Waterford vs Limerick

BIG-SLICK-POKER

Ok Waterford and limerick have made changes Waterford to be fair only make onechange for Sunday's All-Ireland hurling semi-final.Midfielder Shane Walsh is the unlucky man to miss out, with Eoin Kelly joining Michael Walsh in the centre of the park as Jack Kennedy takes up the corner forward spot. Which in my own opinion is a bit harsh on walsh as Kennedy has not done much in championship , I feel for Eoin Mc grath who is being used as an impact sub but surely should be in from the start as he has caused probs now every game he has come on in and in my opionion gathers the breaking balls extremely well and this is where Waterford give away so many silly points and possesion..

Limerick have made three changes from the side that beat Clare for their All-Ireland semi-final clash with Waterford this Sunday.
Peter Lawlor comes in for Mark O'Riordan in defence, while Sean O'Connor and Donie Ryan replace Niall Moran and Kevin Tobin.Again this is alot of changes to a team that took apart Clare but must be trying to deal with Waterford Players with the switches I agree with the Switch of O Riordan to defence as Pater Lawlor has a vast amount of experience but i would easily say that Dan Shanahan will really run him around ,

Waterford have such a solid side throughout and even though some Question the Backs i still think they have not made many mistakes yet in the Championship and Ken mc grath Aidan Kearney and Tony Browne have been unreal in the half Back Line and have really excelled this team ...

Not taking anything away from this Limerick side but With them Only winning one championship since 2001 and then having a tough battle with tipperary which could have swung any way to be honest and then beat a clare side who are very poor . They had one challenge and this was Waterford and although they looked strong up to 55 mins of play Waterford changed gears when they needed to and i think they will have to much experience and power for Limerick , People have said limerick will be up for it and i laughed , What team would not be up for an all ireland Semi final , On form Waterford are clear Favourites, every challenge and every Hurdle has been made this year . The Bookies have made Waterford 1-4 favourites with Limerick now 10-3 , This is a clear differrence in price and bookies dont often get it wrong . The first half will bve tight and Limerick might easily lead it for a while but Waterford have to much in the tank...

If i was betting on this game i would say Waterford half time Full time .. Waterford to win this by +6 in my opionion ,

This is the hungriest most experienced and fittest team Waterford have ever had and we are one step away from facing Kilkenny now my heart will beat faster with every minute of the game and hopefully by the end my prediction will be right ... But best of luck to both teams that take the field .... Ill be there to roar The deise on

Neill K

Erin Go Brath

Its a strong Waterford team, one well capable of winning on Sunday, and are probably on a par with Kilkenny imo. The changes are not hugely significant. Waterford leaving Walsh out is a bit of a surprise alright, but shouldn't make a huge difference. Limerick have a tendancy to chop and change their forwards during the game, so Ryan and O'Connor who get the nod this time will probably be replaced during the game anyway i would imagine. In the Munster Final, Damien Reale wan't playing. Shanahan got a couple of soft goals near the end which wouldn't have happened if Reale was in there imo.

I give Waterford the slight edge in this game, nothing more. I think the odds don't really reflect the respective differences between the teams. You could argue that Limerick hadn't won a Munster C'ship game since '01, which is true but they are making very good progress this year, and being huge underdogs will suit them. It'll be a close battle. So long as Limerick don't conceed a few goals, they will be in this game right to the end. Looking forward to it!

Waterfords ability to get about 3 goals in nearly every game gives them the obvious advantage. A lot depends on how this Limerick defence can cope with that. If they can, it could well be Limericks day. Either way, whoever wins I hope they go on and win the All-Ireland.

BIG-SLICK-POKER

Erin Go Brath wrote:

, whoever wins I hope they go on and win the All-Ireland.

Totally Agree

Kojak

I think this match will be a lot closer that the Munster final.

Shaughnessey seems to be hitting some good form for Limerick at the moment, and I think that Justin McCarthy could deploy Aidan kearney to man-mark him in the corner as Kearney is the best "man-marker" that Waterford have in their defence.

Some of the other forwards for waterford will have to start scoring more from open play. Mullan got a few nice points last weekend, but also hit a number of shocking wides, especially the one in the first half down at the canal end when he was straight in front of goal.

Waterford have a tendancy to shoot crazy wides from time to time in games, and it is something that I think they will need to eliminate from their game if they are to have serious notions of going all the way this year.

Waterford will once again try to draw out the Limerick defence in order to make space for big Dan. Also, as doolittle said, Limerick's midfield would want to shape up because The brick walsh is having a brilliant season and could prove the difference between the teams with his few points from play, distribution of ball into the insode forwards and overall workrate.

As a prediction, waterford to win by 3 points with Big Dan having a very quiet afternoon and flynn scoring 1-3 from play. He is due one big performance this year, and I would see it happening on Sunday rather than if they play Kilkenny in the final.