Two wins in Walsh Park would secure Two All-Ireland Semi Final Spots for Déise Camogie sides

Waterford’s Intermediate Camogie Team can secure their place in the Semi Finals of the Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Championship for the fourth year in a row at Walsh Park on Saturday afternoon if they can get the better of near neighbours Kilkenny.

Waterford got their campaign off to an excellent start when they beat Antrim at the same venue three weeks ago having a massive twenty points to spare at the end of the hour.

A Waterford win this weekend would mean that when they play Kildare in the last game of the league section of the competition it would be to see who finishes top of the group and to get what is often perceived to be the easier of the semi finals.

In the last three years, Waterford in the All-Ireland semi finals were given tough draws playing Galway twice and Limerick last year with the winners in the last two years going on to win the All-Ireland Final.

This will be Kilkenny’s last game in the league section of the competition and go into the game knowing that a defeat would see them drop out of the competition.

The Cats began the year loosing out to Kildare at Thomastown on a 3-7 to 1-6 score line but they made up for it last weekend when they beat Antrim 2-15 to 1-9 at Ahoghill.

The clash at Walsh Park is the second big clash of the two this year.

When the sides met at the WIT Campus in Carriganore in March, Waterford ran out 2-13 to 1-8 winners, a win that secured the sides place in the semi finals of the league, a competition as we all know at this stage that Waterford went on to win, beating a strong Laois side at Dr. Cullen Park in Carlow.

In the game at Carriganore between the two sides, Jennie Simpson was superb playing at Centre Back and put in a Player of the Match performance. Claire Whyte, Deirdre Brennan, Trish Jackman, Lorraine Bray, Nicola Morrissey, Beth Carton, Dawn Power and Niamh Rockett all put in big performances for Waterford and if Waterford are to win here, they will be looking for these players if selected and others to put in a similar shift.

For Kilkenny that day their best players were Niamh Brambrick and Sarah Ann Quinlan who shared 1-1 and 0-4 respectfully of Kilkenny’s tally of 1-8.

Kilkenny going on the team selected to play Antrim last weekend will be a much different and stronger outfit to the team that played in the league against Waterford.

Just five of the side that played in Carriganore – Bridget Brennan, Edel Frisby, Rebecca Cleere, Sarah Crowley and Sarah Ann Quinlan were selected to start against Antrim last weekend.

The side is also likely to include Edel Frisby from the Ballyhale Shamrocks side which lost out to Lismore in the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Final replay at Clonmel in 2014 as well as Kelly Ann Doyle and Laura Norris from the Piltown side which defeated Lismore in this years final at Croke Park, while Therese Muldowney was part of the Kilkenny side that lost out to Limerick in last years Intermediate All-Ireland Final at Croke Park, while there was also plenty of experience in the named subs last weekend.

Waterford too could well prove to be a much changed team from the side that played Kilkenny at Carriganore in the league.

Of the side that beat Kilkenny in the league, nine of the starting team that day started in the win over Antrim three weeks ago with a number of the nine players who started in both games playing in a different position last day out.

For the record, the nine that started against Kilkenny in the league and Antrim in the championship are Deirdre Brennan, Vikki Falconer, Jennie Simpson, Jenny McCarthy, Trish Jackman, Lorraine Bray, Nicola Morrissey, Beth Carton and Dawn Power.

For the game against Antrim Kate McMahon, Charlotte Raher, Iona Heffernan, Catriona McGlone, Aisling Power and Shona Curran all came into the team with Emma Hannon and Valerie O’Brien both of whom are out of the country, Claire Whyte, Claire Murphy, Becky Kavanagh and Niamh Whyte the player loosing out on a starting place from the league win over Kilkenny.

Against Antrim Beth Carton with 1-3 and Catriona McGlone with 2-0 finished as top scorers for Waterford. Dawn Power, Trish Jackman, Molly Power, Lorraine Bray and Aisling Power also got their names on the score sheet.

Waterford will know that against Kilkenny this weekend they will be served up a much tougher test than what Antrim served up. Sean Fleming’s charges will know that if they are as efficient this weekend as they were three weeks ago in front of goal while remaining just as tight at the back to break down then there is an excellent chance that the win needed to secure a semi final spot can be achieved.

In the first of two games to be played at Walsh Park on Sunday, the counties Under 16 team will be hoping to keep their none loosing record in this years championship in tact when they face Dublin in a top of the table clash.

This will be Waterford’s fourth and final game in the league section of the competition and the side will know that a win here will give the side a semi final spot and the chance to retain the All-Ireland ‘B’ title that the side so brilliantly won twelve months ago, having lost out in the final twelve months earlier.

Waterford has recorded wins over Antrim and Clare in rounds one and three, both by a point with a draw against Cork recorded in between.

Dublin will travel to Walsh Park with two wins from their two games played so far, beating Clare and Antrim in their two previous games. The side from the capital will travel to Walsh Park safe in the knowledge that they have a round five game to play against Cork, a round where Waterford will have a bye and should they loose in Walsh Park the winner of the game between the sides from the counties with the two biggest populations in the country will join Waterford in the semi finals against two sides from the opposite group.

The Dublin side will travel to Waterford in a confident mood and are playing some good camogie in their games to date with the likes of Megan Thomas, Aoife Farrell, Emily Browne, Laura Morgan, Zoe Couch, Caoimhe Hughes, Aisling Andrews, Beth Whyte, Sinead Wylde, Sarah Murphy, Aoibhe Dillon and Chloe Mullen impressing.

If Dublin are impressing then so too are Waterford.

In the last few years Waterford have brought forward some very impressive young players, some of whom will feature in the Intermediate game, and it looks like another exciting group could be coming through with the likes of Ciara Jackman, Taylor Healy, Aisling Madigan, Niamh Murphy, Anne Corcoran, Faye Curley, Kaiesha Tobin, Saoirse English, Aisling Baumann amongst others all excellent players who will be looking to do the same as what were part of last years panel did.

Camogie in Waterford is enjoying some good times of late and hopefully there will be many more great days to come.

A win for both of Waterford’s side in Walsh Park on Saturday would book the two sides in action place in the semi finals of their respective competitions. Don’t rule it out happening.

Waterford are good enough to prove the Bookies right

Waterford has played some big hurling games this year. But this Sunday’s game with Dublin is the biggest of the lot.

A win in Thurles would see Derek McGrath’s charges head to Croke Park for an All-Ireland semi final at which point they would be just seventy minutes from a first All-Ireland Final since 2008.

Waterford go into the game as the favourites to win the game and advance to a meeting with Kilkenny in the semi finals.

The tag of favourites around the neck of any Waterford team does not always sit well and we have to guard against what the bookies are telling us.

The two sides are in good form this year. Dublin reached the League Semi finals where they were unlucky to loose to Cork who staged a great fight back after they looked to be out of contention at the break.

Waterford as we all know won Division 1B, reached and won the league final and contested a Munster Final only two weeks ago.

All this after the two sides finished bottom and one from bottom of Division 1A of last years league, when the two fought out a relegation play off, a game that Waterford lost and it looked as if Dublin after Cork’s promotion twelve months ago would follow Waterford down to Division 1B where the two could well remain for a few years as the likes of Wexford and Limerick were most fancied to win promotion this year.

Why all the Bookies are making Waterford the favourites is hard to work out. Are they doing so on the outcome of one or two games this year?

Yes, Dublin may have went out of the Leinster Championship at the quarter final stages of the competition, after a replay but they have recovered well from that loss.

Waterford were going well all year up to the Munster Final loss to Tipperary. That defeat was followed up with a defeat for the county under 21 team with a sizeable number of seniors on the panel against Clare in the Munster semi final. The two defeats will have hurt the side somewhat mentally, and a great deal of work will have had to be done to restore any loss of confidence in the players minds in the last week or so.

Dublin on the other hand since loosing to Galway have had time to recover. They had an excellent win over Laois (4-17 to 0-19) in the first round of the qualifiers and just two weeks ago they had another good win over Limerick, a side that many felt were unlucky not to have contested last years all-Ireland Final, meaning that confidence will be high going into this weekends game, even if there appeared to be a little bit of friction of late resulting in Michael Carton leaving the panel after the win over Laois.

Let no one be in any doubt as to how strong Dublin can be this weekend. Within their ranks they have some excellent players in the likes of goalkeeper Gary Maguire, Paul Schutte, Liam Rushe, Johnny McCaffrey, Ryan O’Dwyer, Danny Sutcliffe, Conal Keaney, Paul Ryan, Mark Schutte and of course Dotsy O’Callaghan.

There is some that are suggesting that Derek McGrath and his selectors should make changes from the Munster Final loss to Tipperary for this weekend’s game, and I believe changes will be made, but they will be kept to the minimum.

Its hard to see Stephen O’Keeffe not playing between the posts. Also Shane Fives, Barry Coughlan, Noel Connors, Tadhg Bourke and Philip Mahony will be in the back line.

There is some that feel Austin Gleeson should be moved to attack and that his place at wing back should be taken by Darragh Fives after he returned to the inter county scene late on in the defeat to Tipperary.

For what its worth, I believe if a thing is not broken, then don’t try and fix it. For me, the form of the half back line this year is key to Waterford’s success and breaking it up for the sake of it could mean a change in the side’s fortunes.

There is some that debate as to whether the Mount Sion man like Ken McGrath and another former Waterford captain Michael Walsh is a better back or forward. To me the two Mount Sion men are best placed in the half back line with the Stradbally man paced further up the field.

In the middle of the field Jamie Barron is untouchable this year and he should be joined there by the teams captain Kevin Moran.

In attack there may well be changes. The six starting forwards in the Munster Final shared just four points between them from play and simply put that really is not good enough in seventy minutes of hurling.

Maybe this weekend is a time to change how things are done in attack. All along players were brought back to defend when the need arise and then to counter attack. The system is one that does not go down well with purest but whether a person likes it or not, you have to stand up and admit that it works.

With one man on his own for periods of the game in the full forward line is putting pressure on him.

Against Dublin, should Waterford go with a more traditional formation, then Dublin could very well be there for the taking.

There is some that will argue that there is a weakness in their full back line and if it can be exploited as Galway did, Dublin could be on the wrong end of a heavy defeat.

Paul Schutte is an excellent defender, but there might be weaknesses at this level of hurling in Niall Corcoran and Cian O’Callaghan and if Waterford can exploit this, then Waterford can win as handsomely as Galway did against Dublin a few weeks back.

To try and cause the maximum trouble to the Dublin full back line it was to be decided as to go with two big men in the inside forward line or one big man and two lively players in the corners picking up on the breaks.

Could Waterford go with Maurice Shanahan and Stephen Bennett in the inside forward line or go with just one of them and have players like Brian O’Halloran, Colin Dunford or Patrick Curran in the corners.

Michael Walsh will start at centre forward and if Waterford were to go with one big man in the full forward line the other could well start on one wing with possibly Shane Bennett and Jake Dillon fighting it out to start on the other wing or even placing Colin Dunford there.

Whatever fifteen Derek McGrath and his selectors put out to do battle on Sunday against Dublin in Thurles, the ability is there for the side to win and advance to an All-Ireland semi final against Kilkenny, a game that could be a little easier to win than of the sides were to meet in the final.

And if that was to happen its worth remembering that Waterford know they can beat both Cork and Tipperary and also that in Senior Championship hurling Waterford have never lost to Galway which would mean one thing, but we wont think about that just yet. Let’s just get Dublin first.

De La Salle College and Blackwater Community School to Clash in Dr. Harty Cup

Just two Waterford sides will compete in this season’s Dr. Harty (Munster under 18 and a half Senior Colleges Hurling) Cup.

Neither Colaiste na Déise/Dungarvan Colleges who won the competition in 2012 and 2013 or Dungarvan CBS who played on their own in the last two years were included in the draw for this years group stages of the competition.

Both De La Salle College and Blackwater Community School from Lismore were paired together in Group A which could well prove to be a group of death.

However there could well be Waterford interest in the competition with players playing with Waterford clubs playing in the competition with colleges outside of Waterford.

Along with the two Waterford sides in Group A will be Ardscoil Rís from Limerick who won the competition in 2014. The Limerick City side also contested the Dean Ryan (Munster Under16 and a half Munster Hurling) Cup final two years ago where they narrowly lost out to East Cork side Midleton CBS in the Final. Midleton CBS are also in Group A along with Hamilton High School from Bandon.

2015 runners up St. Francis College from Rochestown are in Group B along with Pobail Scoil na Trionaide from Youghal, Charleville CBS, Our Lady’s CBS from Templemore and Gael Colaiste Mhuire AG from Cork City.

Holders Thurles CBS are in Group C where they will play Saint Colman’s from Fermoy, Nenagh CBS and Scoil na Trionaide from Doon.

Saint Flannan’s from Ennis who head the Roll of Honour when it comes to success in this competition with 21 wins, the last coming in 2005 are in Group D along with Castletroy College, Ennis CBS and the High School (CBS) in Clonmel.

Bobby Duggan powers Clare into under 21 Munster Final with 13 points

Bobby Duggan produced an Man of the Match Performance for reigning All-Ireland Champions Clare hitting thirteen points for his side at Ennis as they defeated Waterford 0-23 to 1-18.

From the XV picked to start in the Minor game between the two sides in 2012, a game that Waterford won 1-20 to 3-13 after extra time seven players – Shane O’Brien, Aidan McGuane, Conor Cleary, Eoin Quirke, David Conroy, Bobby Duggan and Shane O’Donnell started here for Clare while for Waterford, eight players from the 2012 minor team – Kieran Bennett, Tadhg de Búrca, Shane Bennett, Shane McNulty, Tom Devine, DJ Foran, Michéal Harney and Stephen Bennett started for Waterford.

For many it was expected that Shane O’Donnell would be the home side’s leading player, but the Waterford defence were able to keep him scoreless over the hour but it was further out the field that the damage was inflicted on Waterford as the Clarecastle Club man hit an unlucky for Waterford 13 points from the right half forward position while Clonlara’s Ian Galvin on the opposite wing hit a half dozen scores.

Clare who were missing many of the players that helped them to the last three under 21 All-Ireland’s went into this game with Waterford the favourites, a tag that often fails to sit well on the shoulders of the counties teams, but from what we saw in Cusack Park this evening, it is reasonable to expect the Banner County to challenge for a fourth title at this grade in a row, as they now advance to the Munster Final where they will meet the winners of the second semi final between Limerick and Tipperary which takes place tomorrow evening.

Waterford started the game with seven players that featured in Sunday’s Munster Final loss to Tipperary in Thurles and with many claiming Inter county hurling to be a young man’s game these days, surly is time for G.A.A. Chiefs to examine the inter county calendar to ensure that players have a reasonable recovery time between games, especially as some show great concern when it comes to player burn out.

Patrick Curran with five points, Austin Gleeson with three and one each from Shane Bennett, DJ Foran and Mickey Kearney with responses from Bobby Duggan with seven, and one each from Shane Gleeson, Ian Galvin and Ryan Taylor gave Waterford a 0-11 to 0-10 lead at the break.

The sides were level on four occasions in that half as the sides were locked at four points each after just ten minutes.

However ten minutes later it was going extremely well for Derek Lyons charges as they held a 0-9 to 0-5 lead.

But Clare would finish the half the stronger of the two half outscoring Waterford five points to two, Waterford’s scores coming from Mickey Kearney and Patrick Curran while Duggan hit two of the home sides points in the last ten minutes of the first half with Galvin, Taylor and Gleeson sharing the rest.

Clare stayed longest in the dressing rooms at the break as the home sides management team took every second available to work their team up for the second half and it worked.

Bobby Duggan, Ian Galvin and Aidan McGuane all hit a point each inside the first six minutes of the second half to give Clare a 0-13 to 0-11 lead.

Austin Gleeson from a free pulled a point back for Waterford on thirty seven minutes, but points from Bobby Duggan Eoin Quirke, Ian Galvin followed to increase the home side’s lead to four with ten minutes of the second half played.

Points from Austin Gleeson (65) and Colin Dunford followed for Waterford to half Clare’s lead in the next two minutes, and a minute later, Patrick Curran hit the games only goal after the Old Boro Club man ran through the Clare defence and planted the ball in the back of Keith Hogan’s net from close range to put Waterford back in front by one.

Clare however responded as all good teams do, as Ian Galvin put over a brace of scores from play and Bobby Duggan landed one to put Clare back in front by two (0-19 to 1-14) with twelve minutes of the game remaining.

Respective free takers Patrick Curran and Bobby Duggan swapped scores from placed balls twice to keep Clare 0-21 to 1-16 in front with seven minutes left on the clock.

Duggan and Curran again exchanged scores with four minutes left on the clock and Ian Galvin was picked out by Bobby Duggan and the Clonlara man ensured it was the home side that advanced to the Munster Final with a point on the hour mark.

However, the game was not over yet. Waterford won a twenty metre free which Austin Gleeson took and his attempted shot for goal by getting the ball to bounce in front of a seven man Clare wall on the goal line was blocked and when Waterford were awarded a late ’65 Shane Bennett attempting to put in sliotar in around the Clare goal and hope that a Waterford hurley would make contact with the ball saw his effort fail to drop on time and went over the crossbar to leave two between the sides after which the full time whistle was shaded straight away.

CLARE: Keith Hogan; Eoin Quirke, David Fitzgerald, Shane O'Brien; Aidan McGuane, Conor Cleary, Ben O'Gorman; David Conroy, Kevin Hehir; Bobby Duggan, Shane Gleeson, Ian Galvin; Shane O'Donnell, Stephen Ward, Ryan Taylor. Subs: Shane Taylor for Shane Gleeson (38).

Scorers: B Duggan 0-13 (7f), I Galvin 0-6, E Quirke 0-1, Aidan McGuane 0-1, Shane Gleeson 0-1, Ryan Taylor 0-1

WATERFORD: Jordan Henley; Shane McNulty, Kieran Bennett, Conor Gleeson; Michéal Harney, Tadhg de Búrca, Shane Bennett; Austin Gleeson, Tom Devine; Colin Dunford, Stephen Bennett, DJ Foran; Ryan Donnelly, Patrick Curran, Mikey Kearney. Subs: Darragh Lyons for Michéal Harney (HT), Cathal Curran for Ryan Donnelly (40), Séamus Keating for DJ Foran (46).

Scorers: Patrick Curran 1-7 (5f), Austin Gleeson 0-5 (1f, 1 '65'), Shane Bennett 0-2 (1 '65'), Colin Dunford 0-1, DJ Foran 0-1, Mikey Kearney 0-1, Cathal Curran 0-1

Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick).

Seven in a row for Waterford’s Intermediate Ladies Footballers in Munster

I’m watching Ladies Football now with about 30 years. My interest began in the mid 80’s when Saint Mary’s Touraneena National School which I attended had teams entered in the West Waterford Primary School Leagues.

The team was coached by one of the teachers, Mrs Anne McGrath and the leagues were superbly organised by the likes of Margaret Cunningham and Breda Cleary.

In the late 80’s a short lived Sliabh gCua team operated in the Touraneena area and I took the chance when given to go and see as many games as possible.

In the early 90’s I began to go and see the Waterford Senior Team play many of their games.

Since then I have seen many good players like Cora Staunton, Diane O’Hara, Christina Heffernan, Denise Horan and Helena Lohan all from Mayo, Connie Conway, Amanda Donohoe, Sue Ramsbottom, Mary Casey from Laois, Mary J. Curran, Katie Liston and Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh from Kerry, London’s Patricia Mimna, Jenny Greenon, Linda Farrelly and Niamh Kindlon from Monaghan, Christine O’Brien from Meath, Caroline O’Hanlon from Armagh and the likes of Rena Buckley, Briege Corkery, Juliet Murphy, Brid Stack and Angela Walsh from Cork.

And I have not mentioned any of the Waterford greats of yet, the likes of the O’Ryan twins, Marina and Geraldine, Noreen Walsh, Áine Wall, the Crotty sisters Fiona and Marie, Bernie Ryan, Olivia Condon, Julie Ann Torpey, Catriona Casey, June Whyte, and Annalisa Crotty amongst many others.  

The players that played for Waterford during the 90’s can be very proud of what they achieved. They ended the dominance of Kerry, they won five All-Ireland Finals between 1991 and 1998 and along the way they had some terrific battles not just with Kerry, but also the likes of Laois, Monaghan and Mayo.

On Saturday afternoon last the present Waterford team won their seventh Munster Final in a row.

The seven titles won since 2009 may be at a grade lower than what the great team of the 90’s achieved, but the fete is just as impressive, as there is more teams competing now than there was in the 90’s, making competitions all the harder to win.

For some of the older members of this years panel, the latest win was a sweat one, as it was for Michelle McGrath, Mairead Wall, Michelle Ryan, Elaine Power, Nora Dunphy and Linda Wall their seventh year in a row being part of the team that won the title.

While the team has won seven Munster Titles in a row, an All-Ireland Final at this level still eludes the county. Surly its only a matter of time before the side do win, maybe September 2015 is the time, even if it does not happen for this present panel, when the players look back on their career in the years to come, they can be very happy with what they achieved.

Waterford’s latest win saw Pat Sullivan’s charges beat a strong Clare outfit at Mallow with four points to spare.

Waterford played against the wind in the first half and at the end of the opening thirty minutes the sides turned around locked at 0-7 each in what proved to be an evenly balanced half.

Clare knew however that if they were to win here having played with first use of the wind they would have had to turned around with a four or five point advantage against the reigning champions who had a good mix of youth and experience.

Clare in the second half hit just two scores over the course of the thirty minutes, but both were goals which kept Waterford under some pressure throughout, but in the end, a Grainne Kenneally goal sandwiched in between a brace from Róisín Howley as well as seven other scores proved crucial for Waterford.

Waterford got off to a flying start in this game kicking two very early points, both from Maria Delahunty who was winning her second provincial medal at this level, her first coming at the very start of the seven in a row.

The first of the brace of early points came from a free won inside the first minute of the game starting and the second again from a free came within sixty seconds of the first.

Grainne Nolan on four minutes and Róisín Howley kicked her first score for Clare to level matters two minutes later.

Waterford put over three in a row, Sinead Ryan who is in outstanding form for Waterford this year hit her first of the game on ten minutes and it was followed with a brace from Hannah Landers on thirteen and fifteen minutes to send Waterford into a three point lead.

Clare however upped their game at this point and it was they that hit the next three scores, Gráinne Nolan hit her second of the game on sixteen minutes which was followed with a brace from Ailish Considine on eighteen and twenty minutes to level matters for the second time.

Waterford soon were in front once more however as Mary Foley who is another Waterford player having a brilliant year up to now put over a point which was followed by an excellent score from Maria Delahunty who has given Waterford that little something special this year to give Waterford a 0-7 to 0-5 advantage with twenty six minutes played.

But with the wind at their backs, Clare would finish slightly the stronger of the two sides as Ailish Considine put over a brace of late points, the first from a free to send the sides to the dressing rooms locked at 0-7 each.

The winning of the game was in the opening minutes of the second half when playing with the wind at their backs, Waterford came out and hit the first five points of the half.

Maria Delahunty was first off the mark on thirty two minutes and her score was followed up with efforts from Aileen Wall on thirty four minutes and Sinead Ryan on thirty five minutes before Abbeyside’s Maria Delahunty again stuck for Waterford to give the a 0-11 to 0-7 advantage with thirty nine minutes played.

Waterford went five in front when Sinead Ryan landed her third of the game forty three minutes but a goal from Róisín Howley on forty five made life a little uncomfortable for Waterford as there was just two between the sides.

Waterford however hit back almost straight away with a goal from Grainne Kenneally when she collected a through ball from Sinead Ryan, blasting past Emma O’Driscoll to restore Waterford’s five point advantage, but Róisín Howley responded with a second goal to leave two between the sides once more. With nine minutes to play the challengers won a penalty which was left to Róisín Howley to face Katie Hannon. The Ballyduff Upper player did well to keep the ball out of the net but the rebound fell back to the Burren Gaels player and at the second time of asking she dispatched to the Waterford net to leave just two between the sides once more.

Waterford however would finish the game strong, as points from Maria Delahunty on fifty three minutes and Sinead Ryan who was picked out by Aoife Murray were landed to give Waterford a four point win.

Waterford now has a few weeks break before they play in the All-Ireland quarter finals in the middle of August. For Clare it’s the qualifiers as the sides in the four provinces that did not reach the provincial finals battle it out to leave four sides to play one of the four beaten provincial finalists with the four winners of these games playing one of the provincial winners in the quarter finals.

Waterford: Katie Hannon,  Mairead Wall, Michelle McGrath, Linda Wall; Elaine Power, Megan Dunford, Louise Ryan; Karen McGrath, Emma Murray; Hannah Landers, Maria Delahunty, Aileen Wall; Grainne Kenneally, Sinead Ryan, Mary Foley. Subs: Shauna Dunphy for Hannah Landers, Aoife Murray for Mairead, Michelle Ryan for Mary Foley.

Scorers: Maria Delahunty 0-6, Sinead Ryan 0-4, Grainne Kenneally 1-0, Hannah Landers 0-2, Aileen Wall, Mary Foley 0-1 each

Clare: Ciara Coughlan; Emma O’Driscoll, Laurie Ryan, Grainne Harvey; Claire Hester, Louise Woods, Ellie O’Gorman; Niamh Keane, Becky Mahon; Róisín Howley, Ailish Considine, Marie Considine; Grainne Nolan, Eimear Hillery, Carol O’Leary. Subs: Aoife Keane for Claire Hester, Kayleigh Mc Cormack for Ciara Coughlan.

Scorers: Róisín Howley 2-1, Ailish Considine 0-4, Louise Woods, Grainne Nolan 0-1 each.

Referee: Jason Creed.

 

Tipperary end Waterford’s Winning Streak

A few weeks back, I met a man born and reared a stones throw on the Tipperary side of the Waterford and Tipperary County Boundary. He asked me the usual question when we met. Who will win Liam this year? Without hesitation I gave a one word answer, Tipperary.

He hummed and hawed for a few seconds. I don’t know he said. They have had plenty of chances he added. I told him they had to win this year, adding that if they more than anyone were not a hungry side this year, then they have no reason to step over the white line of a G.A.A. Field.

The same person, every other year I met him was always confident of Tipp’s chances. He always felt they were going to win both the Munster and All-Ireland Championships. But every year his enthusiasm would end in disappointment.

A day or two later I met another Tipperary person and asked if they knew the first person I was talking to. I told the second person of out conversation, and how each year the first person was so confident but was always proven wrong.

‘Well’ I said, this year he has no hope for Tipperary and asked if he could be wrong again. The answer I got was I hope so, we’ve won nothing yet under Eamonn O’Shea.

No one in Tipperary can now say this. While I had high hopes for Waterford going into yesterday’s Munster Final, I will have to admit that on the day the better team and maybe the hungrier team won, and I here congratulate those from Tipperary that I know on their win yesterday.

While Waterford lost out yesterday, its satisfying to see that the knocking that Waterford usually get when a big game is lost has not happened, maybe apart from the usual knockers.

Yes, the defeat was disappointing, but I have no doubt that Waterford’s young team will have learned from the defeat and will come back a better team.

Waterford did have chances to win the game yesterday but it was not to be.

Maybe had not Stephen Bennet lost his hurley while racing through on goal in the first half and therefore not forced to kick for goal rather than strike with the hurley, the game could have had a different outcome.

Again maybe had Colin Dunford spotted better placed players when he raced down on Darren Gleeson in the second half the game could have had a different outcome. But it is no good dwelling on such events. Such events happen, and no player goes out to make what could be sometimes called the wrong decision. In the cold light of play players have to make a call and have to go with what they first think is the best call.

At the other end of the field, Waterford again kept a clean sheet. Last year we were giving out about the conceding of goals and to keep a clean sheet against a team with as many dangers as what Tipperary have, its no mean achievement. Remember back to 2011 when Waterford would have had what some would call a more experienced side, seven goals went past Waterford in the Munster Final at Cork.

Tipperary hardly had a strike on goal and Barry Coughlan kept Seamus Callanan one of the best forwards around with a few years now, scoreless from play.

Waterford began the game on Sunday with two early chances from Kevin Moran and Austin Gleeson, but unfortunately both drifted just wide of the post.

It was Tipperary however that opened the scoring on two minutes through the impressive Niall O’Meara and it was quickly followed with an effort from Seamus Callanan from what was a soft free.

Colin Dunford opened Waterford’s account but Tipperary continued with their early dominance with a second of the game from Niall O’Meara.

Maurice Shanahan got his first of the game on nine minutes from a free on Kevin Moran to leave one between the sides, before Seamus Callanan doubled his side advantage with another converted free.

Points from Patrick Maher and John O’Dwyer followed for Tipperary to give them a 0-6 to 0-2 advantage on the score board and they were beginning to look good as Waterford’s young side took a little time to settle.

Kevin Moran pulled a point back which started a bit of a purple patch for Waterford in the second quarter.

Seamus Callanan put over a ’65 to restore Tipperary’s four point advantage, and moments later Stephen Bennett raced through on goal but lost his hurley and was forced to kick the sliotar which went across the Tipperary goal.

A long range Austin Gleeson free went between the posts for Waterford to reduce the lead to three on twenty one minutes and seconds later the lead was further cut when Maurice Shanahan put over a delightful point from play.

On twenty-four minutes Tipperary’s lead was cut to one when the dependable Maurice Shanahan converted another free and when the same player registered another score with ten minutes left to play in the first half, the sides were level and Waterford were brimming with confidence.

John O’Dwyer edged Tipperary back in front with six minutes to play and a minute later Shane Fives broke forward and hit his first of the game to level matters for the second time.

Kevin Moran with his second of the game sent Waterford into the lead but Tipperary playing on their own sod would finish the half the stronger of the two sides as Michael Breen levelled matters on thirty-five minutes and in added time Seamus Callanan knocked over another free to give his side a 0-10 to 0-9 lead as the sides went to the dressing rooms.

Tipperary expecting a strong challenge from Waterford in the second half brought on Lar Corbett for Michael Breen and it was his side that started the brightly in the second period as Jason Forde knocked over the first score of the second half on thirty nine minutes, but it was cancelled out three minutes later by Shane Fives who hit his second of the game.

Another Maurice Shanahan point eight minutes after the restart had the sides locked at 11 points each, but Tipperary were soon back in front after Niall O’Meara knocked over his third of the game.

Points were swapped by Jason Forde and Maurice Shanahan to keep one between the sides but Tipperary’s greater experience began to tell in the last quarter of an hour as John O’Dwyer edged his side two in front and then Seamus Callanan sent the home side three in front from a free following a foul on Lar Corbett.  

Maurice Shanahan with his seventh of the game left two between the sides with twelve minutes to play, which was quickly followed with a point from John O’Dwyer.

Lar Corbett on the hour mark got his name on the score sheet which edged his side four in front but Maurice Shanahan put over his eight of the game with seven minutes still to play leaving three between the sides.

A Seamus Callanan ’65 went between the posts with five minutes to play and seconds later Patrick Curran landed a point for Waterford.

However, this was as good as it got for Waterford as John O’Dwyer and Patrick Maher added points in quick succession to give Tipperary a 0-20 to 0-15 lead with two minutes of normal time still to play.

Austin Gleeson pulled a point back for Waterford on seventy minutes but Tipperary ensured that victory would be theirs when Shane Bourke who had come on as a sub for Tipperary pointed in added time at the end of the 70.

Waterford will be disappointed with a first competitive defeat in 2015.

Team captain Kevin Moran had an excellent first half for Waterford but his influence was nullified in the second half when his Tipperary counter part Brendan Maher moved back on him.

Barry Coughlan again impressed at full back while Shane Fives had a very good game and his two points rounded off a good afternoons work.

In addition to Kevin Moran in attack Maurice Shanahan and Colin Dunford had good outings.

Its Dublin next for Waterford in two weeks time in the quarter final’s. Ger Cunningham’s side will not be a push over for Waterford but all in Waterford will have to be confident the side can get back to winning ways, and set up an All-Ireland Semi Final with Kilkenny in early August, and if that was to happen, who knows what could happen.

TIPPERARY: Darren Gleeson; Cathal Barrett, James Barry, Ronan Maher; Shane McGrath, Pádraic Maher, Kieran Bergin; James Woodlock, Michael Breen; Jason Forde, Brendan Maher, Patrick Maher; John O'Dwyer, Seamus Callanan, Niall O'Meara.. Subs: Lar Corbett for Michael Breen (half-time), Shane Bourke for Jason Forde (66 mins), Conor O’Brien for Shane McGrath.

Scorers: Seamus Callanan 0-6 (0-4f, 0-2 ’65), John O’Dwyer 0-5 (0-2f), Niall O’Meara 0-3, Jason Forde, Patrick Maher 0-2 each, Lar Corbett, Michael Breen Shane Bourke 0-1 each.

WATERFORD: Stephen O’Keeffe; Shane Fives, Barry Coughlan, Noel Connors;  Austin Gleeson, Tadhg de Búrca, Philip Mahony; Kevin Moran, Jamie Barron; Colin Dunford, Michael Walsh, Eddie Barrett; Stephen Bennett, Maurice Shanahan, Jake Dillon. Subs: Shane Bennett for Eddie Barrett (44 mins), Tom Devine for Stephen Bennett (44 mins), Patrick Curran for Colin Dunford (63 mins), Darragh Fives for Jake Dillon (68 mins).

Scorers: Maurice Shanahan 0-8 (0-3f, 0-2 ’65), Austin Gleeson (0-1f), Shane Fives, Kevin Moran 0-2 each, Patrick Curran, Colin Dunford 0-1 each.

Referee: James Owens (Wexford)

Waterford Ladies look for Seven in a row

A person could be forgiven for thinking that it was only one Waterford side that were involved in a Munster Final this weekend.

All the talk seems to centre around the county senior hurling team and their Munster Final Clash with Tipperary in Thurles on Sunday.

But equally as important to G.A.A. Supporters in the county this weekend is the fact that the County Intermediate Ladies Footballers are also in action this weekend in a Munster Final.

Mallow is the venue early on Saturday evening (4pm) for a clash with what is a strong Clare side.

Should Waterford win this Saturday’s game it will be the seventh title in a row that the county has won at this grade, but it could well prove to be the hardest one of the seven to win.

Clare it should be pointed out are a very experienced side. They have played in the senior grade for much of the last decade and only dropped down a grade at the end of last years Munster and All-Ireland Championships.

They have qualified for the Munster Final with two wins from their three games in the Round Robin Series of the competition.

However in the league they had somewhat of a disappointing campaign, finishing third from bottom with just four points from a possible twenty-one.

The Banner Ladies began their Munster Championship campaign with a 3-13 to 0-17 win over Tipperary and then beat Limerick 4-9 to 3-8 before going under to Waterford last time out 2-12 to 0-11 at Fraher Field.

Clare this year however are playing out without four players that have served them well in the last few years and it remains to be seen how many if any will play a part in Mallow this Saturday.

Three of the four players are very accomplished players and are involved in other sports as well as Ladies Football.

Niamh O’Dea has played Camogie for Clare in the past but she is in America for the summer and it remains to be seen if she will be home for the game.

Eimear Considine is part of the Irish Women’s Rugby team that are attempting to qualify for next years Olympic Games in the coming weeks and it remains to be seen if she will be released from Rugby commitments to be part of the this weekends big clash.

Another player attempting to qualify for next years Olympic Games is Naoimi Carroll. She is part of the Irish Hockey set up and again it remains to be seen if she will be released to be part of the Clare panel this weekend.

The fourth player that player that has not played a part for Clare in recent weeks is Louise Henchy and again it remains to be seen if she will be involved this weekend.

While if the quartet of players is missing for Clare it will be a blow to their chances, it has to be said that the Clare management team will have plenty of options available to them for the game.

In the recent game with Waterford at Fraher Field players like Grainne Nolan, Niamh Keane, Ellie O’Gorman, Kate Coughlan, Róisín Howley, Marie Considine and Ciara Cahill all impressed in the Saffron and Blue shirt.

For Waterford, 2015 is proving to be a good year.

Pat Sullivan’s charges had an excellent league winning seven of the eight games played, the only loss coming in the competition decider against Sligo at Parnell Park.

Since then Waterford’s panel which has a nice blend of youth and experience has recorded three good wins in the Munster Championship, beating Limerick 3-16 to 4-7, Tipperary 6-18 to 1-4 and then Clare last time out 2-12 to 0-11.

A win for Waterford on Saturday afternoon would make it a memorable afternoon for a host of players.

Karen and Michelle McGrath, Linda, Mairead and Aileen Wall, the latter who is still in her early 20’s, Nora Dunphy, Elaine Power, and Michelle Ryan would all win their seventh final in a row in the white and blue of Waterford. Three of the eight would also have won two senior finals with Waterford in 2000 and 2002.

Another two panel members Grainne Kenneally and Mary Foley will have won a sixth medal. The Ballyduff Upper player missed out in 2013 when she missed the year with an injury, the Abbeyside player missed out on a medal twelve months earlier.

A win for Waterford on Saturday afternoon would see Katie Hannon, Megan Dunford, Emma Murray, Mary Kate Morrissey, Aoife Murray, Kate McGrath, Emer Scanlon, Mairead Power, Aoife Dunne, Lauren McGregor and Katie Murray win a first medal at this level.

When the sides met at Fraher Field recently both sides had advanced to this weekend’s final ahead of the game, both having beaten Tipperary and Limerick in the first two games of the competition.

Clare made five changes to their starting line out from the hand out given to patrons entering the ground, while Waterford made eight personnel changes to the published team.

With neither side wanting to show their full hand ahead of this weekend’s game, there was a degree of shadow boxing attached to that game, but none the less, a good game of attacking football was fought out by both sides.

This weekend, both sides would be expected to be as near full strength as is possible.

If the players mentioned above for Clare do miss out this weekend it should mean that the challengers will line out along the lines of Ciara Coughlan in goal with a full back line of Emma O’Driscoll, Laurie Ryan an Claire Hester. The half back line could well read Ellie O’Gorman and Grainne Harvey on the wings with Louise Woods operating at centre back.

Niamh Keane and Becky Mahon could well be selected to start in the middle of the field while Róisín Howley, Ailish Considine, Orlaith Devitt, Grainne Nolan, Eimear Hillery and Carol O’Leary could well form the forward line.

Looking at the Waterford panel, the question has to be asked, what exactly is a full strength Waterford panel? No matter what way you pick the team there is going to be some excellent players left on the side lines as back up.

Katie Hannon is the only recognised goalkeeper in the panel, so is set to start between the posts.

Megan Dunford, Michelle McGrath and Linda Wall could well form the full back line with Mairead Wall, Elaine Power and possibly Caoimhe McGrath playing just outside them.

In the middle of the field Karen McGrath would be expected to start, with fellow Ballymacarbry player Louise Ryan playing alongside her.

In attack Waterford have plenty of options.

Maria Delahunty is likely to be restored to the centre forward position with Aileen Wall and Grainne Kenneally playing either side of her.

Sinead Ryan has added strength to the team this year on her return and she has been in fine form this year playing on the edge of the square. Mary Foley has proven to be a revelation since her move into the forwards while Aoife Murray could be given the nod to start in the other corner.

Throughout the year, all of Waterford’s players have been given their chance to shine and they did not fail to deliver.

That could mean that the likes of Emma Murray, Shauna Dunphy, Nicola Fennell, Michelle Ryan, Nora Dunphy, Hannah Landers, Kate McGrath, Mary Kate Morrissey, Emer Scanlon, Mairead Power, Aoife Landers, Aoife Dunne, Lauren McGregor and Katie Murray could all be asked to stand in for any of the players mentioned above and they would not be out of place as there is considerable experience amongst them with the likes of Michelle Ryan, Nora Dunphy, Hannah Landers and Aoife Landers all having played in All-Ireland Finals at Croke Park.

Normally, when two sides clash in close proximity I have a tendency to favour the team that lost the first day in the second game, but this does not always happen.

This is one of these occasions.

Clare will improve on the round robin game between the two at Fraher Field but it should be remembered that on the day, Waterford were without a number of very experienced players with the likes of Megan Dunford who was selected on the Division three Ladies Football National League team of the year, Elaine Power, Louise Ryan, Grainne Kenneally and Maria Delahunty all missing that game while Sinead Ryan played further out the field than the full forward position where she plays her best football.

You would expect these five players to be included from the off this Saturday afternoon and if happens, it will considerably strengthen the Waterford team.

No game is going to be won these days just by the fifteen players selected to start. What is sprung from the bench when needed could be the winning of the team as it’s important at times to maybe strengthen the team rather than weaken it when making changes and Waterford could well do this.

Waterford has won seven ladies football finals in a row in the past. The great team of the 90’s did it between 1994 and 2000 adding to the two finals they won in 1991 and 1992.

If this present team was to win seven in a row, the names of the players involved will go down in the history of the game when it is written within the county. The present panel may be playing at a grade lower than those in the 90’s, but a Munster final win is a Munster Final win in any grade.

It’s Waterford for me to win in Mallow this Saturday afternoon, but expect it to be close.