Déise Ladies footballers can continue winning streak
The Waterford Ladies Football team will take on Tipperary in the Munster Ladies Football Championship this Sunday.
TG4 Munster Senior Championship
Tipperary v Waterford; Fethard Town Park, 2pm
After finishing third in Division 1, a Munster final appearance is the next target for the Waterford ladies.
The provincial round robin starts with a trip to Tipperary on Sunday. The Déise then have back-to-back home games against Kerry (May 4) and Cork (May 11), with the top two contesting the decider on May 25 in Mallow.
The good vibes continued last week as captain Emma Murray and top scorer Kellyann Hogan were named on the Division 1 Team of the League. Murray is among the elite players in the country right now. She glides across the ground, she tackles, she turns over ball, she scores. A leader in every sense of the word. Hogan’s hard running and accuracy from frees and from play made her another automatic selection.
Tomás Mac a t’Saoir’s front-foot approach saw Waterford win their last three league games. The Kerry native wants his team to be brave and get in the faces of the opposition. The ten-point victory over Armagh in Kilmacthomas was the undoubted highlight. They pressed up high on the kickout in the second half, and the Orchard County had no escape route.
Waterford are hard to stop when the Murrays and the Powers get up and running. The forwards are scoring freely. Hogan (1-37) and Lauren McGregor (6-16) spearheaded the attack throughout the league. 56 per cent of Waterford’s scores between the two of them. McGregor was desperately unlucky to miss out on the Team of the League. 6-8 of her 6-16 came from open play. Bríd McMaugh and Clare Walsh also stepped up to the plate in the Armagh game.
The return of Karen McGrath and Rebecca Casey has bolstered the defence. Megan Dunford came off the bench against Mayo. Her first inter-county appearance in nearly two years. The Abbeyside defender missed the entire 2024 season with a knee injury.
Gemma Corcoran, Katelyn Gardner, and Aimee Jordan all saw action between the sticks during the league. Corcoran made outstanding saves against Kerry and Meath. The talented Ballysaggart teenager missed the last three rounds due to her involvement with the minor team. Gardner got game time in both codes. When both Corcoran and Gardner were unavailable, Jordan donned the county jersey for the first time in a decade.
Tipperary finished third in Division 2. Aishling Moloney is still their star attraction. She scored 1-7 in the recent win over Roscommon to secure their second-tier status. Mac a’Tsaoir may stick a marker like Hannah Power on the All-Star attacker. Tipp captain Lauren Fitzpatrick from Ballymacarbry is one of the best shot stoppers in the business.
A confident Waterford to continue their winning streak on Sunday and get within touching distance of a first provincial final since 2019.
L Fitzpatrick (capt.); N Martin, L Spillane, E Cronin; S English; M Curley, B Condon; A.R. Kennedy, S O’Carroll; H Spillane, N Towey, A O’Shea; C English, K Crotty Ryan, A Fennessy.
G Corcoran; M Ryan, R Casey, C Murray; K McGrath, H Power, Á O’Neill; E Murray, E Power; B McMaugh, K Hogan, C McCarthy; K Murray, C Walsh, L McGregor.
