800KM Round Journey for Déise Ladies

It might only be the last weekend in January but it’s a big weekend for many sides representing Waterford in different competitions. Lismore’s Camogie side travel to Kinnegad in Westmeath, Ardmore’s Junior Hurling team travel to Navan, Waterford senior Hurling and Camogie teams have games in Waterford and the Waterford Senior Football team travel to Aughrim.

Waterford’s Ladies Football team are also in action this weekend and they face the longest journey of all. If we are to use Dungarvan as a base for all players, the side face a near 800km Round trip to Drumragh in County Tyrone to play the Red Hand County in the first round of this year’s National League.

Both of these sides will feel that they are in with a chance of winning promotion from the second tier of this year’s league for the 2019 competition and will know for this to happen they will be looking for the perfect start this weekend.

The two sides may be playing in different grades when it comes to the championship, and while Waterford will be playing at a higher level in the summer months, they will not be under estimating the challenge of the home side.

When the two sides clashed in the final round of games in last year’s competition, it was the Ulster side that emerged 1-16 to 1-8 winners at the WIT Arena in Carriganore, and later in the year they ended the year playing at Croke Park where they finished as second best to what was a very strong Tipperary side in the Intermediate All-Ireland Final.

Waterford finished second from the bottom in Division two last year, but it has to be remembered that at different times in the league they played without some key players in different games.

However when the Championship came around, Waterford had all their big guns back in action and they played remarkably well in the league part of the Munster Championship, beating both Kerry and Cork at Fraher Field, but narrowly lost out to Kerry in the Munster Final at Mallow where the eventual winners kicked some late scores to steal the victory from Waterford.

In the All-Ireland Series, Waterford beat Cavan in the first round of the competition. This is a victory that Waterford will take something from going into the future as in the last few years they found it difficult to get the better of Ulster opposition in the big fixtures. And after this they put up a very solid display against a Dublin side that went on to win the All-Ireland final in front of a record attendance.

Gemma Begley is a player that Waterford will have to keep an eye on in this game as if given the chance she will punish sides, but they are by no means a one woman team as in the likes of Grainne Rafferty, Meabh Mallon, Niamh O’Neill, Áine Canavan and Emma Jane Gervin they have players that can cause problems for any side.

Waterford over the past few years has used the league to introduce young exciting players to this level of football and it is envisaged that the same could happen again this year.

Waterford have in the last few years produced some brilliant young sides and no doubt some of the best players on these sides will get the chance to show what they can do sooner rather than later.

If Waterford were to retain the services of most if not all of last year’s panel then we could expect to see the likes of Katie Hannon, the Wall, McGrath and Murray sisters, Dearbhaile Ni hAodha, Caoimhe McGrath, Róisín Tobin and Maria Delahunty etc to feature at some stage in this game.

There are no easy games in this year’s National League Division two campaign. Whoever comes out on top at the end of the campaign will be worthy winners. Waterford would have liked somewhat an easier opening game in the league than have to play Tyrone, and if they had the choice they would have liked to have the Ulster side on Déise soil. But when it comes to fixtures sides don’t get a say where they play when they take to the road.

Last year’s Munster championship campaign, their win over Cavan and the solid performance against Dublin will give the side plenty of confidence going into this game, and they will know as they begin their mammoth journey they are good enough to open this year’s league with a win.