South East Rivals Clash in Relegation Play Off At Callan

            In a season that promised so much for both sides, both Waterford and Tipperary’s Senior Ladies Football sides clash in the unusual setting of Callan on Saturday afternoon where for the winner the prize will be retaining their senior status for 2019, while for the loser they will have one further game to save their senior status when they play the loser of the game between Cavan and Monaghan which is pencilled in to take place in Lannleire (between Dundalk and Drogheda off the M1) on the same day, 90 minutes before the ball in thrown in for the game in Callan.

This is a game that Pat Sullivan’s side will know that they have to win. Since the breakup of the great Waterford team that achieved so much under the guidance of Michael Ryan and his assistant Bridget Grant (nee McGrath) Waterford have not always faired the best while playing against opposition from Ulster, losing the Intermediate All-Ireland Finals in 2010 and 2012 to Donegal and Armagh respectfully, and have also lost league finals and league semi finals to Armagh and Cavan in recent years.

While the championship has not proven to be the best to both of these sides this year, early in the year it looked as if it was going to be a great year for both sides, maybe with Waterford bettering the quarter final exit in the championship that they achieved last year, while Tipperary were back playing in the top grade for the first time in a long number of years, but to date both sides have yet to win in the championship as Tipperary lost out to Tipperary in the Munster Semi Final while Waterford lost to Kerry in the same competition at the same stage.

In the All-Ireland Championship which was played between twelve sides broken down into four groups of three, Tipperary lost out to Kerry and Donegal while Waterford lost out to Westmeath and Galway.

In the National League the two sides played in Division Two. Tipperary had a flying start to the competition winning their first six games, while Waterford lost their first game to Tyrone but then put five wins back to back.

The two sides were to meet in round five of the competition, but because of the weather conditions this spring, that game was called off on safety grounds and it was pencilled in at the end of the round robin section of the competition, meaning that it was last year’s Division Three winners in the league and Intermediate Champions that went into the game at the WIT Arena holding a three point advantage.

The night before that game the Premier County Ladies were presented with their medals which they won last year at a function in Cahir and it was therefore no real surprise to see Waterford record a six straight win, which meant that Waterford topped the group when the two sides finished level on points (18 from a possible 21) by virtue of winning the head to head between the two sides.

While Tipperary might argue that the game was re-fixed at the wrong time for them, credit must go to the Waterford team for the way they went out completing the job the way they did.

For both to reach the semi finals was a fantastic achievement. Waterford last year finished seventh of the eight teams and most would have said to finish higher up the table would be seen as some sort of progress while Tipperary in the eyes of many would be happy only to retain their status in Division two after coming up from Division three just like Waterford the previous year.

In the semi finals Waterford were pitted with Cavan while Tipperary were paired with Armagh. We often see in Ladies Football that for whatever reason when two sides clash for the second time in a short space of time the result is often reversed.

Sadly for Waterford this was the case as the Ulster side proved that little bit too strong, advancing to the final where they took on Tipperary who overcame the challenge of Armagh and in the final they proved too strong for the Ulster side in the competition for the second time this year.

Waterford will need no telling how strong Seamus Roynane’s side will be this weekend. The sides have played against each other a number of times in recent years and little separated the two sides when they do clash.

The Waterford defence will know that they can afford to give little away in front of their own goal mouth as the Tipperary girls have a number of players who will punish any side when given the chance.

Aisling Maloney is without doubt their key forward. She hit 1-4 in her sides defeat to Kerry and better that tally kicking nine points against Donegal.

But they don’t rely solely on the Cahir club player as in the likes of Gillian O’Brien, Aisling McCarthy, Niamh Lonergan, Mairead Morrissey, Orla O’Dwyer and Caoimhe Condon some excellent players.

 At the other end of the field Tipperary also have some very strong players. Lauren Fitzpatrick will be well known to many of this Waterford side through playing her club football with Ballymacarbry.

In front of her Laura Dillon, Maria Curley, Brid Condon, Anna-Rose Kennedy, Samantha Lambert and Siobhan Condon should feature while Aisling McCarthy could well be in the middle of the field where she could be partnered by the already mentioned Orla O’Dwyer.

Pat Sullivan and his management team are unlikely to make any major changes to the side which we have seen playing in the championship up to now.

In the absence of Gráinne Kenneally who looked to have become the Waterford regular goalkeeper up to the time of sustaining a serious injury after the Munster Championship defeat to Kerry, Kelly Moroney could well have the number one on her back.

Mairead Wall, Rebecca Casey, Caoimhe McGrath, Michelle McGrath, Megan Dunford, Kate McGrath and Katie Murray would be expected to fight out the positions in the back line for Waterford provided there are no injuries in these players, while Karen McGrath and Emma Murray could well start in the middle of the field.

In attack there is plenty of options open to the Waterford management team. So far this year they have left some of their big guns out of the starting fifteen and bring them on often in the second half as fresh legs when opposition legs particularly in defence begin to tire.

Whether that same tactic will be used again this time remains to be seen or if Waterford will start with as strong a forward line as is possible.

 At full strength Waterford could well have the likes of Michelle and Sinead Ryan, Maria Delahunty, Eimear Fennell, Aoife Murray all causing trouble for the opposing backs, while the likes of Kate Hahessy, Keeley Corbett Barry, Kelly Anne Hogan etc could also be asked to do a job for the side.

This is a game that Waterford will not want to lose. It’s always nice to have bragging rights over your neighbours, and Waterford would love this to happen, but it’s not just for bragging rights Waterford would love to win here, remember a defeat here for one side will mean a relegation play off final against Ulster opposition and as pointed out Waterford in the real big games, even if they beat Cavan in last year’s championship tend to find the going tough against Ulster opposition, and a win here would mean that is something the side would not have to worry about.

Expect this game to really go to the wire. Maybe sixty minutes might not be enough to separate these two sides that on any given day little separate the two sides. Waterford at this level are slightly the more experienced side of the two, and i expect this experience to count for something in Callan on Saturday.