda Wall 0-2 each, Emma Murray, Katie Murray, Caoimhe McGrath 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Patricia Hickey; Brid Condon, Samantha Lambert, Sinead Delahunty;  Anne O’Dwyer, Claire Carroll, Louise Carroll; Jennifer Grant, Sheelagh Carew; Niamh Lonergan, Lorraine O’Shea, Eimear Myles; Edith Carroll, Mairead Morrissey, Edel Hanley. Subs: Elaine Fitzpatrick for Sheelagh Carew, Aoibhe O’Shea for Louise Carroll, Roisin McGrath for Eimer Myles, Grainne Condon for Brid Condon, Catriona Walsh for Edel Henley.

Scorers: Edel Hanley 0-5 (3f), Lorraine O’Shea, Mairead Morrissey 1-1 each, Edith Carroll, Eimear Myles, Anne O’Dwyer, Aoibhe O’Shea 0-1 each.

Referee: Kathy Forde (Wicklow).