What must a player do to receive an All-Star nomination?

What must a player do to receive an All-Star nomination? I must admit that I for one am a little confused. I have an idea what way the Hurling and Football one are selected. I am glad that Waterford for the second year in a row had four players nominated for Camogie All-Star’s recently and I have a feeling that when the best fifteen players are announced in a few weeks time that Waterford will have more than one All-Star in the county which it won last year when Beth Carton was chosen in the countries best fifteen players. In fact I believe that Waterford will receive this year more than the one which it won last year.

But when it comes to Ladies Football this year, I for one am more than a little bit disappointed if I was to keep my choice of language in order, as when this year’s nominations were announced in the last few days there was no Waterford player listed in the 45 nominations for 15 awards.

I have no arguments in seeing All-Ireland Champions Dublin receive the most nominations. They had 13 nominations from the 45. In addition to being All-Ireland Champions they are also Leinster Champions and they reached the semi finals of Division One of the National League where they lost out to eventual winners Cork by a single point at Nowlan Park.

All-Ireland Runners-Up Galway has the joint second highest number of dominations with nine. Again you can’t have much of a problem with the ladies from west of the Shannon receive such a number of nominations. They beat Mayo after a replayed Connacht Final in Limerick while they were also runners up to Cork in the First Division of the National League where two points separated the sides at the end of the hour at Parnell Park in Dublin.

Mayo also received nine nominations, the same as Galway which is something that could be questioned. Mayo finished fifth in Division One of the National League, missing out a place in the semi finals as a result, they as already pointed out lost to Galway after a replay in the Connacht Final, the Connacht Championship like the Leinster one being a two team competition, meaning both sides automatically contested the final, but they did win their group in the Round Robin section of the All-Ireland qualifiers and went on to play Galway in the All-Ireland semi finals where they lost out by a point in a game that some would argue had a controversial finish.

Cork had seven nominations. A fair reflection on the year they had if we are to be honest. Maybe they might even feel disappointed not to have got one or two more nominations. After all they won the Division One League Final, they beat Waterford in the Munster Final at Fraher Field and they lost out to Dublin in the All-Ireland Semi Finals at Croke Park.

Two nominations for Tipperary might seem right. They finished second from bottom of Division One in the National League in their first year in a number of year’s playing at this grade. Any team playing in the top tier of any league will only be looking to retain their place for a second year and therefore the competition was a success for them in that manner, and later in the year went on to win the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship, beating Meath at Croke Park.

So far 42 of the 45 nominations are accounted for and of the three not accounted for so far there was one each for Armagh, Donegal and Meath.

Meath’s nomination went to goalkeeper Monica McGuirk. I will hold my hands up and readily admit I took no interest in Division three of the National League in 2019, and neither did I take much of an Interest how the Intermediate Championship was panning out, with the exception on how Tipperary were doing, a competition I expected them to be too strong for. Therefore I don’t know how good Monica McGuirk was between the posts for Meath. The Royal County did win the Division Three League Final and they finished second to Tipperary in the Intermediate Championship so I am sure they had some good performers across both competitions, but the Duleek/Bellowstown Club player must have had a really excellent season between the posts for Meath because Rosie Landers who took ownership of the Number 1 Shirt with Waterford in her first year playing with the seniors had a really fantastic season, and I for one would have been expecting her to be there or there about when it came to getting named in the overall best team of the year after helping her side to win the Division 2 League Final against Kerry, helping Waterford reach a Munster Final against Cork, knocking what many expected to be a good Kerry side out along the way and also helping her side reach an All-Ireland quarter final where they lost out to a very good Galway side.

In fact the Ballyduff Upper player was one of two or three Waterford players to get a nomination this year with maybe one or two others thrown in contention as well. Michelle Ryan had another excellent year playing in the white and blue of Waterford this year and would have been a wordy nomination.

The two Waterford players named above are but two players which impressed again this year. Caoimhe McGrath, the Murray Sisters, Karen McGrath, Róisín Tobin, Kelly Anne Hogan, Aileen Wall, Eimear Fennell and Maria Delahunty also impressed in the league and championship this year and if nominated for an All-Star this year nobody would have argued against their inclusion, but nobody would suggest that Waterford should have all players mentioned above nominated for All-Stars.

Such awards are mostly dominated by the two sides which reach the All-Ireland final as well as the sides that contest the Division One League Final if they were not to reach the All-Ireland Final. The sides that contest the semi finals would have their quota of nominations, while you would expect the Intermediate champions to get recognition as well as happened this year with Tipperary.

Scanning through the All-Star Nominations for this year when it comes to Ladies Football, it quickly becomes obvious that six of the eight teams which contested the All-Ireland Quarter Finals are represented in the 45 strong nominations. Kerry like Waterford are the two to miss out. Both sides reached the Division Two League Final. Both sides no doubt will feel that they could and should have representation amongst the best 45 players in the country, Waterford certainly should having won the League Final between the two sides.

The sides that reached the All-Ireland semi finals are the sides that received the biggest representation of the 45 with 38. The two semi finals as well as the final this year were played at Croke Park and attracted an attendance of 67,000 (yes, I know there would be a double up with some people attending both days), and no doubt draw the biggest representation of those tasked with picking the best players to choose 45 players from across the country which will be whittled down to 15.

I would hope that because just because they did not qualify for a Division One National League Semi Final or an All-Ireland Senior Semi Final that it did not rule them out of contention, maybe because they might not have got the television exposure that other players got. This year a number of our ladies games (both Ladies Football and Camogie) were streamed live on social media. Hopefully the same will happen again going forward. It would even be fantastic to see an even greater amount of games streamed, be they be live or later in the evening recorded. I am sure it could happen. If this was to happen, hopefully then the players that play who do not make the big semi finals will then be amongst those that get All-Star Nominations.

2019 TG4 All Star nominations:

Goalkeepers:

Ciara Trant (Dublin)*, Lisa Murphy (Galway), Monica McGuirk (Meath)

Right corner back:

Sinéad Burke (Galway)*, Eimear Meaney (Cork), Éabha Rutledge (Dublin)

Full back:

Hannah Looney (Cork), Niamh Collins (Dublin), Danielle Caldwell (Mayo)

Left corner back:

Melissa Duggan (Cork), Martha Byrne (Dublin), Éilis Ronayne (Mayo)

Right half back:

Nicola Ward (Galway), Aoife Kane (Dublin), Shauna Kelly (Cork)

Centre back:

Ashling Hutchings (Cork), Sinéad Goldrick (Dublin)*, Ciara McManamon (Mayo)

Left half back:

Olwen Carey (Dublin), Ciara Whyte (Mayo), Niamh McGirr (Tyrone)

Midfield:

Lauren Magee (Dublin)*, Louise Ward (Galway), Caroline O’Hanlon (Armagh), Aisling McCarthy (Tipperary), Siobhan McGrath (Dublin)*, Emma Jane Gervin (Tyrone)

Right half forward:

Carla Rowe (Dublin), Olivia Divilly (Galway), Sinéad Cafferky (Mayo)

Centre forward:

Megan Glynn (Galway), Niamh McEvoy (Dublin), Aishling Moloney (Tipperary)

Left half forward:

Niamh Kelly (Mayo), Lyndsey Davey (Dublin)*, Mairéad Seoighe (Galway)

Right corner forward:

Sarah Rowe (Mayo), Sinéad Aherne (Dublin)*, Tracey Leonard (Galway)

Full forward:

Eimear Scally (Cork), Rachel Kearns (Mayo), Geraldine McLaughlin (Donegal)

Left corner forward:

Grace Kelly (Mayo), Orla Finn (Cork), Róisín Leonard (Galway)

*(denotes 2018 TG4 All Star)

Ballinacourty Advance in Incident Packed Game at Fraher Field

Fraher Field has down the year’s staged its fair share of incident packed games, some for all the right reasons, others for the wrong reason’s and in the majority of cases for somewhere in between.

Since the lights were installed at the Shandon Road venue a number of interesting football games in particular have taken place at the ground. For a knockout game with the weather allowing for people to move out of their homes and attend games without risking getting soaked or be frozen solid, there is no better place to be.

Three Senior Football Championship Quarter Finals were played at the venue this past weekend, all under the lights and strangely all three went to extra time which somewhat added to the atmosphere inside the famous historical ground.

The first of the four quarter finals played on Friday evening would possibly be billed the pick of the games ahead of the weekend where last year’s runners up Kilrossanty took on a Ballinacourty side that has enjoyed so much success on the underage front in recent years, and who are constantly bringing the best of those players from the underage scene into their senior team and some of them do not look out of place after taken over from some very experienced players who have served the club well down the years and along the way themselves have contested their share of senior football finals.

          Gate receipts of nearly €3,000 on a Friday evening are not to be sneezed at, and few of the sizeable attendance were not disappointed with the way the game panned out. Yes, I know the standard at times may not be the same as what we have seen on other occasions when these two sides played at this same venue, but none the less the attention of supports of both sides and neutrals inside the ground was maintained right to the end.

          This game had it all, black cards, yellow cards, red cards, at times it appears that the only cards not handed out were Christmas Cards which is coming closer with each passing week.  There were clear cut penalties, there were somewhat debatable penalties or so it appeared from sitting in the press box at the country end of the stand just past the half way line, and there appeared to be a major cock up when it came to one substitute.  

Oh yes there was also scores. The amount of overall scores in this game might be somewhat low but there was plenty of goals, there was chances for both sides to win the game inside the allotted sixty minutes, one of which was taken by one side and missed by the other.

There was just under 30 seconds played when last year’s runners up took the lead through Paul Whyte who split the Ballinacourty posts. But that score was soon wiped out. The word before the game was that Inter county hurler Conor Prunty would be tasked with trying to curb the influence that Tommy Prendergast was having in recent times in and around the middle of the field for Kilrossanty and the whispers proved right as Prunty took up a man marking job on the big Kilrossanty man. And with five minutes played he got his name on the score sheet as he was picked out by Neil Montgomery and when he eyed Dwayne Kirwan once he had the ball in his hands he made no mistake in beating the Kilrossanty man for a well taken goal.

 Mark Ferncombe and Joey Veale swapped scores before Patrick Hurney was sent to the line on 14 minutes when he was issued with a straight red card by referee Anthony Fitzgerald for an incident under the nose of linesman Tom Mansfield who was running the line on the stand side of the field. His sending off means that he will now miss his sides county semi final against reigning champions The Nire, the draw for which was made after the fourth quarter final this evening, and his loss could prove to be a big one for the side in green and white hoops.

Kilrossanty struck their first goal on 22 minutes and it proved to be somewhat controversial from the stand. The view from the press box that was that while Tommy Prendergast bore down at the Ballinacourty goal he appeared to lose his footing inside the box, but referee Anthony Fitzgerald who was much closer to the action deemed that Brian Looby had helped the big Kilrossanty man to go to ground, so a penalty was awarded. Paul Whyte was tasked with facing Stephen Enright in the Ballinacourty goal and he made no mistake as he hammered the ball straight down the middle from 12 metres and into the Ballinacourty net.

Three minutes later Kilrossanty further stretched their lead when Tommy Prendergast picked out Paul Whyte who beat Stephen Enright to double his sides lead with time running down in the first half.

A minute from the end of the opening 30 minutes referee Anthony Fitzgerald was stretching his arms in an outward direction for the second time, but this time at the town end of the ground as Conor Prunty was pulled down after he was played into the box for the second time in this game by Neil Montgomery. David Looby placed the ball 12 metres from goal to face Dwayne Kirwan who went to his right but the wrong way as Looby brought Ballinacourty to within one in a very low scoring first half.

As he went back out the field to face the restart he was struck by Mark Prendergast and after consulting with his umpire the Kilrossanty man became the second man to be sent to the line on a straight red card and the game had not even reached half time.

Trailing 2-2 to 2-1 at the break Ballinacourty quickly levelled matters in the first minute of the second half and five minutes further in more drama arrived.

Mark Ferncombe was pulled down by goalkeeper Dwayne Kirwan who was issued with a black card and a penalty was awarded. As with the rules applying to the black card Kilrossanty could not replace their goalkeeper till the next break in play so Stephen Prendergast stood between the posts for the kick but was beaten by Mark Ferncombe.

For the restart Seamus Veale came on between the posts for Kilrossanty but word began to spread around the stand and onto the field that the Kilrossanty man’s name was not given to the referee as an official sub before the game meaning he had to be replaced minutes later by Josh Kay who it seems was coming on initially. Should this be true and had Kilrossanty won the game the County Board could have deemed that Kilrossanty forfeited the game but it would not be in their remit to award Ballinacourty the game, meaning that The Nire who won this evenings final quarter final game and who were paired with Ballinacourty in the draw after winning this game would receive a walkover into the County Final.

Mark Ferncombe and Paul Whyte swapped scores before Michael O’Halloran with the aid of the crossbar levelled matters with five minutes of play remaining. Between Whyte and Ferncombe’s effort Kilrossanty struck a third goal as Donal Fitzgerald found Pa Cunningham to edge the Comeragh Men in front by one.

On the hour mark the games fourth penalty was awarded when Brian Looby was pulled down but this time Kilrossanty’s third penalty in this game guessed right and Josh Kay saved from Mark Ferncombe to keep the scores level.

Five minutes into stoppage time Ballinacourty appeared to have won the game when Sean Whelan Barrett fisted over the Kilrossanty crossbar, but the game was not over. Paul Whyte made a late surge on the Ballinacourty goal but he saw his effort put out for a ’45. Josh Kay was brought up field to kick from 45 metres and he kicked high over the Ballinacourty crossbar to send this game into extra time.

Both sides were back up to their full complement of players for the extra 20 minutes as David Looby came back on for Ballinacourty and Michael Walsh came on for Kilrossanty.

Scores in extra time were hard won. Midway through the opening first added ten minute period Sean Whelan Barrett gave his side the lead, and deep in stoppage time in the second added ten minutes the only other score of extra time arrived, again going to Ballinacourty as Darragh McGrath found Michael Maher who fixed to the next to book his sides place in the final four of the competition.

Ballinacourty: Stephen Enright: Shane Briggs, Brian Looby, John Elstead; Darragh McGrath, David Collins, Richie Foley; James Beresford, Conor Prunty; Mark Toomey, Neil Montgomery, David Looby; Mark Ferncombe, Patrick Hurney, Michael Maher.

Subs: Michael O’Halloran for Shane Briggs (28), John Hurney for David Looby (HT), Sean Whelan Barrett for James Beresford (47), James O’Mahony for Mark Twomey (60+2), David Looby (E.T.), James Beresford for John Hurney (HT/ET).

Scorers: Mark Ferncombe 1-3 (1-0 pen, 0-1f), Conor Prunty, David Looby (pen), Michael Maher 1-0 each, Sean Whelan Barrett 0-2, Michael O’Halloran 0-1.

Kilrossanty: Dwayne Kirwan; Paul Keating, Niall Walsh, Mark Prendergast; Conor Hayes, Stephen Prendergast, James Whyte; Tommy Prendergast, Pa Whyte; Pa Cunningham, Martin Dunne, Donal Fitzgerald; Jack Whyte, Paul Whyte, Joey Veale.

Subs: Anthony Lonergan for Jack Whyte (45), Seamus Veale for Dwayne Kirwan (BC 36), Josh Kay for Dwayne Kirwan (42), Barry Prendergast for Martin Dunne (60+2), Michael Walsh (E.T). Jack Whyte for Anthony Lonergan (E.T), Martin Dunne for Michael Walsh (HT/ET), Eoin Power for Joey Veale (80)

Scorers:  Paul Whyte 2-3 (1-0 pen, 0-1f), Pa Cunningham 1-0, Joey Veale, Josh Kay (45) 0-1 each.

Referee: Anthony Fitzgerald

Huge Weekend for Football in the Déise County

Senior Football Championship Quarter Finals

The first of four big games will take place at Fraher Field tomorrow (Friday) evening and is sure to draw a good attendance when last year’s runners up Kilrossanty face up to next door neighbours Ballinacourty, many people’s prediction to win this year’s Conway Cup.

Last year’s runners up qualified for this stage of the competition recording a hard fought win over Brickey Rangers in the first round knockout stages of the competition at Fraher Field last Friday evening.

This was a game that the Comeragh Men were expected to win rather easily but were pushed all the way with just three points between the sides at the end of the hour. They will know that if they are to advance to the last four of the competition they will have to up their game considerably if they are to advance here.

Ballinacourty on the other hand reached this stage of the competition by virtue of winning maximum points from their three games in the group stages of the competition.

Ballinacourty will have their undivided attention on this game in recent weeks after Abbeyside bowed out of the senior hurling championship recently at the hands of Dungarvan, while Kilrossanty are juggling both hurling and football having recently qualified for the Western Junior Hurling Championship semi final after they beat Tourin in the quarter finals. As we have seen all too often in the past juggling both games have proven to be a problem for most sides so it remains to be seen how this is affecting Kilrossanty.

Stradbally had little trouble getting out of there group in the Round Robin section of this year’s championship where they won all three games and in the process putting up some very good scores in the process, where they finished with the best score difference of the 12 competing sides.

The Still Men on the opposite hand showed very contrasting form in the Round Robin section of the competition where they finished bottom of Group One and finished with the joint top lowest score difference of the 12 competing sides conceding 21 more points than they scored in their three games.

Clashmore have lost inter county hurler Tadhg Bourke who suffered a crucuite ligament injury while playing with the clubs Intermediate Hurling team recently in a championship game against Cappoquin that will keep him out of the game for some time. His loss will prove to be a big one as while he is a fine hurler he is equally adapt and possibly even an even better footballer. They are also without Sam Fitzgerald who will be sitting out a suspension.  

The meeting of Gaultier and Rathgormack guarantees that one side from the east of the county will contest the semi finals this year which has to be considered a good thing for the game within the county as this is an area of the county where the game often plays second fiddle to hurling and even soccer in some areas.

Rathgormack are coming good with a number of years having won a number of underage county titles and if they can bring the best of players coming through from these sides along with the more experienced players playing at this level in the last number of years there is no reason not to think that the club can get back to the days where contesting finals back into the 90’s in a decade where they won three titles and contested two others between 1992 and 2001.

Gaultier are picking from one of the biggest areas in the county and with the population they have in their area they should be annual contenders for the title each year but they are in an area where hurling is very strong and two of the stronger hurling clubs in the county are picking from the same players.

An Rinn and The Nire have proven to be very consistent in recent years. The Ballymacarbry based clubs are regular contenders to take the Conway Cup home from Fraher Field since their first Championship win back in 1993 when they beat Dungarvan while the Ring club have in recent years made their share of semi finals but are still waiting for a first county final appearance since 1925.

In the Round Robin stages The Nire won all three games, while An Rinn claimed just the one brace of points that coming in the final round of games when they received a walkover from Brickey Rangers.

In the first knockout round of games back in mid August An Rinn had an excellent win over Portlaw who are always a difficult side to beat and that game will give them confidence for this game.

The reigning champions could well be without inter county hurler Jamie Barron for this game. He has missed the last few games which Fourmilewater played after he picked up an injury outside of playing, and it remains to be seen if he is going to available to the side for this game. If he is unavailable it will come as a big blow to his side’s chances, and more over so as Conor Gleeson has had injury worries this year and up to now has not shown himself to be the player this year that we know he is.

The all important thing we all want to know this weekend is what four sides will advance to the semi finals. Like most I am going for the ‘Big Three’ with the past number of years – Ballinacourty, Stradbally and The Nire to advance from their respective games and in the other game I am going for Rathgormack.

Senior Football Relegation Semi Final Play Offs

This is a stage of the competition that Ardmore have found themselves in all too often in recent years and there is some that are asking how long more can they keep up in the top flight if they keep getting involved in the relegation play off’s. Well we know that they are an experienced outfit and also are a side that know how to pull off a major performance when one is needed and they will know that if they manage it here then there place in the top flight will be secured for another year.

Portlaw since coming up to the Intermediate championship a few years back have done well and made it very difficult for more experience sides that came up against them. They are a side that might be best known as a hurling club but they are also a side that contain some fine footballers, and it would be good to think that for the betterment of football in the eastern half of the county that they could retain their senior status for another year.

Kilmacthomas came up as Intermediate Champions last year and will count the year to be a good on if they were to retain their status in the senior grade whether they were to do it as a result of winning this game or winning a subsequent game if they were not to be successful in this one.

Brickey Rangers are a side that are finding it somewhat tough in recent years, and this year were without a number of some very good footballers that have served them well over the past few years.

They were in action last weekend in a delayed first round knockout game against last year’s runners up Kilrossanty, a game where few would have given them a chance and while they did not win they pushed their opponents all the way and at the end of the hour just three points separated the sides. That performance will give them confidence going into this game.

          The mid county side are expected to be without Reece Power for this game as a result of his sending off on a double yellow card against Clashmore recently but he and Sam Fitzgerald were subsequently suspended after coming back on to play in extra time after the sides finished level at the end of the hour. Much has been said of that controversial story with some having different slants coming out in the last week or so. His loss will be a big one to the mid county side as it was when Saint Mary’s recently contested the recent under 19 football final against Naomh Brid/Saint Patrick’s.

          As for the winners in these two games, and therefore retaining their senior status for another year, Ardmore look to be the stronger of the two sides in the first game mentioned above, meaning they get the nod while in the second game the absence of Reece Power could be the difference between the sides. I for one would give them an excellent chance if he was available, but maybe his absence might spur the other players on to put in an even bigger performance. Brickey Rangers get the nod to win here.

Radley Engineering Football Championship

There are two big games down for decision in the Radley Engineering Intermediate Football Championships, both proving to be local derby games which surly will bring out the supporters to the games.

On Friday evening Modeligo and Ballinameela do battle in Lemybrien. Modeligo last year won this championship in the western half of the county but lost out to Kilmacthomas in the County Final and there is some that are suggesting that they can go that one step further this year.

Ballinameela in the last few years have proven to be an bit of a yo-yo club winning this competition on three occasions in the last decade playing in the senior ranks for two years before dropping back down but going back up at the first time of asking.

Many expected them to be the side that would win last year’s championship but it was not to be and there are some this year expecting them to go back up as they have some very experienced players who have played on different inter county panels and of course playing against some of the stronger football clubs in the county in the senior grade where they were far from out of their dept.

The second quarter final sees Ballinacourty and Colligan do battle at Fraher Field on Sunday afternoon.

Colligan came up to this grade a few years back when they beat Ballyduff Lower in the County Final and have done well to retain their status against some experienced sides at this level including some that have played in the senior grade.

They however failed to win any game in the group stages of the competition which was not the end of the world as it was known regardless of where a side finished at the end of the group games they were assured of a knockout game.

Ballinacourty at this level are a very experienced side. They have impressed in the underage competitions in recent years and they will have many of the players that won underage honours in this side, but not only will they have some good young players they have some experienced heads who have played senior football for the club and are the holders of senior football championship medals in their collection.

Dungarvan and Sliabh gCua are through to the semi finals and will come up against one of the winners from this weekend’s quarter final games, but who will they be?

Both games could well prove to be tight affairs. The results from the group stages might give us an indication as to how these games will go.

Ballinacourty had a 1-15 to 0-12 win over Colligan at Bushy Park back in May and they would be expected to win this one as well. The other game could well prove to be a real tight affair. When they clashed in Cappoquin back in April the game ended in an eleven point each draw and it would not be a surprise to see this game be just as tight, but it is Modeligo that get my nod to advance to the last four.  

Tony Kirwan Plant Hire Intermediate Football Championship

The two semi finals of this championship are down for decision at Walsh Park on Saturday afternoon in a double header where two interesting games could be fought out.

Saint Saviours and Newtown clash in the first game. The Ballybeg based club came through the group stages of the competition with a 100% record and will really fancy their chances of not just winning this game, but the divisional and county final and to win back a place in the senior grade where they really should be and if football is to flourish in the eastern half of the county we need as many clubs as possible from the division playing and competing at the top level.

Newtown were one of three clubs to finish on four points in the group stages of the competition and finished second from bottom on score difference with Bunmahon finishing below them. They come into this game on the back of an excellent win over De La Salle recently which will give them plenty of confidence against another of the stronger city based clubs.

The second game sees Tramore take on Kill. Tramore in the group stages impressed in finishing in second place and are another club in the east of the county that should be setting their sights as high as possible when it comes to football. It is not all that long ago since they played in the senior grade and even contested a county final against Stradbally. This year they look as if they are heading in the right direction.

Kill are another traditional footballing side in the county and many older people can recall when they were a bit of a force in the county and had players that were as good as anywhere and not just in the county. They will know that some of the mid county sides have done well in this competition in recent years and have gone on to play at a higher level and they will be hoping to do the same here.

Prediction time now as to who will advance to the divisional final in a few weeks time. I am opting for Saint Saviours and Tramore, two clubs that I have said that football in Waterford needs to be playing at a higher level than they are at present.

Lawlors Hotel Junior Football Championship

In the Lawlor’s Hotel Western Junior Hurling Championship three quarter finals are down for decision this coming weekend with the three winners advancing to join Ballyduff Upper in the semi finals in a few weeks time.

The sole game on Friday evening sees Affane up against Kilgobinet at Abbeyside. This could well prove to be a very entertaining game of football where in the group stages of the competition back in the middle of July Affane recorded an excellent 3-9 to 0-8 win but that result may not be an indication how this game will go or will it?

There is no disputing that within the Cappoquin/Affane Club hurling is the number one game and it is so by some distance. But they bowed out of the Intermediate Hurling Championship recently when they lost out to Clashmore in the quarter finals, and now that the hurleys are put away for another year, they will be going all out in the football championship and when they put their minds to it, they are a match for anyone with the big ball.

Kilgobinet too are finished with the hurleys for the rest of the year after they lost out to Abbeyside in the semi finals of the Junior ‘C’ Hurling Championship last weekend. Having just one week to get that loss of the system and at the same time trying to switch modes from sliotars to footballs could take its toll. But in saying that like Affane they have some very good footballers and are very much not just capable of winning this game, but also going on to win this championship outright and not just in West Waterford.

On Saturday two games are down for decision in the afternoon. Ideally a 3-30pm start for two quarter final games is not ideal for players or supporters as so many people normally work on a Saturday afternoon, but the hands of the Divisional Board are somewhat tied behind their backs this weekend thanks to the footballers of Dublin and Kerry who could not find a winner when they clashed recently and are replaying this Saturday evening in Croke Park.

Geraldines and Tallow meet at Lismore and when they clashed at the same venue earlier this month the side from the banks of the Bride emerged as victors on a 4-9 to 0-14 winners.

Like the two clubs playing on Friday evening these two clubs are both out of the hurling championship meaning that all their focus is on this game since they bowed out of their respective competitions.

And while Geraldines and Tallow face up to each other in Lismore, Old Parish and Shamrocks will do battle in Ardmore.

Unlike all other clubs in this championship Old Parish do not have any hurling involvement which some might suggest would give them an advantage when it comes to playing in this competition as they are not switching codes after every game or every second game.

When the sides met in the round robin section of the competition again in Ardmore it was Old Parish that won on a 3-6 to 0-10 score line back in July, but that was their only win of the competition as they finished bottom of a seven team group.

So who will win this weekend’s games and join Ballyduff Upper in the last four, I am opting for Ardmore, Tallow and Shamrocks.

John J. Murphy Junior Football Championship

          In the Eastern half of the county the Junior Football Championship is a little more advanced with the semi finals due to take place on Friday evening with games down for decision at Kill and Fenor.

          John Mitchells and Dunhill clash at Kill. The two of these sides were in the same side of the draw in the group stages of the competition with Dunhill fairing the better of the two sides across three games finishing with four points the same as Ballyduff Lower.

John Mitchells won just the one game finishing bottom of the group on two points, the same total as Saint Mollerans, but the Carraigbeg side finishing above them by virtue of winning the head to head between the two.

In the previous meeting between the two sides Dunhill recorded a double score 2-14 to 1-7 win.

The second semi final at Fenor sees Ballyduff Lower who topped group one take on Mount Sion who finished group two in second place finishing level on points with Roanmore but lost out in the head to head for top place.

So who will win their way through to the semi finals? You have to fancy the chances of Dunhill in the first game mentioned above going on the result of the two sides when they played recently. And in the second game we have to factor in the fact that both clubs are in the semi finals of their respective hurling championships and will feel that they have a good chance of advancing to a county final. Both clubs will have a big crossover of players between the two codes. Mount Sion are after contesting a number of finals in this grade in the last number of years, but you can’t but think that for now their main focus will be on their semi final in the senior hurling championship against De La Salle which might just give a slight advantage to the county based club.

 

New Manager To Be Appointed As Donal O’Rourke Steps Aside

Like many others I was disappointed last night to learn that Donal O’Rourke had stood down as the Waterford Senior Camogie Manager after filling the position for two years. But I have to say that the news was not entirely a shock to me.

A few weeks back the Cappoquin man known to so many as ‘Duck’ sent me a text after Waterford had lost out to Galway in the All-Ireland Quarter Final. I text Donal back saying that I hoped that he would be staying on as Manager and that he would retain the management team he had assembled and managed to keep onto all of this year’s panel and maybe to add to it from last year’s minor panel and this year’s under 16 teams, both of whom had some good players. When I did not hear back from him, I privately sensed that maybe that he was going to step aside, as anyone be it at club or inter county level that keeps a close eye on what is happening in Camogie or underage hurling would have seen there was something about Donal O’Rourke, and he would not be short of calls from some of the stronger clubs and not necessarily in Waterford offering him a coaching position after seen what he achieved with the Waterford Camogie team in recent years.

In his two years in charge of the Waterford Senior Camogie team Donal achieved so much, but I am sure he will be the first person to say that it was not all down to him. Progress was made being made since Waterford came up from the Intermediate Grade and winning the Division Two National League Final in 2015. He is likely to tell you that he just carried on what was done before him and bring it onto the next level.

I have no doubt that the Cappoquin man will tell you that there has been some great work done at underage level in the county and that he was lucky to work with some fantastic young players, and he is likely to tell you that some great work is put in at club level and as a result he was able to work with some quality players.

But we can never under estimate what Donal has done for the game and hopefully we might see him back involved in one way or another in the years ahead. A good manager, a modest manager will tell you that he can only be as good as the players he or she is working with, but that’s not always entirely true.

Let’s use another sport as an example. In the last twenty years cross channel in the Premier League who is or has been the best manager? I am sure different people will give different names. Different factors will come into the equation. For longevity you have Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. What about Claudio Ranieri who helped Leicester City win the League a few seasons back? Or what about Antonio Conte or Pep Guardiola who have two of the best wins ratios per games played while they worked in the league. Maybe you will go for someone like Jose Mourinho or Carlo Ancelotti both of whom had great successes with Chelsea in their time at Stamford Bridge or maybe you would argue for someone like Jurgen Klopp, Rafa Benitez, Mairicio Pochettino, Eddie Howe or even Sean Dyche who all had success in different ways in the league.

Of the above named managers plus many of the ones that are omitted, it is possibly safe as hard as it might be for some to admit that Alex Ferguson is or was the best of the lot. But as we have seen he retired in May 2013, David Moyles, Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and to a lesser extent Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who have specially in the first three have worked with many of the players which Ferguson worked with, yet they have not got the best out them in the same way with Ferguson did and as a result titles which came thick and fast under Ferguson are few and far between with his successors.

And the same could be said of another manager, Kenny Dalglish. Since he has left Liverpool after a first spell as Manager in February 1991, the club has had nine different permanent or care taker managers including the Scots man having a second term in charge and none of them have won the Premier League or the Old First Division title since Dalglish helped Liverpool win it in 1989/90 season.

Regardless of how good the players are working with if the right man or woman is not over them and able to get the best out of them, then the success that a team be it club, county or international side craves will not come their way.

And while no silverware came Waterford’s way at Senior Level under Donal O’Rourke that does not mean that his tenure was not a success, far from it in fact.

In his first season in charge Donal O’Rourke’s side missed out on a place in the semi finals of the league on score difference over Limerick after the two sides finished level on points at the end of the group stages and the two sides had a share of the spoils when they play in the group stages.

Later that summer his side really tested Cork in the Munster Championship at Modeligo. Cork were the reigning All-Ireland Champions at the time and with a little luck on the day Waterford could have beaten the Rebellettes. And in the All-Ireland Championship Waterford finished third in the group despite losing their first two games, a final place in the group that was good enough to give them a spot in the All-Ireland Quarter Finals where they lost out to a strong Tipperary side in Cork.

This past year Waterford played much of the league without the Gailltir players in the panel as they were preparing for an All-Ireland Club Final, but still Waterford did well finishing in fourth place in a group of five. And while Waterford were well beaten in the Munster Championship by Tipperary the side were some weeks off reaching their peak at the time, but when the All-Ireland Championship time came around the side were firing on all cylinders and were somewhat unlucky to only finish third even if that was good enough to give them a quarter final place for the second year in a row.

In that game Donal O’Rourke’s side really tested a side that would go on to contest and win an All-Ireland Final. With five minutes to go in Thurles Waterford were very much in contention.

Waterford under the guidance of Donal O’Rourke made some remarkable progress and from what we have seen in the last two years some good days could be around the corner for Waterford, as Donal O’Rourke had assembled an outstanding group of players and there is some very good young players coming through from the under 16, minor as well as the junior teams in the last two years and then there is the work that is happening on the colleges scene and in particular at St. Angela’s Secondary School in the last few years.

I for one can’t talk for every Camogie supporter in the Déise County, in fact I can only talk for myself, but I am sure that many if not all Waterford Camogie Clubs will join with me in saying ‘Thanks for all that you have managed to achieve in the past two year’s Donal, your work is very much appreciated and it was such a joy watching the team you had in your care in the last two years’.

And so the search now starts for the man or woman set to replace him. I have no doubt that the County Board will be acting quickly to appoint a new manager, maybe they have the wheels in motion already.

Right now it is impossible for anyone outside of the County Board to have any idea of who they will go for or what process will they use. We don’t know if they will consult the players, will they ask the clubs to put forward names or will they as a body sit down and draw up a list and try and appoint the person that see as best suited.

I have no doubt that there will be a number of names thrown around in the run up to the appointment of a new manager. Let me throw out a few names who might be deemed as suitable for the position. I must add before doing so say that I have not spoken to any of the names that I am going to suggest to find out if they are interested or not. They are just a few people that have impressed me in the last few years.

First up is Kevin Barry the manager of last year’s Munster Minor winning team and the Clonea man was in charge of the County Junior Team this year and again did well at that level bringing together some experienced and young players to mould a good group of players.

Róisín Hartley was in charge of the Waterford Under 16 that won this year’s ‘B’ All-Ireland Final recently. That team also contains some excellent young players who could have a big future playing at a higher level in the years to come. Róisín is a member of the Gailltir Club and in recent years on the underage front they are the strongest side in the county winning so many titles and she will know so many of these players well and will know which can step up to playing at a much higher level.

Shane Dunphy and Nicholas Mackey have formed part of Donal O’Rourke’s side in recent years and will know the panel of players used in the last two years well and could be seen someone that would keep things going as they were without having the players to get to know a new manager and their way of doing things.

Maybe someone like Mark Cooney who achieved success with Waterford could be enticed back into the set up, or maybe former Waterford Senior Hurler and former selector with the county hurlers Shane ‘Shiner’ Ahearne could be offered the job. Shane is a big supporter of Camogie and is often seen at games at different levels. He will know many of the players from his time as an underage manager a few years back and with his eye and knowledge of the game from seeing the team in recent years he would know how to get the best from the players.

And finally there is Conor O’Toole and Emilie Darmody who in the last two or three years have helped bring so much success to the Saint Angela’s Ursuline School in the city. They have players from all clubs from the middle of the county and into the city attending the school and both will know many of these players inside out and upside down and will know how to get the best out of them.

Who will succeed Donal O’Rourke right now, I for one don’t know. Maybe we will get to here in the coming weeks as whoever is appointed I am sure will want to get working with the players at the earliest opportunity possible preparing for the National League which will be starting a few weeks into the New Year.

The Tale of Two Michael Kiely’s

Many a tail could be told of battles fought out at Dungarvan’s Fraher Field down the years. The famous ground often cited to be one of the most scenic in the whole country has seen it all. All sorts of games have been fought out there from Primary School games, Underage games, clubs games in all grades, Ladies Football and Camogie games. Even All-Ireland Final’s have been played at the field once rented by Touraneena man Dan Fraher who spent so much of his time living and working in Dungarvan so that the County could have a ground that it could be proud of and allow players and supporters of Gaelic Games in the Déise County gather and see rival teams do battle against each other.

Dungarvan’s Fraher Field has hosted the most senior All-Ireland Finals outside of Croke Park, even more that Semple Stadium in Thurles often called the home of hurling due to the large amount of classic games played there over the years, and for this reason the G.A.A. at National level should never forget the grounds history and should be putting vast sums of money into it so that games will always continue to be played there, especially at the highest level.

The latest Tail to be scripted at Dungarvan’s Fraher Field took place last night (Sunday September 1) where two neighbouring sides Dungarvan and Abbeyside separated by the width of the Colligan River as it flows into Dungarvan Bay gathered for the last of this year’s County Senior Hurling Championship quarter finals.

The Shandon Road venue is one that is sinfully underused. Yes it might be small compared to many other grounds, but there is great room for development at the site and when people flood in to see a game or even games like they did last night the atmosphere inside the ground can be electric.

Last night the tale at Fraher Field was about two men, two men with the same name, two men playing on opposite sides. For Dungarvan one Michael Kiely lined out in the middle of the field, for Abbeyside the other Michael Kiely lined out in attack.

Michael Kiely for Abbeyside finished the game with 2-4 behind his name on the score sheet. Michael Kiely for Dungarvan finished with half the tally which his name sake finished with.

Abbeyside reached last year’s County Senior Hurling Final for the first time in just over a decade and there was some that were hoping that they could go that step further this year. Dungarvan have not reached the County Final since they lost out to De La Salle at Fraher Field in 2012, and there is some that feel if there is a side that can wrestle the title off Ballygunner who are unbeaten in Championship hurling in the County since losing the 2013 Final to Passage, but if either of these two sides were to meet the expectations of some they would have to get over this game and then advance from a semi final before they play a sixty minute plus county final at Walsh Park next month.

There were no early leavers from Fraher Field on Sunday evening or if they were they were few and far between, and while Dungarvan and hurling was the winner of this game, the real losers were not Abbeyside but those foolish enough to have left the ground early, as they missed a finish not seen in the Déise County since Passage came from seven points down to win their one and only County Senior Hurling Final in 2013.

This was a game that was expected to go right to the wire and the 35 players used in this game did not disappoint.

Little separated the two sides throughout the course of the hour. When Mark Ferncombe netted a third goal for the Village side in the first minute of stoppage time it looked as if last year’s runners up would be advancing to the semi finals, but as we all know no game is over till the referee blows that final whistle, and in the time remaining minutes that followed Ferncombe’s goal there was time for plenty more action.

This was a fine sporting game and it must be recorded that referee Nicholas O’Toole played a big part in this. He could not be faulted in any decision that he made over the course of the hour and when things threatened to spill over on the occasional moment here and there he was quickly in to dissolve the situation and at one point he was overheard telling mentors on both sides that if they were not careful they would be sent to the stand to watch the remainder of the game with the paying spectators. All too often the referee is given out about during and after a game. To blame the referee when things don’t go right for a particular side is often the easy thing to do. Referee’s make mistakes during the course of a game in the same way that players and those on the line make mistakes, yet the latter two are seldom if ever are blamed for losing a game, it always seems to be the referee’s. When a referee has a good game as what Nicholas O’Toole had at Fraher Field it is only right that it is recorded, be it here or elsewhere as referee’s and officials seldom get the praise they deserve.

Abbeyside had a great start to this game as goalkeeper Stephen Enright put over a long range free on three minutes and when Michael Kiely followed up with a goal for the Village side it was not looking good for the Old Boro side.

Gavin Crotty and Michael Kiely swapped scores for their respective sides before Dungarvan hit three points in a row from Ryan Donnelly, Gavin Crotty and Patrick Curran to move to within one of Abbeyside with 11 minutes played. Neil Montgomery extended his sides advantage on 13 minutes and when two minutes later Patrick Hurney had a goal chance it was looking as if it was going to be curtains for Dungarvan but Gavin Power pulled off a good save to deny the Abbeyside man.

Kenny Moore and Ryan Donnolly struck points for Dungarvan before Mark Ferncombe and Gavin Crotty swapped scores at either end. Conor Prunty and Patrick Curran swapped scores with six minutes of the opening half remaining, but Abbeyside would finish the half marginally the stronger of the two sides as Mark Ferncombe and Mark Twomey landed scores for the Village side, but Michael Kiely would get his name on the score sheet just before the break to half Abbeyside’s advantage who went to the dressing rooms holding a 1-7 to 0-9 lead as darkness started to descend on the Shandon Road venue.

Dungarvan took the lead for the first time early in the second half as a brace of points from Ryan Donnelly frees edged them in front eight minutes after the restart. It was a short lived lead however as Michael Kiely levelled matters on 40 minutes and when Patrick Hurney got the ball just seconds later with Gavin Power beaten in the Dungarvan goal he saw his effort come crashing off the crossbar.

Michael Kiely put over a magnificent point from a sideline cut to put his side back in front. At the other end his name sake stood over a free while playing into the Country goal which the umpires waved wide. A large number of children behind the goal were adamant that Kiely’s effort had gone between the uprights as did many in the stand and on the bank opposite. Referee Nicholas O’Toole went into consult his umpires and before they had a chance to reposition themselves it was clear that a point was going to be awarded as the referee noted the score in his note book.

Ryan Donnolly and Neil Montgomery swapped scores before former inter county player Jamie Nagle pointed for Dungarvan after which Michael Kiely pointed at the opposite end. The same player netted a second goal for Abbeyside with four minutes left on the clock as he pulled on a delivery from Patrick Hurney.

Joe Allen goaled at the other end from the restart and Mark Ferncombe pointed as Abbeyside lead 2-12 to 1-14 with four minutes as many were beginning to think that this game would not be decided in the hour allotted under rule.

Ryan Donnolly and Gavin Crotty swapped scores before Mark Ferncombe put a break ball into the Dungarvan net giving his side a 3-12 to 1-16 lead with the hour played. Game over some were thinking, Abbeyside were back in the semi finals.

But Dungarvan had other ideas. A converted Ryan Donnolly free in the first of three added minutes left one between the sides, but they were not finished yet.

When Gavin Crotty played a ball across the Abbeyside goal in the third added minute it caught out a number of players and it was Michael Kiely who appeared to get the final touch beating Stephen Enright putting Dungarvan back in front.

The full time whistle soon followed. Dungarvan’s second goal scorer Michael Kiely was seen falling to the ground removing his helmet and putting his head into the ground. He appeared to feel that his side had fell just short, but the despair in his body language quickly changed when his teammates ran to him their hero of the hour as the Dungarvan players celebrated a huge win.

Dungarvan: Gavin Power; Darragh Lyons, John Curran, Sean Ryan; Jamie Nagle, Kieran Power, Kenny Moore; Michael Kiely, Jack Lacey; Joe Allen, Conor Sheridan, Ryan Donnolly; Cathal Curran, Patrick Curran, Gavin Crotty.

Subs: Kealan Daly for Conor Sheridan (HT), Luke O’Callaghan for Jack Lacey (57)

Scorers: Ryan Donnolly 0-7 (0-6f), Michael Kiely 1-2, Gavin Crotty 0-4, Joe Allen 1-0, Patrick Curran 0-2, Kenny Moore, Jamie Nagle 0-1 each. 

Abbeyside: Stephen Enright; Brian Looby, Evan Collins, David Collins; Darragh McGrath, Conor Prunty, Richie Foley; Maurice Power, Michael Maher; John Hurney, Neil Montgomery, Mark Twomey; Michael Kiely, Patrick Hurney, Mark Ferncombe.

Subs: John Elstead for Evan Collins (23), Michael O’Halloran for John Hurney (44), Tiernan Murray for Mark Twomey (57)

Scorers: Michael Kiely 2-4 (0-3f), Mark Ferncombe 1-3 (0-2f), Neil Montgomery 0-2, Stephen Enright (f), Neil Prunty, Mark Twomey 0-1 each.

Referee: Nicholas O’Toole.