Waterford and Cavan Do Battle In Must Win Game for Both

Waterford’s Senior Ladies Football team make an almost 350km trip to Ulster this coming weekend to play Cavan in the fifth round of games in this year’s National Football League.

For both sides it is a must win game this weekend at Breffni as all sides now reach a crucial stage of the completion, when every point won and lost in the league table could be the difference between qualifying for the semi-finals of the completion and not doing so.

Waterford goes into this weekend’s game in slightly the better placed position of the two sides.

Last time out the Ulster side most out to Ulster Rival’s 4-9 to 2-14, having lost earlier in the competition to Westmeath 1-9 to 2-4. For Waterford these are the two sides that they must play after this weekend’s game so the need to win for Waterford cannot be spelt out enough this weekend.

In between these two defeats, the Ulster side have recorded wins over Kildare and Clare. After this weekend’s game they have both Sligo and Laois to play, neither of which will prove to be a walk in the Park.

Waterford moved up a grade this year having won the Division three League last year, beating a very good Tipperary side after a replay in Thurles.

Pat Sullivan’s side began the league this year with a tricky game against Clare and returned home with a draw having travelled to one of the most furthest venues in the county that the side could have played at.

After this Waterford had a good win over Laois at the WIT Arena and followed that up with a narrow 2-7 to 0-11 defeat to Sligo and a brilliant 2-15 to 0-6 win last time out at the Carriganore venue, where they served up their best performance to date.

The home side in this game will go into the game this weekend very much fancying their chances of collecting another three points in the league table.

And they would have every right to be confident of winning.

In Aisling Doonan they have an outstanding forward who will punish Waterford if given the chance to do so. She is their top scorer in the league, kicking some impressive tallies in her games to date.

But they are by no means a one person team.

In Aisling Sheridan, Claragh O’Reilly, Catriona Smith, Amy Rooney, Grainne Smith as well as Hayley Lynch and Elaine Walsh who have shared goalkeeping duties they have what appears to be a strong outfit.

While Cavan will be confident of pulling off a win, so too will Waterford.

In the first three games they played this year they were by far the better side in the opening half but had to give second best to their opponents in the second half.

But last time out, they put that with a brilliant performance from the first minute to the last when beating Kildare.

Regular goalkeeper Katie Hannon has missed the last two games due to injury but she has been ably replaced by Clashmore’s Jess Fitzgerald who has played well in the last two games. It remains to be seen if the Ballyduff player will be back in the team for this weekend, but if she is not, then the number one shirt will be in safe hands with the Clashmore player once more.

Last time out Michelle Ryan and Maria Delahunty returned to the starting line up for the first time this year and both made very telling contributions.

A few weeks on from that game both will have got their match fitness more up to speed and if both are selected to start again this Sunday, then both will be key to a positive result for Waterford.

But just like Cavan with Aisling Doonan, Waterford do not rely on their big gun forwards to see them through games like this.

Aileen Wall is a player that will need no introduction to any defence that she plays against. Lauren McGregor is very much an emerging player and has made telling contributions this year.

Elsewhere in the team the Murray sisters, Mairead Wall and the McGrath sisters are also key for Waterford.

This is a game that could well go either way and both sides would possibly settle for a draw, but a draw might not be enough from this game after two further rounds of games to secure a place in the semi-finals.

As a Waterford supporter I am hoping for a Waterford win, even a narrow one and I think all other Waterford supporters would settle for the same.