Gaultier go one step closer as they see off Stradbally
Gaultier's Tommy Martin executes a no look pass against Stradbally's Michael Mullanry and Aaron Curran. Photo: Maurice Hennebry
Gaultier are through to another Waterford Senior Football Championship semi-final as they led from pillar to post against Stradbally to book their place in the final four.
Mark Fitzgerald and JJ Hutchinson led the way as Robin Croke’s men are now a game away from a place in a first senior decider in 30 years.
Faced with horrific wet and windy conditions not conducive to free-flowing football, both sides struggled to threaten the scoreboard with any degree of regularity.
Gaultier took the lead after two and a half minutes, as Dessie Hutchinson got out in front of his marker before teeing up Sean White to split the posts, though they failed to make their early dominance count with three successive wides afterward.
At the opposite end, Tom Dalton did well to keep Stradbally talisman Michael O’Brien quiet in the opening exchanges, as the conditions also played their part in making this an admittedly unenthralling affair.
Gaultier lost their full-back Sean Byrne following a heavy collision, but they responded well to that setback as Hutchinson pounced on a mistake from Pa Skehan to race clear and curl over the first score in 23 minutes to make it 0-2 to nil.
A game devoid of any real quality then saw the injection it needed when Gaultier captain Mark Fitzgerald was afforded room to shoot from 50 yards and he raised the orange flag with aplomb, before White quickly added his second and the lead was suddenly five.
A JJ Hutchinson free made it six, and that was the score at the interval as Stradbally were held scoreless, and were hoping for a serious second-half revival with the aid of the breeze.
Gaultier picked up where they left off as JJ Hutchinson split the posts again as the gap grew to seven points - and having kicked eight wides by this point, they could’ve been well out of sight. Fitzgerald put further daylight between the sides as Stradbally were reduced to some speculative shooting from range.
The men in red finally got off the mark on 43 minutes courtesy of a curler from John Bruton, before a two-point free from Michael O’Brien made the scoreline much more respectable. They huffed and puffed but couldn’t find the target, and Gaultier sub Sean Cullinane made it a six-point affair again with five minutes of normal time remaining.
Veteran forward JJ Hutchinson was good as ever as he knocked over his third and Gaultier’s tenth, before another late two-point free from O’Brien increased Stradbally’s tally.
It was too little too late for Stradbally, a 61st-minute goal effort from O’Brien dragging right and wide.
A semi-final clash awaits for Gaultier, as they bid to reach a first senior final since 1996 next weekend.
Mark Fitzgerald (0-3; 1tp); JJ Hutchinson (0-3; 0-1f); Sean White (0-2); Dessie Hutchinson and Sean Cullinane (0-1 each)
Michael O’Brien (0-4; 2 tpf); John Bruton (0-1)
Gavin Buckley; Aaron Jones, Sean Byrne, David Jones; Tommy Martin, Fergal O’Brien, Callum O’Neill; Mark Fitzgerald, Gary Cullinane; Dessie Hutchinson, Billy O’Keeffe, Tom Dalton; JJ Hutchinson, Sean White, Kyle Flynn.
Darragh O’Keeffe for Sean Byrne (22; inj); Niall McSweeney for Kyle Flynn (43); Sean Cullinane for Billy O’Keeffe (43); Dale Cullinane for Tom Dalton (47); Eoin McSweeney for JJ Hutchinson (58)
Nicky Power, Brendan Gough, Seathrún Kiersey, Paul Connors; Liam Kiersey, Aaron Curran, John Bruton; Jack Mullaney, Cormac McGrath; Pa Skehan, Michael O’Brien, Daniel Weldon; Conor Fennell, Paul Tobin, Michael Mullaney.
Matthew Fitzgerald for Conor Fennell (13; inj); Tommy Fennell for Paul Tobin (43); Barry O’Brien for John Bruton (54)
Alan Kissane (Dunhill)
