Déise hold off late rally to land league glory
Waterford captain Dessie Hutchinson addresses the Déise faithful after collecting the Division 1B League trophy. Photos: INPHO/James Lawlor
The GAA decision to play the Division 1B league final as a curtain raiser to the Cork/Tipperary final saw the game played out very much as expected. With the Cork masses and the token Tipp travelling support biding time in the nearby hostelries, Waterford and Offaly lined out in the 45,000 capacity stadium watched by a scattering of loyal supporters dotted around the stands and terraces while failing to generate anything close to the atmosphere one would expect for a league final. Certainly, this game should have been played as a stand alone fixture in Nowlan Park or tossed for between the two counties.
As for the game itself the first half saw Waterford looking by far the more interested side, dominating in all sectors against an Offaly side showing far less enthusiasm than had been evident in Walsh Park two weeks earlier. It could have been assumed that having achieved promotion to Division 1A was seen as mission accomplished by Offaly and nothing else really mattered.
In no way flattered to be eleven points ahead at halftime, though Offaly were playing into the breeze, Waterford retained the upper hand comfortably into the second half despite Offaly securing a slightly bizarre 51st minute goal. A quick reply from Patrick Curran saw the green flag raised at the other end. Even when Oisin Kelly nabbed his second goal in the 56th minute Waterford still held a comfortable 1-25 to 2-10 lead However, between then and the final whistle the wheels came off the Deise bus and with Offaly adding a further ten points it took two points in reply from Patrick Curran and Dessie Hutchinson to steady the ship leaving their side with just four points to spare at the final whistle.
Up to the final fifteen minutes Peter Queally and his selectors would have been reasonably happy with how things were playing out following the training camp in Portugal and three weeks to go the championship clash with All Ireland champions Clare in Walsh Park. The picture changed dramatically in those closing minutes as Brian Duignan and Oisin Kelly were proving a handful for the Waterford defence. Indeed, it was surprising that Conor Ryan was not one of the subs called on board in the final quarter.
There must be some concerns regarding the midfield pairing with both Conor Sheahan and Darragh Lyons substituted here. It does appear that Stephen Bennett is operating on a roving commission that at times sees him as our primary ball winner outfield. Michael Kiely was listed as a substitute, indicating he must be close to full fitness though not used. If he is available for the halfback line, as seemed to have been the intention before his injury, it could see Paddy Leavey switched to midfield.
Clearly, apart from injuries, there are some big decisions to be made over the next few weeks.
Defeat to Tipperary in Thurles on Saturday saw our senior footballers heading into the Tailteaan Cup again this year. Paul Shankey’s side did not enjoy the best of luck in a league campaign that saw them lose to the same opponents and they were always going to be up against it in Thurles. They put in a spirited performance in reducing what at one stage in the second half was a ten point deficit to just three points at the final whistle. Paul Shanky has been putting in a big effort with a dedicated bunch of players and hopefully they will get a good run in the Tailteann Cup that will set them up for a promotion challenge in next year’s league.
With summer time kicking in at the start of last week so too did the GAA inter county championship season in various grades. The U-20 Football Championships enjoyed a head start two weeks earlier with Waterford pulling off a surprise first round win away to Clare in Doonbeg, That victory was seen as a shot in the arm for Deise football coming as it did with Waterford’s senior getting their first win of the league, beating London. With a home game to follow against a Limerick side beaten by Tipperary in their opening game hopes were high of making it to a Munster semi-final. Unfortunately Waterford failed to reproduce the Clare form when going down to a two point defeat to Limerick in Dungarvan. There followed a thirteen point defeat by Tipperary in Clonmel and it was Clare, on beating Limerick, who went forward to the Munster semi-finals alongside Tipperary. Waterford had a chance to prove the result against Limerick all wrong when the teams met in Mallow in what was described as a B final for the two but on that occasion suffered a ten point defeat.
Fielding a good spread of players up to the age from last year’s squad the minor hurlers (U-17) were seen as our best chance of underage progress this year and they did not disappoint. Last Friday week’s win over a fancied Tipperary side in Thurles was a breath of fresh air, breaking as it did a sequence of disappointing results in this grade extending beyond the arrival of Covid. The result was no ‘flash on the pan’ as the team followed up to produce a brilliant second half performance to see off Limerick in Fraher Field on Friday last with Ballygunner’s Conor Spain once again top scorer, following up his 1-9 of his side’s 1-16 against Tipperary with 1-13 of Waterford’s 1-20 in Fraher Field. Spain’s scoring exploits will come as no surprise to observers who saw him account for 2-15 of Ballygunner’s 3-22 in last year’s county minor final defeat of Roanmore. With an away game against Cork and a home game against Clare to follow Waterford are in with a real chance of making it to the Munster Final but either way will be in the knockout phase of the All Ireland Championships.
Minor results over the past few years indicated a difficult campaign for Ken McGrath’s charges this year so it was no surprise that they lost out to Clare in their opening championship game in Fraher Field on Wednesday last. The fulltime score of 2-18 to 0-17 flattered the winners as Waterford were well in the game up to the closing stages. A succession of missed frees from scoring range proved costly when Waterford were on top and it was a turnover of possession in defence that gifted Clare a second goal in the 55th minute. Waterford play their second home game tomorrow evening in Dungarvan against a Limerick team that scored a surprise win over Tipperary in Semple Stadium two weeks ago. On form Waterford will be up against it once more but the players showed real spirit against Clare and will not be found wanting for effort.
The county minor footballers had their first outing last evening against Tipperary in Fethard. As has been said before it is a handicap for a county like Waterford to have the Munster minor hurling and football championships overlapping at this time of year as it forces youngsters to make choices between hurling and football. A lot of work has gone into both minor teams this year and hopefully, with the minor hurlers doing so well, the minor footballers will follow suit.
Busy times on the inter county championship scene.
