Waterford’s Senior Football team make the
long trip to Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday where they will stay overnight and
play Leitrim in the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers on Sunday
afternoon.
This is the second meeting of these two sides
this year as they have met already in the National League at Fraher Field where
Waterford came out on top on a 0-10 to 1-6 score line.
The qualifiers have not been kind to
Waterford down the years. Since 2001 the Deise County have played fourteen
games winning just one, that coming in 2011 when they beat London 1-17 to 0-13
at Ruislip.
While Waterford could have got a worst draw
in this years qualifiers than having to face Leitrim, no doubt manager Tom
McGlinchey and his charges would have much preferred a game in Fraher Field as
the side in white and blue have travelled to all but five of the qualifier
games they have played in since 2001. Since 2001, Waterford have played at
Fraher Field on three occasions and at Walsh Park twice where they played then
All-Ireland Champions Armagh in 2003, while on their travels they have
travelled to Pearse Park in Longford, Drogheda, Pairc Tailteann, O’Connor Park,
Ruislip, The Gaelic Grounds in Limerick, Aughrim, Pearse Stadium in Galway, Dr
Cullen Park and not Carrick-on-Shannon.
Going on the National League, this Sunday’s
game could well prove to be a tight affair and if like in 2012 at Aughrim
against Wicklow if Extra Time was needed to see who will go into the bowl for
the second round draw it would hardly be a surprise.
Home advantage will count for something for
Leitrim heading into this weekends clash of the Division four sides.
They have some fine footballers within their
ranks including Shane Moran and Ronan Kennedy, but their big gun without
question is Emlyn Mulligan who has returned to the fold this year after a short
period away from the intercounty set up, but it could be argued that he has not
shown the form he did before he took a break from the game. However saying
this, it could be in a game like this that we could see him at his very best.
Like Waterford, Leitrim’s record in the
All-Ireland qualifiers is far from good, winning just one game like Waterford
over the past decade and a half.
In the league, they finished on four points,
beating London and also against eventual division four winners Louth, while
Waterford’s best results came away to Carlow where they won with three clear
goals to spare and then against Leitrim when one point separated the sides.
In the league it could be claimed that
Waterford were desperately unlucky loosing out in a number of their games by a
single score.
Tom McGlinchey should be able to field a very
strong side this weekend against Leitrim. In Stephen Enright they have as good
a goalkeeper that any county can boast of. Players like Tadhg Ó hUallachain,
Thomas and Maurice O’Gorman, Ray Ó Ceallaigh, Stephen Prendergast and Brian
Looby are all solid defenders.
Tommy Prendergast will captain the side from
the middle of the field. He was building up a good partnership with Conor
Prunty in the league but the Ballinacourty Club man has since left the panel
and so the towering Kilrossanty man could link up with Craig Guiry.
In attack there is plenty of potential open
to the management team. JJ Hutchinson is known to be carrying an injury into
this weekends game and therefore it remains to be seen what part if any he will
play.
Mark Ferncombe has been brought into the
panel for this weekends game and he could well prove to be a vital cog in the
Waterford wheel. He is a player that is in fine form and is a player that will
always give it his all.
Elsewhere in attack Paul Whyte is one of the
finest footballers in Munster, while the likes of Patrick Hurney, Lorcan Ó
Corraoin and Gavin Crotty could also produce big performances, while in reserve
against Tipperary recently were the likes of Shaun Corcoran, Liam Lawlor,
Michael O’Halloran, Joey Veale and Conor Murray are all quality footballers who
if given their chance could also play a big part for Waterford.
Leitrim with home advantage will go into this
game as the favourites. But something is telling me that this could be
Waterford’s day. If Waterford were to remained disciplined and therefore
reducing the amount of times that Mulligan will kick from frees and if they can
keep him quite from open play, something that Waterford are capable of doing
when you consider that the O’Gorman brothers are some of the most underrated
defenders in the game nationally, it is possible to keep him quite. But a word
of caution has to be sounded, to focus too much on one player could result in
others having the eye taken off them and therefore allow them to be match
winners on the day.
Few will be expecting anything of Waterford.
But this might be a good thing. Tom McGlinchey’s side have nothing to loose
here and therefore have a real good chance of advancing to the next phase of
the competition where no doubt they will be hoping for another favourable draw
but this time at Fraher Field.
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