Saint Mary’s And Ballydurn in Repeat of County Final of 30 Years Ago

Apart from in the senior grades in the history of the G.A.A. in Waterford to see two clubs playing at the same venue in the same competition compete in a County Final, some years apart. On Saturday afternoon next we are going to see it happen when Saint Mary’s from Touraneena and Ballydurn clash in this year’s County Junior Hurling Final at Walsh Park.

Both of these two sides are not strangers to competing at this level of competition. Saint Mary’s reached the County Final at this grade in 2015 and 2016 losing out to Fenor and Ballyduff Lower respectfully, while Ballydurn reached the final in 2017 losing out to an Ardmore side that went on to win the Munster and All-Ireland titles, and twelve months ago the mid county side reached the final of the competition in the east of the county where they lost out to Tramore.

The same two clubs met in the first round of this year’s championship where Ballydurn reversed lat years loss in winning 1-12 to 1-10 and since then it was wins all the way for the club apart from when they drew 0-13 to 1-10 against Ballygunner’s third string side.

In their divisional semi final they had a 3-11 to 1-10 win over Mount Sion and for the second year in a row they played Tramore in the Eastern Final this time winning 3-14 to 0-12.

Saint Mary’s path to this year’s County Final is equally as impressive. Coached by former Waterford hurler and Player of the Year Dan Shanahan, the Touraneena outfit opened their championship with a loss to Abbeyside on a 1-21 to 2-7 score line but since then it is wins all the way recording wins over Colligan Rockies, Tourin and Kilrossanty in the group section of the competition and getting a walk over from Geraldines.

In their semi final it was a local derby game for Saint Mary’s against Colligan Rockies a game that Saint Mary’s won in impressive fashion on a 5-9 to 3-9 score line and in the Western Final they reversed the result of their opening game of this year’s Competition winning 1-14 to 0-11 at Fraher Field recently.

The Touraneena Club also had a good run in the West Waterford Intermediate Hurling League reaching the final against Brickey Rangers ahead of some of the stronger sides playing in the higher grade. This game was to take place back in August but was called off following a death in the Brickey’s Club.

This year’s County Final will see the best two sides over the past four years to play in this competition do battle against year other and for one of them they will contest the Intermediate grade in 2020, meaning one of these sides will have to contest the junior grade once more.

Thirty years ago this year Saint Mary’s and Ballydurn coached by former Kilkenny great Christy Heffernan clashed in the Junior Hurling County Final again at Walsh Park and on that occasion it was the West Waterford Club that emerged as victors in a low scoring game, and went on to play in the Western and for a while the County Intermediate Hurling Championships until they were relegated some years back.

For the Sliabh gCua/Saint Mary’s G.A.A. Club in Touraneena (they play football under the name of Sliabh gCua and hurling as Saint Mary’s – in the same way their opponents this weekend are Ballydurn in Hurling and Newtown in Football), 1989 was a memorable year. Just a few weeks ahead County Final win on November 19 Sliabh gCua won the Intermediate Football Championship beating Portlaw in the Final at Fraher Field, and they won the double in dramatic fashion coming from behind to beat a side who had to line out without future inter county star Peter Queally following his sending off in a Divisional game in the run up to this final.

The opening half of this game proved to be a very low scoring affair, where the defence of both sides were on top of the game stopping the attacking players from the opposition with all their might as they contested every ball as you would expect them to do so.

Just three points were hit in those opening thirty minutes, and all came from placed balls. It was Ballydurn that opened the scoring on four minutes from a Michael Hubbard free which maybe would have suggested that those inside the ground were in for a score fest but it was not to be.

Saint Mary’s levelled matters from a Lar Whelan free four minutes after Ballydurn had taken the lead and the same player pointed again from a free at the mid way points in the opening half to give the Touraneena side the lead and this was how the way the game remained until Paddy ‘Tyler’ Walsh blew his half time whistle fifteen plus minutes later.

Saint Mary’s in the second half had the breeze at their backs in the second half and they looked to making use of it in the third quarter of this game as Pa Hallinan from a ’65 and Kieran Hallahan with the first score from play gave the Touraneena side a 0-4 to 0-1 lead with 41 minutes played.

The game however appeared to have taken a turn just three minutes later as Nick Halley got inside the Saint Mary’s full back line and beat John Fitzpatrick in the Saint Mary’s goal after he dribbled the sliotar along the ground, a skill which we sadly seldom see in the modern game, and finished to the net to level matters on the score board.

Tom Condon hit back with a fine point for Saint Mary’s but his effort was cancelled out two minutes after Ballydurn had hit the first goal of the game when Ger Bagge shot over to level matters once more and at this time Ballydurn appeared to be the better of the two sides.

The mid county side took the lead for the first time on 47 minutes when Nick Halley got his second score of the game, this time a minor score in comparison to his earlier score.

Eight minutes from time Saint Mary’s won a 20 metre free in the corner where the tunnel leads to the dressing rooms. Lar Whelan had responsibility of striking the close range frees and as he stood over it, it looked as if he was going to level matters. A free even from a tight angle for a free taker of Lar Whelan’s ability was almost certainly going to result in a point. But this time a point did not result.

The local papers in reporting on the game claimed that the Saint Mary’s man mishit the sliotar and that its flight deceived everyone and fell into Billy Walsh’s net to give Saint Mary’s a 1-5 to 1-3 lead.

Was the shot mishit? Three years later a certain Paul Flynn burst onto the National Scene in Inter County Hurling helping Waterford to reach an All-Ireland Minor Final and to win an All-Ireland Under 21 title. The Ballygunner man over the course of a long number of years made a name for himself as a free taker of repute where on more than one occasion he had the umpire reaching for a green flag when it looked the one was not one. Not once can yours truly remember anyone calling any of the Ballygunner Club Man’s scores a fluke or lucky. The word class was more likely it came to the Ballygunner mans ability to get goals from his free taking, so as a Touraneena man, in this instance I am going to insist that what Lar Whelan did back in 1989 was class and maybe if a certain young man from Ballygunner was in attendance on the day what he did on many occasions might be only replicating what he saw from the Touraneena man or at least heard about. That is my story and that is the way that I am going to keep it at for this piece anyway.

Saint Mary’s won the restart and when Eamonn Butler got his hands of the ball he made no mistake in firing over the head of Billy Walsh in the Ballydurn goal to edge the Western Club three points in front.

Ballydurn in the closing minutes threw all they could at the Saint Mary’s defence to get something from the game, but all their got for their efforts was a consolation score by Michael Hubbard as Saint Mary’s held on for a 1-6 to 1-4 win.

Saint Mary’s: John Fitzpatrick; Brendan Tobin, John Dalton, Rodger McGrath; Pat Hearn, Pa Hallinan, John Hallinan; Ger Butler, Tom Condon; Tom Whelan, Eamon Butler, Eamon Lonergan; Kieran Hallahan, Dec White, Lar Whelan.

Scorers: Lar Whelan 1-2 (all frees), Pa Hallinan (65), Kieran Hallahan, Tom Condon, Eamon Butler 0-1 each.

Ballydurn: Billy Walsh; Tomás Kirwan, Jim Harney, Jason Boland; Bill Cummins, Kieran Dunphy, Paul O’Donnell; John Harney, Michael Hubbard; Ger Bagge, Nick Halley, David Dunphy; Noel Harney, Ger Boland, Tony Boland.

Subs: John Halley for Paul O’Donnell; Ben O’Donnell for Jason Boland; D O’Sullivan for Noel Harney.

Scorers: Nicky Halley 1-1; Michael Hubbard 0-2, Ger Bagge 0-1.

Referee: Paddy (Tyler) Walsh

 

Paths to the Final 2019:

Ballydurn     1-12    Tramore                    1-10

Ballydurn     2-14    Kilmacthomas         0-11

Ballydurn     1-16    Passage                     0-16

Ballydurn     0-13    Ballygunner             1-10

Ballydurn     0-19    Mount Sion              1-12

Ballydurn     2-14    Roanmore                 1-14

Ballydurn     0-0      Bunmahon   Gave Walkover

Ballydurn     3-11    Mount Sion              1-10 (Semi Final)

Ballydurn     3-14    Tramore                    0-12 (Eastern Final)

 

Saint Mary’s            2-7      Abbeyside                 1-21

Saint Mary’s            0-20    Colligan Rockies     0-13

Saint Mary’s            1-17    Tourin                       1-15

Saint Mary’s            4-24    Kilrossanty               2-3

Saint Mary’s            0-0      Geraldines    gave walkover

Saint Mary’s            5-9      Colligan                    3-9 (semi Final)

Saint Mary’s            1-14    Abbeyside                 0-11 (Western Final)

Saint Saviours Return To Senior Ranks after Narrow County Final Win

It is a 200 mile plus round trip from Templenoe in County Kerry, the home of Kerry great Pat Spillane to Fraher Field, and if anyone made the trip this afternoon to see their first round opponents in the Munster Club Intermediate Club Football Championship in two weeks time will in a way have considered it to be somewhat of a wasted journey even if there is some splendid scenery along the way, and have gone home with few fears that they should advance to a Munster Semi Final and an away meeting with the Cork Champions the following weekend.

To say that this year’s County Final was a dull affair would be an understatement, but for Saint Saviours they won’t mind how poor a game was played between two sides that we know can play some good football, as they have won back their place in the senior championship after they were relegated three seasons ago.

For Modeligo the defeat today means that it is two defeats in twelve months at the same stage of the competition which at times can be hard to take and more over because we all know had they won here, or even twelve months ago when they lost out to Kilmacthomas they would have added to the senior football championship.

Many of us neutrals went into this game expecting a big performance from Darragh Corcoran. However to put so much pressure on young shoulders is often dangerous, and while he did not have the same impact as he did in the East Waterford Divisional Championship, maybe because Modeligo did not allow him to have the same impact, maybe the pressure got to him, but again the Ballybeg based club wont won’t mind this evening. He played a big part in getting them back into the senior championship, the only city club to be involved next year, but this maybe allowed others to have their day in the limelight today.

Gareth Duffy was not named to start on the programme, but all that are following this year’s championship had a fair idea that he would be playing and even that it was Joseph Phelan the Saint Saviours number ten would be the player to miss out. The 30 year old member of the Defence Forces produced a Man of the Match performance hitting half of his sides scores in this game all from play, while at the opposite end of the field Kevin Boland pushed him hard all the way, and it was only after Duffy kicked the winner in stoppage time at the end of the hour that the assembled members of the written press who pick the Man of the Match agreed to give it to the Saint Saviours number 17.

Modeligo will not need any telling that it could be a said that this is a game that they very much lost. They depended very much on the oldest and youngest of the Troy brothers Shane and Michael when it came to scoring for the West Waterford club. Between then they split equally six of their side’s seven points in this game.

They over the course of the sixty plus minutes in this game produced the greater number of scoring chances in this game, but time and time again, they tried to literally walk the ball close in front of the Saint Saviours goal instead of kicking from distance, and in over working the ball they more often than not found that before they could get a shot at goal the chances were smothered by a strong Saint Saviours defence.

The city side looked as if they were off to a flying start in this game when Darragh Corcoran split the posts with just fourteen seconds of the game played, but it was Modeligo that proved to be the better of the two sides for the remainder of the opening quarter of this game as John Devine pointed on three minutes and Michael Troy edged the Western Club in front six minutes later, and while Saint Saviours drew level just short of the midway point of the opening half with an excellent score from Shaun Corcoran from out on the bank side of the field while attacking the town goal, in truth by this point Modeligo could and should have been in front by a few points, but they were found guilty on more than one occasion of trying to walk the ball into a position close to their opponents goal rather than kick from out the field, only to be denied by some good defending on a number of occasions by the Saint Saviours defence.

The new county champions however proved to be the better of the two sides in the second quarter and were full value for their three point lead at the break,

Michael Troy edged Modeligo back in front on 19 minutes but this proved to be his sides last score of the opening half.

Man of the Match Duffy hit the first of his scores with five minutes of the first half remaining and two minutes later Darragh Corcoran gave his side the lead when he put over a free which looked from the stand to be rather dubious and the feeling was that it should have gone in the opposite direction.

And the Ballybeg based club would finish the half strong, going to the dressing rooms with a 0-6 to 0-3 advantage showing on the score board thanks to a brace of points both off the boot of Gareth Duffy within two minutes of each other before the game went into stoppage time.

Scores in the second half were hard won. After an early exchange of scores between Michael Troy and Brian Power, Modeligo moved closer on the score board to Saint Saviours when Shane Troy put over his first score of the game on 39 minutes.

And it was the same player that hit the games next two scores, both frees struck on 54 and 56 minutes to tie the scoring as the city side began to show signs of indiscipline at the back and getting punished for doing so.

With the hour up and four added minutes signalled to be played at the end of the hour for stoppages it looked as if the County Board would have an unexpected extra pay day as the two sides would have to return to the same venue this coming weekend to do it all over again, but as we have seen no game is over till the final whistle is blown and often in added time there is plenty of time for someone to make a name for themselves.

In the first minute of added time it was Gareth Duffy that proved to be the match winner for Saint Saviours as he gave his side a deserved lead and to inflict on Modeligo a second county final defeat at the same grade inside twelve months of each other.

Saint Saviours: Anthony Kiely; Darren Boland, Kevin Boland, Peter Crowley; Jack Flavin, Jack Brophy, Michael Merrigan; Keylan Cassidy, Kieran Murphy; Gareth Duffy, Shaun Corcoran, Kiefer Dowling; Brian Power, Darragh Corcoran, Brian Quinn.

Subs: Joseph Phelan for Kiefer Dowling (37), Martin Holohan for Michael Merrigan (46), David Griffin for Brian Power (54), Kyle Kennedy for Brian Quinn (54).

Scorers: Gareth Duffy 0-4, Darragh Corcoran 0-2 (1f), Shaun Corcoran, Brian Power 0-1 each.

Modeligo: Thomas Walsh; Robbie Buckley, Brian McCarthy, John McGrath; Sean Hennessy, Sean O’Donovan, Keith Hickey; Rian Reddy, Mick Devine; John Devine, Patrick O’Donovan, Niall Browne; Michael Troy, Shane Troy, Gavin Dalton.

Subs: Patrick Walsh for Patrick O’Donovan (HT), Bernard Wright for Gavin Dalton (41), Cian O’Byrne for Niall Browne (42), Jamie Troy for Michael Troy (54). 

Scorers: Michael Troy, Shane Troy (3f), 0-3 each, John Devine 0-1

Referee: Alan Kissane.

Ballymacarbry Good Enough To Dethrone Munster and All-Ireland Champions

It is that time of the year again. You know it, or you should know it by now. It is time for the two best Ladies Football Club sides in Munster in recent years Cork’s Mourne Abbey and Waterford’s Ballymacarbry in this year’s Munster Ladies Football Final, with the game being switched this evening from Cahir to up the road in Bansha.

These two sides will know each other well as they have met on a number of occasions in recent years, and it is fair to say that there is very little that one can throw at the other side that they won’t know about their opponents, maybe with the exception of a new young player that might have not featured in one of these games in recent times.

The Cork side will go into this game as favourites. They recently won a sixth county final in a row in Cork beating West Cork on a 4-9 to 1-9 score line, an incredible achievement for any club in any sport.

But keep this quite, it might have gone un noticed by some, and if it has it was by a very small number of people, their opponents in this final Ballymacarbry recently celebrated a THIRTY-EIGHT yes that is 38 County Senior Ladies Football Final in a row, beating Comeragh Rangers recently 1-14 to 0-14 in Lemybrien, meaning that if the Cork side as impressive their dominance is in Rebel Land, they have some catching up to do if they are to surpass what Ballymacarbry have done over the past four decades.

When the sides met at the same stage of the Provincial Competition at Cahir twelve months ago it was the Cork Side that ran out winners on a 1-16 to 2-9 score line and they went on to win the All-Ireland Final last December beating Dublin Champions Foxrock/Cabinteely 1-13 to 1-7 at Parnell Park having lost out in three previous All-Ireland Club Finals.

The strength that the Cork side have in their ranks can be seen when you consider that their opponents West Cork had ten members of the Cork Senior Ladies Football Panel in their team and we all know how strong Ladies Football in Cork is in the past decade and a half and all they have won.

In that game Mourne Abbey showed why they are the reigning Munster and All-Ireland Champions as players like the O’Sullivan sisters – Doireann, Ciara, Róisín and Meabh, Eimear Meaney, Marie O’Callaghan, Noelle Healy and Brid O’Sullivan to name but a few produced a class performance for their club.

When the sides met at Cahir last year, the Cork side had to work hard to win a fifth Munster Final in a row, as Ballymacarbry gave them a run for their money.

Supporters might remember that there was a long hold up in that game as the sides waited for 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive at the ground to remove Treasa McGrath one of a number of players who play inter county football with Tipperary that play their club football with Ballymacarbry after she picked up a serious injury.

Doireann O’Sullivan produced a performance to remember in that game a she finished the game with nine points behind her name of the score sheet, but she did not manage to finish as top scorer in that game, as Sinead Ryan produced an amazing performance at the other end of the field finishing the game with 2-5 behind her name on the score sheet.

Many if not all of the players on show on Sunday afternoon will be known to each other. For the Cork side Meabh O’Sullivan would be expected to start between the posts, with Aisling O’Sullivan, Eimear Meaney and Sandra Conroy in the full back line and Kathryn Coakley, Róisín O’Sullivan and Anna Ryan in the half back line.

Middle of the field in their county final win saw Marie O’Callaghan and Niamh O’Sullivan link up while in attack the Cork champions could be very dangerous as Ciara and Brid O’Sullivan would be expected to feature in the half forward line along with Síle O’Callaghan, while the inside forward line could see Ellie Jack, Doireann O’Sullivan and Noelle Healy feature.

In the world of Gaelic Football lots of talk has taken place in recent years about splitting Dublin in two such is their dominance in the game, something that will never happen, or at least not anytime in the near future.

There has been some joking about Ballymacarbry’s dominance in Waterford in Ladies Football about splitting the team into two or four, something I joined in on myself knowing that those that started the debate were doing so in a bit of banter.

They will come into this game showing some changes to the team that played Mourne Abbey last year, and could well put out the same side which won the County Final last month.

That will mean Lauren Fitzpatrick playing in goal with Muireann Boyce, Michelle McGrath and Maeve Ryan in the full back line with Mairead Wall, Karen McGrath and Laura Mulcahy playing in front of them.

The middle of the field battle could well play a part in who wins this year’s title and in Michelle Ryan and Kelly Anne Hogan Ballymacarbry have two players, one of which has done it all, one of which has a very bright future ahead of her.

In attack Aileen Wall, Brigita Valuntaite who was a sub in last week’s win over Clare side Kilmihil and Louise Ryan would be expected to feature while the inside forward line of Sinead Ryan, Abbie Dalton and Eibhlis Cooney would cause most side problems.

Mourne Abbey’s dominance in Munster in recent years will have to come to an end at some stage, just as Ballymacarbry’s dominance in the past had to come to an end. It will take a good side that will do it, and they won’t need any telling that this is a very good Ballymacarbry side. So will Mourne Abbey’s reign as Munster and All-Ireland Champions come to an end at Bansha on Sunday? I have a feeling that it might.

Difficult but Winnable Start for Gailltir in Munster Club Championship

Battles within the GAA between sides from Waterford and Cork are nothing new. Down the years in the world of hurling the two counties have built up a terrific rivalry and you don’t have to go back too far in your memory to think of some terrific battles between the two sides.

On Sunday afternoon another fantastic battle between two sides one from Waterford the other from Cork is set to take place when Gailltir Camogie Club make the 200 mile plus round trip deep into the South West of Cork for this year’s Munster Intermediate Club semi final.

Twelve months ago the girls from the Barony won this competition and went on to play in the All-Ireland Final at Croke Park only to have finished second best on the day. Had they won that day it would have been a fairy tale end to a year where they were celebrating the 60^th Anniversary of their formation back in 1958.

But the disappointment of that feeling in Croke Park, the stage where every G.A.A. member dreams of playing at, at least once in their in their playing career can be a very lonely one and there can be no doubt that since that day the players involved will one day want to experience the opposite feeling and would want to do it as quickly as possible.

There can be no doubt that it would have played on their minds along the way in the County Championship one which they played well beating Cappoquin and Dungarvan in the group stages of the competition and then recording wins over An Rinn and Saint Anne’s in the quarter and semi finals respectfully before recording an excellent 2-17 to 0-4 win over Cappoquin in the County Final recently at the WIT Arena in Carriganore in front of arguably the biggest attendance to witness a Camogie Game in the Déise County in the history of the game.

But before Gailltir can think about experiencing what it is like to win on All-Ireland Final Day at Croke Park there is a few more hurdles to overcome before they head into the final straight, the first coming this Sunday when they take on the Cork Intermediate Champions Newcestown to play the Cork Club on their own patch.

They come into this game on the back of a narrow 2-9 to 2-8 win over their near neighbours Enniskeane in the Cork Intermediate County Final recently at the Cork County Camogie Grounds at Castle Road in Cork.

In that game they had a Player of the Match performance from Ciara O’Sullivan, a two time All-Ireland winning Cork minor who shot 1-5 in that victory and is clearly a player that the Gailltir defenders will have to keep a close eye on.

Newcestown twelve months ago reached the semi finals of the Intermediate Championship in the Rebel County and clearly built on that loss this year. And against their neighbours in the County Final they did not have it easy as they fell behind to an Orla Cronin goal inside the opening minute of the game.

But they refused to let their heads drop after the disappointing start and the way they went on to win the game shows how good a side that they are and the treat they pose to Gailltir.

After such an exciting win in the County Final, Newcestown selectors would be expected to give a vote of confidence to the team that started that day.

This should mean that Orla Dineen will start in goal, with Mary McSweeney, Aoife O’Sullivan who scored 1-1 in that win and Siobhan Kelleher in the half back line. Grace Ryan and Aisling O’Donovan would be expected to start either side of Meabh Lynch in the half back line with Emma Tarrant and Lauren Whelan in the middle of the field.

There could be a lot of danger to the Gailltir backs in the way the Cork club line out in the half forwards and in their county final Ciara O’Sullivan despite being named at full forward played in between Suzanne Deasy and Meabh O’Donovan in the half forward line while the inside forward line could well consist of Evelyn Crowley, Maria Kenneally and Aoife O’Sullivan.

If Newcestown were to be expected to give a vote of confidence to the side that won the County Final on Cork, the same could well be said of Gailltir after the way they beat Cappoquin in the Waterford final recently.

Right throughout the Gailltir side there is ability in abundance from number one to number fifteen and even in reserve they have players that have won All-Ireland Medals at different levels.

Ciara Jackman will start between the posts. The Gailltir net minder is one of the best in the business and in another county she would be the number one when it comes to the inter county scene but she is up against Brianna O’Regan who is equally as good as the Gailltir number one.

Áine O’Keeffe, Margo Heffernan and Claire Dunne would be expected to again start in the full back line, with Clodagh Carroll, Emma Hannon and Trish Jackman in front of them in what is an outstanding half back line.

In the middle of the field Kate Lynch and Shauna Fitzgerald are two young players with a great future ahead of them, while in attack the ladies from the Barony are extremely strong.

Ciara O’Sullivan, Anne Corcoran and Annie Fitzgerald who shared seven points in the county final win over Cappoquin would once more be expected to start in the half forward line with Aoife Fitzgerald, Áine Lyng and Emer Walsh who hit 2-3 between them against Cappoquin would be expected to continue closest to the Newcestown goal for Gailltir.

Gailltir will be expecting a much closer game here than which they did against Cappoquin in the County Final, the Corner Stone Club deserving great credit to get to the final, while Newcestown will be expecting a game in line with what they had in their county final win.

There can only be one winner, and here you can’t but think that the experience that Gailltir have picked up along the way over the past few years will help them to come out on top and advance to this year’s Munster Final.

Modeligo and Saint Saviours Battle For Senior Football Spot In 2020

Who takes Portlaw’s place in the County Senior Football Championship in 2020 after the tannery men lost out to Brickey Rangers in a relegation play-off at Fraher Field last Friday evening should be known this Saturday evening after Saint Saviours and Modeligo do battle in this year’s Intermediate Football Final at Fraher Field.

Modeligo are back in a County Final for the second year in a row, having lost out to Kilmacthomas in last year’s final while the side from the outskirts of Waterford city will be looking to win back a place in the senior championship after they were relegated three years ago after playing in the top grade of football since winning the Intermediate Championship back in 1987 where they beat Shamrocks.

Many expected them to come straight back up at the first time of asking but they had to play in what is a very competitive Intermediate Championship, one which is much more difficult to call than the senior championship, something borne out by the fact that the intermediate clubs that have come up in recent years have all done well in against the stronger sides and whichever of these two sides emerge as the victors on Saturday evening would be fancied to give a good account of themselves playing in the senior grade next year, even if nobody would expect them to reach the latter stages of the competition.

Saint Saviours come into this weekend’s County Final without losing any game which they have played to do so. In the group stages of the competition, they recorded wins over Bunmahon, De La Salle, Newtown, Tramore and finally Kill, clocking up some very impressive tallies along the way.

They received a bye into the eastern final by virtue of finishing top of the group and in the last four they came up against Newtown where they recorded a massive 2-15 to 1-4 win and they were equally as good in their recent Eastern Final at Gracedieu where they had a massive 3-14 to 1-7 win over Kill, a result that will give them plenty of confidence going into this weekend’s County Final.

Modeligo’s path to this weekend’s County Final on paper is not as impressive. They began with a draw against Ballinameela, one of the sides most fancied to win this year’s competition before a ball had been kicked. This was followed up with a win over Dungarvan, before losing out to another of the more fancied sides Ballinacourty who had a second string selection playing in this grade.

They got back to winning ways in beating Colligan Emmett’s in another local derby game and finished off the league section of the competition with a loss in yet another Local Derby game, this time against Sliabh gCua.

In the quarter finals they had little problems in beating Ballinameela in yet another local derby clash under the lights at Lemybrien, which set up a semi final against Dungarvan from which they emerged as victors to set up a recent Western Final clash with Colligan Emmet’s.

In that game Modeligo looked to be cruising to victory when they lead 1-8 to 0-4 with 36 minutes played, but the side won the Junior Championship a few short years back came back into the game and in the end were somewhat unlucky not to have won the game.

Saint Saviours in this game will be able to call on some very experienced players. Darragh Corcoran will be known as a player of some ability to most football supporters while they will be able to call upon the likes of Anthony Kiely in goal, Kevin Boland, Peter Crowley, Mickey Merrigan, Kieran Murphy, Keelan Cassidy, Gareth Duffy, Brian Power and Shaun Corcoran.

Modeligo also have some fine players to pick from. Mick and John Devine are younger brothers of former inter county hurler Tom, brothers Shane, Michael and Jamie Troy are all good footballers as are Nicky and Pa O’Donovan while goalkeeper Thomas Walsh will be well known to many as one of the best referee’s in the county.

This could well prove to be a good game to watch and it is fair to assume that whichever side leaves Fraher Field as the victors all football supporters will be looking forward to seeing how they acquit themselves in the senior grade in 2020.

There can be no doubting that possibly the key to how this game will finish might be on how Darragh Corcoran plays for Saint Saviours. It would be wrong to put too much pressure on his shoulders as nobody can win a game on their own in a team game, but most football supporters in the county will be aware that he is a fantastic prospect and many look forward to seeing what direction his playing career goes in the coming years.

It can be assumed that he will take up one of the central positions in his side’s forward line and it would be interesting to see who will be given the task of marking him. Sean O’Donovan, a son of Nick who was one of the finest footballers in the county in times past is possibly the obvious choice but will the Modeligo selectors be willing to take him out of their half back line should Corcoran take up a position in the full forward line, and more over if he was to play on the wing or in one of the corners.

Saint Saviours have some players that have played in the senior ranks up to fairly recently and that would be seen as a plus to them going into this game as experience is often important. They have also been able to bring in some good young players since they were relegated and they will also be important to their chances in this game.

Modeligo have the advantage of playing in last year’s final where as I said they lost out to Kilmacthomas and should be able to call on most if not all of that side in this game. It is often said that to win a title you have to lose one, and after losing out twelve months ago to Kilmacthomas there should be the hunger in the side in green and white to make up for that loss.

Twelve months ago I fancied my neighbouring club to come out on top at Carrickbeg, and I fancy them to do so again this year, but I would not be too surprised if Saint Saviours were to ruin my prediction this year as Kilmacthomas did last year.

Title Number Ten for Rathgormack Who Break Big Three Dominance over Last Twenty Years

The dominance of the big three in Waterford football is broken and it is the last side to win the county senior football championship outside of Stradbally, The Nire and Ballinacourty that are the new County Senior Football Champions in the Déise County.

First half goals from Paul Drohan and William Hahessy proved decisive in this game for the winners, and while Ballinacourty started the second half with a goal inside sixty seconds of the restart which helped cut Rathgormack’s 2-4 to 0-5 half time lead, the West Waterford side never capitalised on this score, hitting just one further score in what was an overall low scoring game.

The winners did not fare much better themselves in the second half when they had the breeze at their back’s and playing into what is often perceived to be the scoring goal at the town end of Fraher Field as they landed just two points in the thirty plus minutes played by referee Anthony Fitzgerald.

Played out in front of a very healthy attendance of just under 2,100 Rathgormack will have to wait a little longer to see who they will play in the first round of the Munster Club Championship. Drawn against the Clare Champions earlier this year, while this game was going ahead in Fraher Field this afternoon at the same time in Ennis near neighbours Kilmurry-Ibrickane and Miltown-Malbay were fighting out a nine point each draw in Ennis, a result that will allow Rathgormack manager Ger Power and his selectors the chance to see their opponents in action when the replay takes place.

Much has been said of the dominance of the big three when it comes to football in Waterford. Since the turn of the Millennium up to today Stradbally, The Nire and Ballinacourty had shared all titles won at this grade between them, and now that their dominance is broken it will give plenty of hope to the group of three or four clubs that are working hard in recent years to close the gap between them and the big three.

It was Rathgormack that opened the scoring on four minutes when Jason Curry split the posts but not before former inter county goalkeeper Stephen Enright went full stretch to keep an effort from Jason Curry going on his right hand side.

Ballinacourty levelled matters two minutes later through Sean Whelan Barrett who split the posts at the town end of the ground, but Rathgormack went back in front when Jason Gleeson was quickest to react when Stephen Curry’s effort came off the Ballinacourty post.

The feeling amongst many was if Rathgormack could get off to a good start in this game as they did when they beat Stradbally in the semi final they stood a good chance of winning, and it they might get that good start as the game entered its second quarter. The Rathgormack attack opened up the Ballinacourty defence as they did a number of times against Stradbally and when Jason Curry played in Jason Gleeson it looked as if he had a goal at his mercy but he saw his effort go wide of the upright.

Rathgormack did not have to wait long however for the first green flag of the afternoon to be waved as with the very next attack after James Power ran at the Ballinacourty defence he laid the ball off to Paul Drohan who palmed the size five past Stephen Enright in the Ballinacourty goal.

Ballinacourty’s response was a good one. David Looby put over a free on 18 minutes which was followed with a Mark Ferncombe point from distance and a Sean Whelan Barrett point his second of the afternoon on 22 minutes.

One of the players that has impressed in Rathgormack’s run to being crowned County Senior Football Champions is Willie Hahessy. The wing back who has two All-Ireland Underage Medals has made a habit of breaking into the opposition half of the field to create chances for himself and others, and he got his name on the score sheet in fine fashion when on 22 minutes after some good work by Conor Murray and James Power he finished to the net to give his side a 2-2 to 0-4 lead.

David Looby from a free and Sean Whelan Barrett landed scores for Ballinacourty with Stephen Curry responding for Rathgormack which had the eventual winners in front 2-3 to 0-5 with five minutes of the first half remaining.

Just one more score was hit in the first half off the boot of Stephen Curry. Ballinacourty were feeling they were in a game in this one and they sent on Patrick Hurney who missed the win over The Nire in the semi final as a result of his sending off against Kilrossanty in the quarter finals, replacing Mark Twomey but there was not enough time left for him in the opening half to make an impact before the break as referee Anthony Fitzgerald blew the half time whistle soon after his entry with Rathgormack leading 2-4 to 0-5.

A score soon after the restart could often be the making or the killing of the game for a side, and when Ballinacourty goaled inside a minute of the restart to leave just two points between the sides it looked as if it was going to be game on and a terrific battle in the following 29 plus minutes would ensure.

If Patrick Hurney did not have enough time in the first half to make any sort of impact he started the second with some fruit for thought for the Ballinacourty selectors who had left him out of the starting fifteen as he left a cross field pass off to Sean Whelan Barrett who hit the Rathgormack post with Padraig Hunt beaten between the posts and in a crowded goal the ball appeared to come off the body of Cathal Crowch with Mark Ferncombe the closest Ballinacourty player to him who indicated that he might have also got a touch on the ball.

When four minutes later David Looby put over his third free of the game to leave just one between the sides, it looked as if it would be the side in green and white that would win a fourth final since 2007. But they missed a great chance to go in front on 38 minutes when Neil Montgomery shot wide when it looked as if a goal was on the cards.

Scores in the second half were hard won. Jason Curry put Rathgormack two in front from a free on 42 minutes. Despite trailing Ballinacourty were creating chances but they could not get past a strong Rathgormack defence as Tom Walsh twice made block downs and Michael Curry and Liam Connolly also got their body in the way of the ball going between the posts.

Jason Gleeson pointed for Rathgormack from a free on 44 minutes, a score that remarkably was to be the last of the game.

Ballinacourty in added time had their numbers cut to 14 when Patrick Hurney was ordered off after a foul on Conor Walsh that saw him issued with a second yellow in this game scarcely a minute apart.

Rathgormack: Padraig Hunt; Cathal Crowch, Conor Walsh, Liam Connolly; Willie Hahessy, Michael Curry, Tom Walsh; Jason Curry, Robbie Flynn; Billy Power, Stephen Curry, James Power; Conor Murray, Jason Gleeson, Paul Drohan.

Subs: John Kirwan for Paul Drohan (44), Declan Hennebry for Stephen Curry (58), Ronan Cahill for Robbie Flynn (59), Ronan Crotty for Billy Power (60), Jamie Kirwan for James Power (64).

Scorers: Jason Gleeson 0-3 (0-1f), Paul Drohan, Willie Hahessy 1-0 each, Stephen Curry 0-2, Jason Curry 0-1 (f). 

Ballinacourty: Stephen Enright; John Elsted, Brian Looby, Darragh McGrath; Neil Montgomery, Richie Foley, David Collins; Conor Prunty, James Beresford; David Looby, Michael O'Halloran, Mark Twomey; Sean Whelan-Barrett, Mark Ferncombe, Michael Maher.

Subs: Patrick Hurney for Mark Twomey (30), John Hurney for James Beresford (HT), Michael Kiely for David Looby (47), Tom Looby for Michael Maher (51), James O’Mahony for Sean Whelan-Barrett (59).

Scorers: Mark Ferncombe 1-1, David Looby 0-3 (3f), Sean Whelan Barrett 0-2

Referee: Anthony Fitzgerald

Rathgormack and Ballinacourty Clash in First Senior Football County Final

There is something special about this year’s County Senior Football Final in Waterford. For a start it does not involve either Stradbally or The Nire, the two sides that have proven most successful in the county in the last twenty years. Every year since Ballinacourty beat Ardmore in the 2007 decider at Fraher Field one or the other both on a few occasions have done battle for the Conway Cup.

Ballinacourty, the third most successful side in senior football in the Déise County in those last twenty years are involved, meaning that with Stradbally and The Nire not involved it means that for the second year running following on from Kilrossanty’s appearance in last year’s final it means that once more that we have a side from what some might call the next best sides in the county involved, something that can only be good for the game in Waterford.

Rathgormack have reached this year’s County Final as Ballinacourty’s opponents, the first time they have reached the final since losing out to Stradbally back in 2001, and will be looking to win a first title since 1999 when they beat the same opposition as they lost to two years later.

But under no circumstances should Rathgormack’s appearance in this year’s final should be seen as a surprise, far from it indeed.

Rathgormack were full value for their six point win over Stradbally in the first of the semi finals, and in truth could and should have won by a bigger margin than they did on the night.

In that semi final win Rathgormack was a delight to watch. Football at times can be very hard on neutrals to watch as coaches get players behind the ball at all times and hope that they maybe can manufacture a couple of scoreable frees at the other end and win the game that way.

Rathgormack against Stradbally ran and ran and ran more at them and it paid off for them with the likes of Billy Power, Jason Curry and Conor Murray kicking some good scores for them over the course of the hour.

Rathgormack played in Group A where they finished in second place beating Clashmore and Ardmore in their opening two fixtures before losing out to The Nire in their last group game, but finishing in second place, and with the best of the second placed teams they advanced as the fourth team to automatically play in the quarter finals.

In the quarter finals they played Gaultier where they won by two points which set up a semi final against Stradbally.

Ballinacourty won Group C with maximum points from their three games in the round robin section, beating Brickey Rangers and An Rinn before getting a walk over from Gaultier in their final game in the group section of the competition.

In the quarter finals they were drawn against last year’s runners up Kilrossanty, a game that many felt Kilrossanty had a good chance of advancing from, but despite playing nearly three quarters of an hour with a numerical disadvantage Ballinacourty did enough to force extra time and to win the game in the added twenty minutes.

In their semi final win over The Nire they started without Patrick Hurney who was suspended as a result of his sending off in their win over Kilrossanty and also without Shane Briggs from the start but he did come on late in that game. Both are hugely experienced players and would normally walk onto any side in the county and even beyond, but Peter Queally’s charges had more than enough as a backup to fill in for both players. Here Ballinacourty worked very hard against the reigning champions and were full value for their passage to this weekend’s County Final.

If we were to write the names of those expected to feature in Sunday’s final side by side on a piece of paper, it might look to most that Ballinacourty were the better or more balanced side.

Right throughout their team there is a mixture of youth and experience. There is players that have won senior football medals in the past in the team, whether it was as a starting player or as a sub on the day. They have some good young players that have come through from very successful underage sides, some of whom could well be involved in their first senior football final with the club, but may well have featured in last year’s hurling final loss to Ballygunner and will be looking to use the experience gained in that game to their benefit in this game, even if it is in different sports.

But the same could well be said of Rathgormack. They have some experience players, players that have played alongside players they will be up against this weekend on different Waterford teams. And just like Ballinacourty they have players that will be coming off some very successful underage teams.

For the betterment of Football in the county, the game needs the likes of Rathgormack contesting this year’s county final and Kilrossanty contesting last year’s final. The game needs more clubs, the likes of Ardmore, Clashmore, Gaultier, An Rinn etc to be involved in County Finals on a regular basis, and not just contesting them, the games needs these and indeed other clubs beating the likes of Stradbally, The Nire and Ballinacourty in the finals. The more clubs that we have able to challenge for and win titles the better the game will get in Waterford.

Both Ballinacourty and Rathgormack will go into the game believing that they can win this game. Many of the players on both sides will be very familiar with each other, having played with and against each other down the years on different teams.

Whichever of these two sides advance to represent Waterford in the Munster Club Championship will do so with pride and will carry a realistic chance of having a good run in the competition. Who knows, they might even go on to be the first Waterford side to win the competition.

So which side will win? Will the Conway Cup final a home across the bridge as they say in Dungarvan, or will it head to the east of the county.

The head and the heart is saying two different things. The head obviously tells me to go for the more experienced at this level anyhow – Ballinacourty side, but the heart like many others would love to see Rathgormack win and break the dominance of the big three in the county.

Listening to both I am a tendency to think that Ballinacourty will win, but to be honest, I don’t really mind who wins on Sunday. I want to see Football as the winner. All too often in the recent past the County Final has not got played till November, often in the wet and slop in Fraher Field, resulting in the fact it was difficult for most sides to play football as it should be.

Full marks must go to the Officer Board of the County Board in getting this year’s final played just past the mid way point in October. The surface in Fraher Field has been good in the last few weeks and no doubt the ground staff will be doing all in their power to ensure it is once more for Sunday’s final. Hopefully their work in getting the final played earlier this year than in other years will result in one of the biggest gatherings for the final in recent years. Something is telling me that we will see a fine crowd inside Fraher Field well before the throw in on Sunday afternoon.  

 

 

Paths to the Final

Ballinacourty           1-16    Brickey Rangers      0-4

Ballinacourty           2-12    An Rinn                    1-8

Ballinacourty                       Gaultier                    Conceded by Gaultier

Ballinacourty           4-6      Kilrossanty               3-5

Ballinacourty           0-16    The Nire                    1-9

 

Rathgormack           3-8      Clashmore                0-4

Rathgormack           7-15    Ardmore                   1-11

Rathgormack           1-10    The Nire                    2-9

Rathgormack           2-12    Gaultier                    1-13

Rathgormack           0-14    Stradbally                 0-8