Déise footballers good enough to advance in All-Ireland Qualifiers

Waterford’s Senior Football team make the long trip to Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday where they will stay overnight and play Leitrim in the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers on Sunday afternoon.

This is the second meeting of these two sides this year as they have met already in the National League at Fraher Field where Waterford came out on top on a 0-10 to 1-6 score line.

The qualifiers have not been kind to Waterford down the years. Since 2001 the Deise County have played fourteen games winning just one, that coming in 2011 when they beat London 1-17 to 0-13 at Ruislip.

While Waterford could have got a worst draw in this years qualifiers than having to face Leitrim, no doubt manager Tom McGlinchey and his charges would have much preferred a game in Fraher Field as the side in white and blue have travelled to all but five of the qualifier games they have played in since 2001. Since 2001, Waterford have played at Fraher Field on three occasions and at Walsh Park twice where they played then All-Ireland Champions Armagh in 2003, while on their travels they have travelled to Pearse Park in Longford, Drogheda, Pairc Tailteann, O’Connor Park, Ruislip, The Gaelic Grounds in Limerick, Aughrim, Pearse Stadium in Galway, Dr Cullen Park and not Carrick-on-Shannon.

Going on the National League, this Sunday’s game could well prove to be a tight affair and if like in 2012 at Aughrim against Wicklow if Extra Time was needed to see who will go into the bowl for the second round draw it would hardly be a surprise.

Home advantage will count for something for Leitrim heading into this weekends clash of the Division four sides.

They have some fine footballers within their ranks including Shane Moran and Ronan Kennedy, but their big gun without question is Emlyn Mulligan who has returned to the fold this year after a short period away from the intercounty set up, but it could be argued that he has not shown the form he did before he took a break from the game. However saying this, it could be in a game like this that we could see him at his very best.

Like Waterford, Leitrim’s record in the All-Ireland qualifiers is far from good, winning just one game like Waterford over the past decade and a half.

In the league, they finished on four points, beating London and also against eventual division four winners Louth, while Waterford’s best results came away to Carlow where they won with three clear goals to spare and then against Leitrim when one point separated the sides.

In the league it could be claimed that Waterford were desperately unlucky loosing out in a number of their games by a single score.

Tom McGlinchey should be able to field a very strong side this weekend against Leitrim. In Stephen Enright they have as good a goalkeeper that any county can boast of. Players like Tadhg Ó hUallachain, Thomas and Maurice O’Gorman, Ray Ó Ceallaigh, Stephen Prendergast and Brian Looby are all solid defenders.

Tommy Prendergast will captain the side from the middle of the field. He was building up a good partnership with Conor Prunty in the league but the Ballinacourty Club man has since left the panel and so the towering Kilrossanty man could link up with Craig Guiry.

In attack there is plenty of potential open to the management team. JJ Hutchinson is known to be carrying an injury into this weekends game and therefore it remains to be seen what part if any he will play.

Mark Ferncombe has been brought into the panel for this weekends game and he could well prove to be a vital cog in the Waterford wheel. He is a player that is in fine form and is a player that will always give it his all.

Elsewhere in attack Paul Whyte is one of the finest footballers in Munster, while the likes of Patrick Hurney, Lorcan Ó Corraoin and Gavin Crotty could also produce big performances, while in reserve against Tipperary recently were the likes of Shaun Corcoran, Liam Lawlor, Michael O’Halloran, Joey Veale and Conor Murray are all quality footballers who if given their chance could also play a big part for Waterford.

Leitrim with home advantage will go into this game as the favourites. But something is telling me that this could be Waterford’s day. If Waterford were to remained disciplined and therefore reducing the amount of times that Mulligan will kick from frees and if they can keep him quite from open play, something that Waterford are capable of doing when you consider that the O’Gorman brothers are some of the most underrated defenders in the game nationally, it is possible to keep him quite. But a word of caution has to be sounded, to focus too much on one player could result in others having the eye taken off them and therefore allow them to be match winners on the day.

Few will be expecting anything of Waterford. But this might be a good thing. Tom McGlinchey’s side have nothing to loose here and therefore have a real good chance of advancing to the next phase of the competition where no doubt they will be hoping for another favourable draw but this time at Fraher Field.