Tribe’s Men Stand in Way of League Final Appearance for Waterford

There can be no disputing that this year’s National Hurling League has been good for Waterford.

Whoever drew up this year’s fixture list must be a Waterford fan because I doubt anyone associated with the team or even a supporter of the team could have any arguments with the way the fixtures came.

Starting with a game against Offaly, a game rightly or wrongly that Waterford lost the right to host in the Déise County because of whatever might have happened last year Waterford could not have had a better path to this Sunday’s League Semi Final at Nowlan Park.

Offaly without fear of contradiction were the weakest county to play in Division 1A or 1B this year. The Faithful County nearly four decades ago for about 20 year’s were somewhat a stronghold within the game and in that time they won their share of silverware with some fine players in their set up which those of us old enough to remember can still remember.

Playing the opening fixture in Thurles was like playing in Waterford’s own back garden for many on this Waterford panel. If the G.A.A. really wanted to inflict a punishment on Waterford they could have fixed the game for Nenagh, Carlow, Kilkenny or Portlaoise, but chose Thurles, a venue where Waterford have played more big games in recent years than they have within our own county, and almost certainly without checking the stats would have won more games that what we have in Walsh Park.

Next up for Waterford – a game against Laois in Portlaoise where Waterford again won before playing Colm Bonner’s Carlow side in round three, the Barrowsiders being the second weakest side in the group in between Offaly and Laois.

After scoring 9-65 in their first three games without the services of the Ballygunner players who were preparing for their All-Ireland Club semi final against Ballyhale Shamrocks, Pauric Fanning and his charges knew that things would not be so easy for them throughout the league and their first real test came when they travelled to Parnell Park to play Dublin.

The Dub’s in Dublin are always a difficult side to play against and it was no real surprise to see them come out on top in a tight contest (even if scores were plentiful) on a 4-15 to 1-26 score line.

Waterford’s final league game in the round robin section of the competition was against this Sunday’s opponents – Galway but it was called off at the 11^th hour after a heavy deluge of rain made the Walsh Park surface unplayable and certainly unsafe for the players.

When the Westerners returned to Walsh Park a week later Pauric Fanning’s side got back to winning way’s with a 1-18 to 2-13 win, a win that will give the side in White and Blue on Sunday much confidence going into the second of this year’s semi finals, but let’s not get carried away with beating them already as we have to remember how many times we have seen the side beaten the first day when they meet twice in close proximity be the one that learned most and come back the second day with a win.

There was never any doubt that Waterford were going to make the quarter finals of this year’s league having missed out last year when Derek McGrath’s side were relegated from the upper level for the second time in his tenure as manager.

The only real thing to be decided in so far as Waterford was concerned in the group stages of the competition is where they would finish. Waterford, Galway and Dublin were always the side’s to fight it out for the top three places and it was the side from the Capital that finished top finishing level with Waterford on eight points from a possible ten, but finished above Waterford winning the head to head between the two, with Waterford finishing with a thirty point better score difference, which would have come into play had Galway not dropped a point when they played Colm Bonner’s Carlow side.

Galway in their other games in the group section beat Dublin, Offaly and Laois to finish behind Dublin and Waterford by one point.

The quarter final paring last week also proved to be somewhat kind to Waterford, getting paired with Clare and winning the toss to host the game in Walsh Park after both sides initially were given three home games each in the group stages of the competition.

Limerick and Tipperary could well have proven much tougher opposition that what Clare opposed and had they played against Davy Fitzgerald’s Wexford they would have faced the sort of challenge you know you will get when you play against any side coached by the former Waterford manager.

Waterford last week racked up another very impressive win, recording a facile 0-31 to 1-14 win while Galway in their quarter final game in Pearse Stadium proved too good for Wexford winning 3-21 to 3-11.

Both sides have made changes from last weekend for this game and at first glance most hurling supporters will agree that the two sides that they are putting out on Sunday afternoon will be somewhat different to the sides they are likely to put out in the championship in a few weeks time.

Galway could well be well in contention to win another All-Ireland Final this year. Last time out in beating Wexford they had just six players out which started last year’s All-Ireland Final against Limerick, which would suggest that Micheál Donoghue has an abundance of talent at his disposal. Even for this game they have resisted on calling on players from County Champions Saint Thomas’ like Daithi Burke, David Burke and Conor Cooney but we could well see them involved at some stage, and with managers often making changes to the published teams in recent year’s could we see them even come in from the off.

Waterford last weekend looked very impressive in chalking up 31 points against Clare. It’s not every day that a side will put up such a tally and to not hit a goal or two, but in doing so it will give the team plenty of confidence going into this game.

Galway has decided to bring in Ronan Burke, Johnny Coen, Kevin Hussey and Davy Glennon to the side which beat Wexford last week with Jack Grealish, Sean Loftus, Sean Bleahene and Thomas Monaghan the players missing out.

Waterford make one change less to the side which beat Clare last week as Pauric Fanning, James Murray and Pa Kearney have brought in Tadhg Bourke, Colin Dunford and Thomas Ryan to the side with Colm Roche, Jack Prendergast and Peter Hogan the players to miss out.

Most pundits are making the 2017 All-Ireland Champions favourites to win this game, but a win for Waterford here could well be much more important that it would be for Galway.

There is no doubting that they are going to come out in the Leinster Championship to play the All-Ireland series, the only thing to be decided is where they will finish in the group and if they win the provincial title.

For Waterford there is no guarantee that they will come out of Munster, even with two games to be played in Walsh Park this year. This is not a defeatist thing to say, it is realistic as there is little between the five competing Munster Sides. Cork and Tipperary might not be involved in the League Semi Final’s Cork last week played a nonsensical relegation play off with Kilkenny, a game that was in effect a revenue taker for the G.A.A. but both will be there or there about come the championship. So too will Limerick who will not want to give back the Liam McCarthy Cup with a good fight. Whether they can retain it or not is a thing that we have to see.

The League is an ideal opportunity to win some silverware for Waterford. There is no doubt that if Waterford can go into the championship on the back of winning a league it would give the side plenty of confidence going into the championship.

Last year Waterford went into the championship after getting relegated from Division 1A, something that might have played a part in a disappointing championship, as there is nothing like going into the championship on the back of a winning run.

Let’s not forget that Waterford’s best chance of winning a first All-Ireland Final since 1959 was back in 2007 and that year Waterford went into the championship on the back of a league win, and Galway in 2017 went into the championship on the back of winning the league.

There is some that will tell you that in the modern game it’s all about the championship, but we must never lose sight that the league is still a very important competition and it is one of two National Pieces of silverware that a handful of teams can win each year.

When it comes to silverware while Waterford’s fate has improved since the turn of the Millennium,  winning a number of Munster titles and a National League as well as blooding future inter county senior hurlers on the college’s scene where Waterford won four Dr Harty Cup’s and two Dr Croke titles as well as an Under 21 Muster Final and a Minor and Under 21 All-Ireland Final, but the one that we want most still alludes us Waterford fans.

Will 2019 see the end of a sixty year Famine; right now it’s hard to tell. We can hope and pray it does at this stage. But there is a chance that Silverware can be won before that. But for that to happen, Pauric Fanning’s side first have to overcome the challenge of Galway in Nowlan Park.

Will Waterford beat Galway in Nowlan Park on Sunday, I have a feeling they will, and while that will throw the county board’s plan’s for the Club Championship up in the air, I think most of us will agree that it would be worth it, if it meant Silverware was to come to the Déise County.

But let’s not get too carried away right now with what might happen in the coming weeks and months. Let’s just get over the challenge that Galway will put up first.

Galway: Fergal Flannery; Paul Killeen, Ronan Burke, Darren Morrissey; Aidan Harte, Padraig Mannion, Gearoid McInerney; Cathal Mannion, Johnny Coen; Niall Burke, Joe Canning, Kevin Hussey; Conor Whelan, Brian Concannon, Davy Glennon.

Waterford: Stephen O’Keeffe; Shane McNulty, Calum Lyons, Noel Connors; Philip Mahony, Tadhg Bourke, Kevin Moran; Jamie Barron, Austin Gleeson; Colin Dunford, Mikey Kearney, Pauric Mahony; Thomas Ryan, Stephen Bennett, Shane Bennett.