Waterford get Kennedy Cup campaign off to a flyer
The Waterford Kennedy Cup squad got their group stage off to a winning start with a 1-0 win over the Clare League at the UL.
It was a winning start for the Waterford Schoolboy League at the SFAI Subway Kennedy Cup at the University of Limerick on Monday afternoon as second-half goals from Michael Cullinane and James Stokes gave them victory over the Clare League.
After Hugo Thompson put Waterford in front on six minutes when he raced onto a through ball from Dan Roche on the right-side before finishing to the far corner past keeper Liam Mulready, Clare levelled six minutes before the break.
Dominik Lonergan struck the crossbar with a thunderous effort on 20 minutes before the leveller arrived four minutes later through captain Adam Roche, who found the net with a wind-assisted free-kick that caught out the Waterford keeper Lenson Mate.
Dan Roche had a chance to regain the lead for Waterford on the stroke of the half-time whistle when he cut in from the left-side after picking up a pass from Thompson, but he shot straight into the hands of the Clare keeper Mulready.
There was a chance for Clare to strike the front four minutes into the second-half when Alex Malone fired in a shot only for Mate to make a fine save and the Blues defence cleared their lines with Eric Berjenariu ready to pounce.
After Roche had an effort saved a minute later at the other end, Waterford got their noses back in front on 41 minutes. Callum Curran whipped over a right-wing corner-kick that wasn’t cleared by the Clare backline, and Michael Cullinane beat keeper Luke Mulready at his near post.
With Waterford bringing on players like Joey Robinson and Billy Flynn in a bid to a grab a third goal, it did arrived five minutes later. They worked the ball out to the left where Hugo Thompson crossed into the centre, and Villa teammate James Stokes blasted home from close-range.
Clare did have a chance to pull a goal back from the penalty spot ten minutes from the finish when Flynn was judged harshly to have handled in the area, but the resulting Cian O’Sullivan penalty came crashing back off the right-hand post.
In the other game in Waterford’s group, Daniel Blanc grabbed a hat-trick for the Midlands League as they defeated Cavan/Monaghan by five goals to nil. Next up for Waterford on Tuesday morning at 10am will be a clash against Cavan/Monaghan before facing the Midlands in their final group game at 4pm.
