Waterford GAA Discussion Thread 2011-2012

zol 2 wrote: »

Sad to hear he will be out for club and county for the foreseeable future. It must surely make our Munster championship game against Limerick all the more difficult now. Abbeyside/Ballinacourty will miss him also with club championship games coming up thick and fast in both codes.

Broken jaw I heard - disaster! Any idea if this was an off the ball incident or did it happen in general play?

noiniho wrote: »

I saw Shane Bennett playing in the county minor final, he did look small out on the field alright, but more then made up for that with skill and tenacity, he was described to me as being fearless by someone who has seen more of him.

That sounds good, a possible tommy walsh in the making who's got more tenacity than any player i've seen

KevIRL wrote: »

#GAA MHC 1st Round Results - Waterford 1-20 Clare 3-13 (AET); Limerick 0-16 Cork 1-12; Tipperary 6-21 Kerry 0-11

Its Waterford v Tipp next, is that straight knock out? I think it might be which is pretty unfair.

Cork play Kerry now and the winners of that v Clare.

Yea, straight knock out, crazy system, but one we have taken advantage of before, Tipp will be a huge challange was very impressed with them when Wat played them in a challange match a few weeks back, but ya never Know !

WATERFORD 1-20 CLARE 3-13

Waterford minor hurlers edged out defending champions Clare after extra time in a thrilling Munster Minor Hurling Championship first round game in Ennis last night to set up a semi-final clash with Tipperary in Thurles on Friday June 29th. This was a real seesaw game with both teams in turn enjoying successive periods of domination.

Given that Clare were at home and the defending champions, there was a surprisingly small crowd of less than 2,000, a large proportion of whom were from Waterford. Clare went into this game as underdogs, due largely to the absence of their star player James Shanahan, and were further hit by the early departure of centre forward Shane Liddy with a bad leg injury, and then by the loss, midway through the second half, of excellent centre back Conor Cleary.

Despite these setbacks, at several stages of this game Clare looked like the more likely winners. They appeared to be better focused and coached and, for much of the game, more determined and committed than Waterford. Their first touch and teamwork were better, and they always had two players under the dropping ball, one to challenge for it and the other to pick up the breaking ball, which happened time and again.

Waterford were bigger and stronger physically, and had some excellent high fielders throughout the field, a skill which has been rare enough among Waterford teams at all levels in recent times. They also raised their game when it was most needed, made some good substitutions, and definitely had a better team on the field when the game ended than when it started. In the early stages they played some good ball into the corners to potential danger men Stephen Bennett and Cathal Curran, but as the game progressed and the pressure built there was a lot of hitting the ball blindly downfield, much of it down the middle where it was gobbled up by Conor Cleary.

It was a warm sunny evening, which at this time of the year meant the sun was shining into the eyes of the Waterford players in the first half, although they did have the benefit of a strong breeze, with Seanie Barry’s long and well-directed puckouts being a feature. Waterford started brightly, with full forward Darragh Flynn converting an early free, but Clare grabbed the initiative when corner forward Shane O’Donnell fired a good shot under pressure to the roof of the Waterford net, with goalkeeper Barry possibly distracted by the strong sun. However, Barry was to prove his worth later in the half when twice advancing to prevent inrushing Clare forwards finding the net.

Waterford came right back into the game when Stephen Bennett broke through and, although the Clare goalie made an excellent stop from Bennett’s shot, Darragh Flynn was well placed to finish the rebound to the net. Thereafter Waterford were generally the better side, with all of their forwards scoring from play, but a tendency to give away soft frees at the other end allowed Clare stay in touch, with five of their first half points coming from frees, the sixth being notched by midfielder Alex Morey. The half time whistle saw Waterford ahead 1-8 to 1-6.

Clare got the best possible start to the second half when corner forward Bobby Duggan goaled. Waterford then took over again to dominate over the next ten minutes but hit some terrible wides. Clare followed with their own period of superiorty, but now it was their turn to hit a series of bad wides. Waterford eventually began to find the range, but a second goal from O’Donnell left Clare two points ahead with normal time almost over. Waterford got a 20 metre free in front of goal, but Stephen Bennett’s shot for goal was stopped and cleared. However, all was not lost as the referee played four minutes of stoppage time, during which Bennett tapped over another close-in free and then fired a marvellous point from play to send the game into extra time.

Waterford dominated the first period of extra time, firing five points to Clare’s two, and had the opporunity to move decisively ahead in the early minutes of the second period, but failed to register a score from four successive promising attacks. Clare then hit back to draw level before corner forward Cathal Curran fired over what proved to be the winner from a difficult angle.

However, there was still a long way to go as the referee played four more minutes of additional time due to a lengthy period of treatment to the injured Shane Bennett. The Waterford backs came under a lot of pressure in this period, due in part to several long shots dropping short to the Clare goalie, but the Deise defence stood up well, winning the ball repeatedly and managing not to foul the Clare forwards when in possession. Eventually the referee blew the final whistle, much to the joy and relief of the Waterford players and supporters.

The sheet anchor of this Waterford team was the half back line. Centre back Shane McNulty was probably my man of the match, playing superbly from start to finish despite shipping injuries on several occasions. His reading of the game and calmness under pressure were outstanding and he also converted a marvellous long range free at a vital stage of the game.

On either side of him, Kieran Power and Tom Devine were immense. They started brilliantly and I thought the selectors made an error in allowing them to follow the players they were marking who switched positions midway through the first half, as after this their influence seemed to wane somewhat. However, as the game went on they came back strongly and were absolutely magnificent in extra time. All told, Clare managed to get only a single point from their half forwards.

Behind them Tadhg Burke did very well at fullback restricting the dangerous Clare full forward, but one wonders would the team have been better served had this very talented player been deployed further outfield. One is reminded of the colleges game between Coláistí na Déise and Kilkenny CBS in which Burke spent most of the time at corner back and while he had a huge impact when eventually moved to midfield it was too late to save the game.

It may be that Burke will be redeployed should David O’Brien be available for the semi-final, but it is also worth noting that Tom Tobin, the impressive Coláistí na nDéise fullback, did very well when brought on as a sub at corner back in the second half of the game. In the other corner Shane Bennett also did very well until stretchered off late in extra time, although apparently his injury is not serious.

Waterford struggled throughout at centre field, although second half substitute Jason Roche did become more influential as the game progressed. It did seem strange that when Austin Gleeson was brought on he was put in at corner forward, when his presence was needed further out. Hopefully, the return of Colin Dunford for the semi-final will significantly improve things in this area.

Up front, Stephen Bennett was Waterford’s key man, and a competitor with McNulty for the man-of-the-match award. While not as sharp as he can be, he still shot six points from play and, of course, it was his shot which led to Waterford’s goal. Darragh Flynn (1-2) and Michael Harney (0-4) were Bennett’s main assistants in the scoring department. On the right wing, Darren Foran gave an exhibition of high fielding, although his subsequent use of possession was not always the best. Hopefully, Ballygunner’s Barry O’Sullivan will be back for the semi-final, which will provide additional forward options.

Overall, then, one must congratulate this Waterford team for a fine effort, as they never panicked when things weren’t going well for them and stood tall when it really mattered in the closing stages. They are a team of considerable potential with a lot of leaders on the field and should have every chance of reaching their fourth Munster final in a row.

Team: Seán Barry (Lismore); Kieran Bennett (Ballysaggart); Tadhg Burke (Clashmore); Shane Bennett (Ballysaggart); Kieran Power (Kilrossanty, 0-1); Shane McNulty (De La Salle, 0-1 free); Tom Devine (Modeligo); Connor Sheahan (Ballygunner); Cian Leamy (Ballyduff Upper); Darren Foran (Portlaw, 0-1); Michael Harney (Bunmahon, 0-4); Adam O’Sullivan (De La Salle, 0-1); Stephen Bennett (Ballysaggart, 0-7, one free); Darragh Flynn (Erin’s Own, 1-2, one free); Cathal Curran (Dungarvan, 0-2).

Substitutes: Jason Roche (Passage) for Kieran Bennett (half-time); Austin Gleeson (Mount Sion, 0-1) for Adam O’Sullivan; Michael John Kearney (Ballyduff Upper) for Cathal Curran; Tom Tobin (St. Mary’s) for Connor Sheahan (all second half); Cathal Curran for Darragh Flynn; Jack Walshe (Portlaw); William Hahessy (Clonea) for Shane Bennett (all extra time).

It is noteworthy that twelve different clubs were represented in the starting line-up, with four additional clubs featuring among the substitutes used. Nine of the 16 clubs in question are non-senior clubs. This points to the role of both Bord nÓg and the county’s secondary schools in allowing talented players from smaller clubs to come to the fore.

Just heard the unfortunate news that Paudie Mahony has had surgery to his hip which rules him out for the season. Big blow to the squad.

Bad news for both club and county,both u21 and senior. DLS looked impressive tonight. It's going to take a serious team to beat them on this performance. Jack Kennedy looks to be the final piece in the jigsaw

zol 2 wrote: »

Bad news for both club and county,both u21 and senior. DLS looked impressive tonight. It's going to take a serious team to beat them on this performance. Jack Kennedy looks to be the final piece in the jigsaw

I thought Eoin Madigan,Dean Twomey and Jake Dillon were immense for DLS.. As for Mount Sion John dee was very impressive especially at sideline balls. Mount Sion were very poor overall.