Waterford to upset favourites in Munster Senior Football Championship

If we believe everything we read in the paper and hear what we are told, then there is no point in Waterford’s Senior Football Team turning up in Thurles on Sunday afternoon for a Munster Quarter Final where the prize for the winner is a game against the All-Ireland Champions – Kerry.

While a lot of what we read in the papers and hear on our TV’s and Radios which often help others to form a debate can be taken as Gospel, not everything should be taken as Gospel.

If those predicting the outcome of Sunday’s second quarter final game are correct, then Tipperary are going to win, maybe putting up a cricket score in doing so.

The two sides had very contrasting league campaigns.

Tipperary in their first season in Division three having won promotion from the bottom league twelve months earlier, finished in third place, finishing three points behind the two promoted sides Armagh and Fermanagh.

Waterford went into the league on a high, having won a first McGrath Cup since the county won the inaugural title back in 1981. Tom McGlinchey’s side won their first game of the league beating Wicklow at Fraher Field, but was well out of contention heading into the last round of games. However along the way, Lady Luck deserted Waterford and had it remained with the side, things may have been different as some of Waterford’s defeat were small, loosing on three occasions by two points, against Carlow in round 3, Longford in round 4 and Antrim in round 5 and had a share of the spoils away to London.  

The home side will go into the game as favourites and to be fair to them, its easy to see why. In the last few years, the Premier County has tasted success at minor and under 21 level, and many of the players that were involved in these successes, players like Evan Comerford, Seamus Kennedy, Steven O’Brien, Colin O’Riordan and Michael Quinlivan are going to be involved in this game and will be key to their side’s championship hopes this year.

Of course Tipperary do not have just a young team, they also have some experienced players at this grade. Paddy Codd, Ciaran McDonald, Robbie Kiely, Peter Acheson, Alan Campbell, George Hannigan, Philip Austin, Ger Mulhare are all players in the mid to late 20’s while they have a very dangerous full forward line made up of the already mentioned Michael Quinlivan in the middle of Conor Sweeney and Brian Fox.

Of course no team is complete without back up and in the likes of Jason Lonergan, Brian Mulvihill, Ian Fahey, Barry Grogan (a surprise omission for many), Donal Lynch, Andrew Morrissey and Brian Enright Tipperary have a nice blend of youth and experience to call upon if required.

Waterford will go into this game somewhat under the radar. Since the last league game against Leitrim Tom McGlinchey and his management team will have had little time collectively to work with the team.

Two rounds of the senior football championship were played in April followed by two rounds of the senior hurling championship and the coming back of the panel for collective training was put back owing to Waterford contesting and winning the National Hurling League as the first round of games in the club championship were put back two weeks.

Since then, the side has played a number of challenge games which will have helped the selectors come up with the team that they will be sending out to do battle.

In the team Tom McGlinchey has named, there is two Championship debutants in Sean Barron in goal and Michael O’Halloran in the middle of the field.

The Ballinacourty Club man in the league was outstanding and won over for himself many admirers and will not be out of place for when he lines out this weekend. The Ardmore Club man also got to play in the league, playing in the sides draw with London and takes over the number one shirt from Stephen Enright who is out of the country for the summer.

Like Tipperary Waterford will put out an experienced team this weekend.

Shane Briggs is the oldest Waterford player to take to the field this weekend. Players like Thomas and Maurice O’Gorman, Liam Lawlor, Patrick Hurney and Joey Veale are all in and around thirty years old and have plenty of experience.

Dean Crowley, Tadhg O hUallachain, Tommy Prendergast, Michael Curry, Paul Whyte, Mark Ferncombe and JJ Hutchinson are a little younger but are also experience players at this grade of football.

And again just like Tipperary, Waterford if required will have plenty of experience to call upon if needed in the likes of Ray Ó Ceallaigh, Conor Phelan, Cillian O’Keeffe, and David Hallahan. Waterford would also love to be able to call upon Conor Gleeson for this game. The young Nire man set last years club championship on fire with a number of impressive performance and was called up to the panel recently, but just as the call came and appeared to be answered, the call also came from the Senior Hurling Panel to join them in their recent training camp, so it remains to be seen what happens here.

Waterford has nothing to loose here. Nobody seems to be expecting anything from the side, even within the county. Maybe that is a good thing. It will take any pressure there is off the shoulders of the side.

Waterford will be underdogs. We all know about the success that Tipperary had in recent years when it comes to football, but success at underage level does not always transfer to adult level. Just look at what is happening in Galway when it comes to hurling in the last nearly 30 years. How many excellent minor and under 21 teams have they produced? How many titles have they won at these two grades? And now ask yourself what have they won at adult level? I am sure you won’t have to rack the brains too much to try and figure it out.

In the last few years Waterford has not feared Tipperary. OK in clashes between the two counties at underage level, results have often gone one way, maybe too easily at times, but at adult level little separates the sides.

All the pressure is going to be on Tipperary to produce the goods in Thurles in front of a home support than many will expect to well outnumber the visitors support on the day.

Working in Co. Tipperary and working up to last Christmas within the Tipperary Club Scene, Tom McGlinchey will know the Tipperary players well and will have come up with a plan to try and stamp out areas where the side could cause Waterford trouble.

While Waterford will go into the game as the underdog, lets not forget that when in such situations in the past, Waterford have pulled off some excellent results. Who will forget just two years ago when Galway were expected to go through the motions with Waterford in the All-Ireland qualifiers, but with five minutes to go in that game, Waterford lead but did end up on the wrong end of the final result.

I am expecting Waterford here to give a far better account of themselves then what most are expecting. The experts are saying this is a game for Tipperary’s to loose. I have a sneaky feeling that the experts are going to be wrong here and that Waterford will be looking forward to welcoming the All-Ireland Champions to Fraher Field in a few weeks time.