Waterford search for Championship win number two in eleven games against Kilkenny

Between 1963 and 1997 Waterford failed to play any Senior Hurling Championship game at Croke Park.

However, from the time Waterford played Galway in an All-Ireland Quarter Final in 1998 until 2011 for Waterford supporters, travelling to G.A.A. Head Quarters to support the Counties Senior Hurling became a regular pilgrimage.

For Kilkenny, playing in Croke Park is like playing on the streets outside their own Nolan Park.

Since 2000, the Cats have played at G.A.A. head quarters in 50 championship games, winning 41 of the half century of games. For Waterford in this time, 13 games have been played by Waterford at the venue and just three wins have been recorded.

While the Kilkenny players that will run onto the turf at Croke Park on Sunday afternoon will be well familiar with the surroundings, even though Waterford have not played senior hurling there since 2011, the surroundings will not be all that unfamiliar to the Waterford players as all the older players in the panel will have played senior hurling at the venue while most if not all of the lesser experienced players will have also played at the venue with the county minors team in All-Ireland semi finals and All-Ireland finals so will know what to expect.

Since Brian Cody became Kilkenny manager ahead of the 1999 championship campaign, there can be no disputing that his championship record is second to none.

Sunday’s game with be seventy-eight championship game with Kilkenny. They have won sixty three of these games and drawn five of the seventy seven previous championships games in his care.

In this time he has had the pleasure of working with some of the greatest players of modern times.

The same could well have been said in the past of Mick O’Dwyer.

The former Kerry manager worked with some of the greatest footballers of all time. Names like the Spillane brothers, Eoin Liston, Jack O’Shea, Paudie Ó Sé, Mickey Sheehy, Charlie Nelligan, Denis Ógie Moran, Ger Power, John O’Keeffe etc. still can be rolled off the tongues of many G.A.A. supporters.

Those of us old enough can still remember the great Kerry team that won the four in a row between 1977 and 1981. We also remember them attempting to make history in 1982 by becoming the first side to win five All-Ireland titles in a row, and how that dream was ended by Offaly and a late goal by Seamus Derby.

At the time many spoke of how it was the end of a great team, and while they would win three more All-Ireland’s in a row between 1984 and 1986, these sides were not as good as the sides that won the four in a row a few years earlier. Some players stayed on from the four in a row team to win up to three more All-Ireland’s they soon disappeared and it took Kerry a long time to win another All-Ireland as the likes of Cork, Meath, Down, Donegal and Dublin win All-Irelands before Kerry won another title.

Kerry in between never went away, but were not as good as what they were, and you cant but feel will we see the same now with Kilkenny.

In the last few years we have seen a great deal of the players in their great sides of recent years retire. They are bringing in some good players to replace them but you have to wonder are those coming in as good as those they are replacing.

You have to feel and I hope that this does not prove to be a commentators curse of sorts that we will see a more level playing field as we did in football when the break up of the already mentioned great Kerry team happened.

You have to feel that in the coming years that while Kilkenny will still be challenging, teams like Tipperary, Limerick, Clare, Cork, Galway, Dublin and hopefully Waterford will be climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand on All-Ireland Final day around 5pm.

Wondering if Kilkenny are as strong as they once were because of retirements and reported injuries for this game, I for one cant but feel that if Waterford can get over this weekend’s game with Kilkenny, that it could be Waterford’s year and that a first All-Ireland Final since 1959 will happen.

Both sides are expected to be named later this evening. Kilkenny we know have injury worries, but will still have fifteen on the field from the start.

Eoin Murphy will be between the posts. Jackie Tyrell is injured and it will be interesting to see who will come in for him but Joey Holden will be at full back and Paul Murphy will be in the corner.

The half back line could read Padraig Walsh, Kieran Joyce and Cillian Buckley with a number of options available in the middle of the field. Conor Fogarty and Michael Fennelly may well be a first choice pairing with the latter is reported to be carrying an injury which means that Walter Walsh or Richie Hogan could be options if needed.

Walsh or Hogan could start at centre forward with John Power and Colin Fennelly on either side while the full forward line could well consist of TJ Reid, Ger Aylward and Eoin Larkin.

TJ Reid is reported to be carrying an injury into the game but you cant but wonder if this is a case of paper refusing to use ink, but if he is injured it would be a boost for Waterford, but in saying that, whoever would come in for him could well prove to be just as effective.

Waterford’s line up could well resemble the one which started against Dublin in the quarter finals.

Stephen O’Keeffe will start in goal. Barry Coughlan will be at full back flanked by Shane Fives and Noel Connors. The Passage club man did retire early in the win against Dublin with an injury but it is expected that he will start against Kilkenny. If he was to miss out, expect Darragh Fives to fill the void left.

Tadhg de Búrca will again be at centre back with Philip O’Mahony filling the number seven shirt. If Noel Connors starts, Darragh Fives will start in the number five position, if the Passage man were not to start expect Stephen Daniels who came in for Noel Connors to start.

In the middle of the Field Kevin Moran and Jamie Barron to start. The pair have worked hard all year and playing against Kilkenny they will not fear whoever they are against in the middle of the field.

Expect more of the same in attack. That will mean that Michael Walsh, Maurice Shanahan, Colin Dunford, Jake Dillon, Shane Bennett and Austin Gleeson to start in the forward positions.

There is calls from some that the likes of Patrick Curran, Stephen Bennett, Tom Devine, Eddie Barrett etc. are worth a place in the team from the start, but may best serve by coming on late in the game as up to now, the subs used by Derek McGrath and his selectors have worked and many will be hoping the same will happen here.

Kilkenny go into this game as the favourites. They have been magnificent for hurling in the last decade and a half, but just like the great Kerry team of the past, all things at some stage must come to an end. Are we seeing slowly the end of Kilkenny dominance? Could Waterford be the team that finally show the end of the dominance?

Kilkenny are appearing in a sixteenth All-Ireland semi final under Brian Cody on Sunday. They have won 13 of their previous 15 semi finals. Can Waterford make it 13 from 16? The two previous semi final losses for Kilkenny under Brian Cody were in 2001 and 2005.

Waterford has only once ever beaten Kilkenny in Championship hurling. That was in the 1959 All-Ireland final replay. Will Waterford make it a second championship win over Kilkenny this weekend?

Derek McGrath’s have played all of the top hurling sides (apart from Clare and Kilkenny) in competitive games this year and have won or drawn with all at least once up to now.

I think Waterford’s good run of results will continue this weekend by beating Kilkenny, but it won’t easily happen.

PATH TO THE SEMI-FINAL for Kilkenny
Kilkenny 5-25 Wexford 0-16 (Leinster semi-final)
Kilkenny 1-25 Galway 2-15 (Leinster final)

PATH TO THE SEMI-FINAL for Waterford
Waterford 3-19 Cork 1-21 (Munster quarter-final)
Tipperary 0-21 Waterford 0-16 (Munster final)
Waterford 2-21 Dublin 1 -19 (All-Ireland quarter-final)

Kilkenny Championship scorers
TJ Reis    2-16 (1-0 penalty, 0-8 frees, 0-2 ‘65s’)
Ger Aylward 3-8
Richie Hogan 1-9
Eoin Larkin 0-7
John Power 0-2
Colin Fennelly 0-2
Walter Walsh 0-2
Conor Fogarty 0-1
Cillian Buckley 0-1
Michael Fennelly 0-1
Kevin Kelly 0-1

Waterford championship scorers
Maurice Shanahan 2-29 (0-18 frees, 0-5 ‘65s’)
Austin Gleeson 0-7 (0-2 frees, 0-1 sideline)
Kevin Moran 0-6
Shane Bennett 1-2
Colin Dunford 0-4
Jake Dillon 1-0
Tom Devine 1-0
Stephen Bennett 0-2
Shane Fives 0-2
Patrick Curran 0-2
Jake Dillon 0-1
Tadhg De Búrca 0-1

WATERFORD’S ALL-IRELAND SEMI FINAL RECORD
1938: Waterford 4-8 Galway 3-1

1948: Waterford 3-7 Galway 1-6
1957: Waterford 4-12 Galway 1-11
1998: Waterford 1-10 Kilkenny 1-11
2002: Waterford 1-13 Clare 1-16
2004: Waterford 0-18 Kilkenny 3-12
2006: Waterford 1-15 Cork 1-16
2007: Waterford 2-15 Limerick 5-11
2008: Waterford 1-20 Tipperary 1-18
2009: Waterford 3-15 Kilkenny 2-23
2010: Waterford 1-18 Tipperary 3-19
2011: Waterford 1-16 Kilkenny 2-19

WATERFORD’S CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD AGAINST KILKENNY
1957: Waterford 3-12 Kilkenny 4-10 (All-Ireland Final)

1959: Waterford 1-17 Kilkenny 5-5 (All-Ireland Final)
1959: Waterford 3-12 Kilkenny 1-10 (All-Ireland Final Replay)
1963: Waterford 6-8 Kilkenny 4-17 (All-Ireland Final)
1998: Waterford 1-10 Kilkenny 1-11 (All-Ireland Semi Final)
2004: Waterford 0-18 Kilkenny 3-12 (All-Ireland Semi Final)
2008: Waterford 1-13 Kilkenny 3-30 (All-Ireland Final)
2009: Waterford 3-15 Kilkenny 2-23 (All-Ireland Semi Final)
2011: Waterford 1-16 Kilkenny 2-19 (All-Ireland Semi Final)
2013: Waterford 2-16 Kilkenny 1-22 (All-Ireland Qualifiers Round 3 – After Extra Time).