Waterford Prove Too Strong For Wexford At The Pairc

It’s not a game that will be remembered in years to come, but Waterford are back in Croke Park this August for a third successive All-Ireland Senior Hurling Semi Final after they beat South East Rival’s Wexford in the second big game to be played at the new Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

Waterford lead from start to finish in this game and that is something that will please team manager Derek McGrath and his selectors heading into next month’s big game at G.A.A. head quarters.

However if there is a downfall from the win it is that the Waterford management team it is that they will almost certainly have to plan for the game with Galway or Cork without the services of Tadhg De Búrca who was sent off on a straight red card with four minutes to play for what looked like a pull on the helmet of Harry Kehoe, something that G.A.A. Officials have come down big on in recent years, with few if any appeals made against sending offs for the foul winning.

Over the course of the seventy minutes Waterford proved to be the dominant side in almost every sector of the field with Michael Walsh, Darragh Fives and Kevin Moran particularly impressive for the winners. Wexford supporters will be asking however why Jack O’Connor did not start as he scored 1-2 after coming on six minutes into the second half of this game particularly as they relied upon Jack Guiney and Lee Chin for the majority of their scores, the pair hitting 0-9 between them all but one of which came from placed balls.

Waterford lead 1-12 to 0-10 at the break, the all important goal coming two minutes into added time when Eoin Moore’s attempted clearance was intercepted by Shane Bennett who played in Kevin Moran inside the last line of the Wexford defence and the De La Salle man who will be hoping to become only the third man to lift the Liam McCarthy Cup kept his cool and directed a ground stoke past the advancing Mark Fanning.

Pauric Mahony who finished this game as top scorer with nine points, all from placed balls knocked over the first score of the game in the first minute which was followed with a similar score from Lee Chin two minutes later.

Kevin Moran and Eoin Moore one of four changes to the Wexford team published in the programme swapped scores before Kevin Moran and Michael Walsh gave Waterford a 0-4 to 0-2 lead with six minutes played.

Pauric Mahony and Conor McDonald swapped scores which was followed with scores by Jack Guiney and Jake Dillon, which kept Waterford two in front with thirteen minutes played.

A brace of Pauric Mahony frees had Waterford four up at the end of the first quarter of this game. Jack Guiney and Darragh Fives swapped scores in the twentieth minute before Wexford enjoyed a mini purple patch as Lee Chin, Paul Morris and Diarmuid O’Keeffe in a four minute spell landed scores which cut Waterford’s lead to just one.

But Waterford hit back with scores from Pauric Mahony and then Conor and Austin Gleeson to put daylight between the sides once more with three minutes of the first half remaining.

Points from Aidan Nolan and Jack Guiney made it a two point game once more, but Waterford would head into the dressing rooms with a five point advantage, thanks to Kevin Moran’s late first half goal.

Former Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald kept Waterford waiting on the field before the second half began as he took every possible second to talk to his charges and it looked early on as if it might work as the Yellow Bellies hit the first three scores of the second half through Liam Ryan, Rory O’Connor and Lee Chin which at Waterford leading 1-12 to 0-13 after forty three minutes.

It was important that Waterford scored next and this is what they did with a brace of Pauric Mahony free’s and a monster effort from Austin Gleeson in striking a free from inside his own half of the field.

Jack O’Connor and Austin Gleeson swapped scores which kept Waterford five in front, after which Jack Guiney and Kevin Moran did which gave Waterford a 1-17 to 0-15 lead heading into the final quarter of the game.

Maurice Shanahan and Jack Guiney were next to swap scores before Diarmuid O’Keeffe and Pauric Mahony repeated the act.

Another Maurice Shanahan point was followed with one from Jack O’Connor with four minutes of the game remaining.

Fourteen man Waterford went 1-22 to 0-18 in front after Pauric Mahony and Brian O’Halloran put over points with the game in stoppage time and the latter got his second of the game two minutes into the four added minutes of stoppage time.

Jack Guiney saw a late free go over the cross bar when a goal was needed on seventy three minutes and when the same player was presented with another chance from a free seconds later, this time his effort was blocked by the Waterford wall guarding Stephen O’Keeffe’s goalmouth but they were powerless in keeping Jack O’Connor’s late consolation goal from the rebound from entering the net.

Waterford late on in the game emptied the bench and those that got match time (Thomas Ryan got just three minutes) and those that came on played a part in the win.

Wexford used four subs but they never looked like if they were going to win this game, even if they got to within one of Waterford on two occasions and were level on two other occasions, but for now they will see getting out of Division 1B of the National League this year as progress since they appointed former Clare and Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald to the top position in the model county.

WATERFORD: Stephen O’Keeffe; Barry Coughlan, Noel Connors; Tadhg de Búrca; Darragh Fives, Shane Fives, Conor Gleeson; Philip Mahony, Jamie Barron; Kevin Moran, Michael Walsh, Austin Gleeson; Pauric Mahony, Jake Dillon, Shane Bennett. Subs: Maurice Shanahan for Jake Dillon (45); Brian O’Halloran for Shane Bennett (46); Stephen Bennett for Michael Walsh (54); Colin Dunford for Jamie Barron (62); Thomas Ryan for Pauric Mahony (70+1).

Scorers: Pauric Mahony 0-9 (0-9f), Kevin Moran 1-3, Austin Gleeson 0-3 (0-1f), Brian O’Halloran, Maurice Shanahan 0-2 each, Conor Gleeson, Jake Dillon, Michael Walsh, Darragh Fives 0-1 each.

WEXFORD: Mark Fanning; James Breen, Liam Ryan; Shaun Murphy; Eoin Moore, Matthew O’Hanlon, Willie Devereux; Lee Chin, David Redmond; Paul Morris, Rory O’Connor, Conor McDonald; Diarmuid O’Keeffe, Podge Doran, Jack Guiney. Subs: Aidan Nolan for David Redmond (28); Jack O’Connor for Paul Morris (41), Harry Kehoe for Conor McDonald (59); Shane Tomkins for Podge Doran (64).

Scorers: Jack Guiney 0-6 (0-6f), Jack O’Connor 1-2, Lee Chin 0-3 (0-2f), Diarmuid O’Keeffe 0-2, Liam Ryan, Aidan Nolan, Conor McDonald, Paul Morris, Eoin Moore, Rory O’Connor 0-1 each.

Referee: Fergal Horgan (Tipperary).