Waterford's Kennedy Cup dreams dashed by Hogan spot-kick
Waterford Schoolboy League Kennedy Cup squad have lost to Cork in the quarterfinal at UL. Photo: Andre Thompson
The dream of landing a fourth-ever SFAI Subway Kennedy Cup title for the Waterford Schoolboy League ended in disappointment as their quarter-final clash against the Cork Schoolboy League was settled by a Sean Hogan 39th-minute second-half penalty.
With Cork all the rage going into the meeting of the two teams, Waterford gave as good as they got for long periods, but just lacked the cutting edge. They couldn’t be faulted for effort or work rate as they bowed out of the cup proper with their heads held high.
There was very little to separate the sides during the opening quarter despite Cork having more possession before the breakthrough arrived on 15 minutes. It was too easy down the right side as the dangerous Sean Hogan, wearing the number ten jersey crossed for Brandon Slattery to finish.
Kerry assistant referee Darren O’Rourke was in the centre of three controversial moments that on reflection, he got right. The first was to flag a ball over the line when Cork keeper Dara O’Connor didn’t keep out Callum Curran’s left-wing delivery, and then he flagged that Waterford keeper Lenson Mate was fouled when Slattery bundled home early in the second-half.
The big moment from the official was to advise Wexford referee Vladyslav Onyshechnko that Hogan was fouled in the area by a Waterford defender, and although Mate guessed the right way, he couldn’t keep out his penalty.
Waterford kept fighting to the end, but in truth, they failed to master the chance to put Cork keeper Dara O’Connor under pressure and they’ll now face the Kerry League in the plate semi-final as the hopes of cup victory were dashed for another year. It was certainly a brave effort from Tosh Cleary's side and they'll be hoping to regroup for the plate section.
