WATERFORD FOOTBALLERS OPEN LEAGUE WITH DEFEAT IN AUGHRIM

Waterford’s senior footballers got their National Football League Campaign off to a bad start on Sunday afternoon last, loosing out to Wicklow in Aughrim by two points.

In what could be a very tight division which the management team have set their sights on getting out of as their main goal for the year ahead, the narrow defeat in Aughrim could well prove costly, as last year Wicklow were one of the sides Waterford were battling with to ensure that they did not finish with the distension of finishing bottom of the table with.

All involved in the Waterford set up will know that this is a game that they should have won. Over the seventy minutes they hit ten wides, not a high amount by any means but eight of these were in the first half when Waterford were playing with the wind at their backs and six of this tally were hit in the first quarter of the game while Wicklow over the seventy minutes shot just four wides, two in each half.

Waterford were first to score in this game, but had to wait thirteen minutes for it to come, courtesy of an effort from Donie Breathnach. And five minutes later Paul Whyte helped stretch his sides lead with the first of his five points, all from placed balls.

Wicklow however playing a venue where they are very hard to beat soon settled and in a three minute spell hit three points in a row from Rory Finn, Stephen Kelly and Ciaran Hyland to take the lead.

Waterford would take the lead once more when Paul Whyte put over a brace of frees and when the same player lofted the ball in front of the Wicklow goal and when Robert Lambert failed to deal with things in around his own goal, Patrick Hurney was able to use his hand to finish to the Wicklow net and give Waterford a 1-4 to 0-3 lead.

The home side however would by the break cut the Waterford lead by one as John McGrath who impressed with his free taking all afternoon put the ball between the uprights.

With the wind at their backs in the second half, Wicklow came out the better of the two sides as John McGrath put three frees between the Waterford uprights and Rory Finn got his second of the game to give Wicklow the lead for the second time.

Paul Whyte levelled matters from another free on fifty one minutes but efforts from Eddie Doyle and John McGrath his fifth of the game followed to give the home side a 0-10 to 1-5 lead.

Waterford’s chances of winning the game received a blow when Tadhg Ó hUallachain was ordered off by referee Sean Lonergan after he collected his second yellow card of the game mid way through the second half.

Rory Finn and Sean Crowe followed up with a points for Wicklow but despite loosing and having a numerical disadvantage, Waterford would finish the game the stronger of the two sides as Paul Whyte and Shaun Corcoran landed points for Tom McGlinchey’s side with Rory Finn pulling one back for Wicklow, while the Kilrossanty Club Man was unlucky also proving to be unlucky two minutes from time after he rounded Ciaran Hyland he saw his effort clip the bottom of the upright and go just wide.

Waterford: Stephen Enright; Tadhg O hUallachain, Thomas O’Gorman, James McGrath; Declan Allen, Stephen Prendergast, Ray O Ceallaigh; Conor Prunty, Tommy Prendergast; Gavin Crotty, Donie Breathnach, Maurice O’Gorman; Paul Whyte, JJ Hutchinson, Michael O’Halloran. Subs: Patrick Hurney for Declan Allen, Declan Allen for Michael O’Halloran, David Power for JJ Hutchinson, Brian Looby for James McGrath, Shaun Corcoran for Patrick Hurney.

Scorers: Paul Whyte 0-5 (4f, 1 ’45), Patrick Hurney 1-0, Donie Breathnach 0-2, Shaun Corcoran 0-1.

Wicklow: Robert Lambert; Aaron Murphy, Ross O’Brien, Ciaran Hyland; Dean Healy, Paul McLoughlin, Chris Murphy; Rory Finn, Anthony McLoughlin; Darren Hayden, John McGrath, Stephen Kelly; Patrick Byrne, Paul Cunningham, Mark Kenny. Subs: Eddie Doyle for Patrick Byrne, John Crowe for Dean Healy, Niall Gaffney for Anthony McLoughlin, Gary Allen for Mark Kenny, Daniel Woods for John McGrath.

Scorers: John McGrath 0-5 (5f), Rory Finn 0-4 (3f), Stephen Kelly, John Crowe, Eddie Doyle, Ciaran Hyland 0-1 each.

Referee: Sean Lonergan (Tipperary)