Salle still the undisputed number one – Waterford SHC Round 3

 

De La Salle remain the frontrunners to retain their county title as they coasted clear of one their closest rivals Fourmilewater on a miserable Tuesday night at Fraher Field. Without hitting top gear, Salle won with plenty to spare (1-16 to 0-5). Even at this early stage, it’s hard to argue with their current status as 8/11 favourites to collect their fourth News and Star trophy.

In the third round, only Lismore emerged from the chasing pack to resemble convincing challengers. Elsewhere, Abbeyside produced arguably their strongest display since reaching the decider back in 2008.

Missing six starters from last November’s Munster final, Salle had the points in the bag by half time. Once again, Jake Dillon called the shots up front and his goal on 26 minutes put the lid on the game as a contest. John Mullane floated out from centre forward and nailed three points in the process. An out of sorts Fourmile’ sorely missed Jamie Barron as they over elaborated when in possession. They were gobbled up by a much more focussed De La Salle side. Eddie Barrett and Dean Twomey at midfield again displayed an appetite for hard labour. The second half turned into a drab affair as the rain poured down by the bucket load. Dillon finished up with 1-7 which means he has compiled 5-21 in three championship outings thus far. 

Lismore made light work of their local derby meeting with Tallow on Sunday night. With wind in their favour, Maurice Shanahan struck eight points as they held a commanding 0-11 to 0-3 at half time. Tallow packed little punch on the restart and Lismore started landing knockout blows. Second half strikes from John Heneghan, Dan Shanahan, Maurice Shanahan and Dave Bennett eased them to a 4-18 to 1-9 win. With a nice blend of up and coming players along with the tried and trusted in their side, they can make strides over the coming months.

The surprise of the round came on Saturday night at Walsh Park when Abbeyside overpowered Ballygunner to emerge victorious in much more convincing fashion than the six point winning margin suggests. Their aerial prowess was best exemplified by Gary and Patrick Hurney in the central attacking positions.

Barry O’Sullivan pounced for a twelfth minute goal but the Villagers bossed the remainder of the half to lead 0-14 to 1-3 by the interval. John Gorman swept up possession from centre back and after losing their opening two fixtures, they were determined to keep their championship hopes alive. Mark Ferncombe snuck in ahead of Stephen O’Keeffe six minutes into the second half to tie up the game. The gap widened to 15 points entering injury time before two goals from Stephen Power and a tidy finish from Brian O’Sullivan earned the 14 man Gunners a sliver of respectability (1-21 to 4-6).

Mount Sion overcame their shooting yips to deny Dungarvan at Walsh Park (1-16 to 0-16). They shot sixteen wides but came with a late wave of five unanswered points to advance to the quarter finals. Sean Ryan raised a green flag to give them a deserved 1-5 to 0-7 half time lead. Jamie Nagle’s switch to midfield boosted Dungarvan however. Cormac Curran with nine frees and Gavin Crotty with four from play nudged the Blues ahead during the final quarter. Patrick Curran made it a two point lead with three minutes to play but Sion didn’t surrender as Martin O’Neill’s free taking turned things in their favour.

Eoin Kelly’s scoring exploits gave Passage their second win of the campaign against Roanmore (3-13 to 3-9) on a baking Sunday afternoon at Walsh Park. The two time All Star bagged 3-2 and completed his hat trick by the 26 minute mark before limping out of the fray early in the second half. Goals from Laurence O’Neill, Gavin O’Brien and Paul O’Toole kept a resilient Roanmore in with a shout but they couldn’t make up the ground lost in the first half.  

In a tight run affair at Fraher Field, county minor Mickey Kearney put together 1-8 to see Ballyduff Upper past An Rinn (2-13 to 2-10). It was a first win of the campaign for the Reds and it plunges An Rinn deep into the relegation mire. Jamie Kearney and Bili Breathnach swapped goals to leave matters tied at 1-6 apiece by the break. Liam O Lonain’s goal early in the second half put the 2012 intermediate champions in the driving seat until Kearney intervened with a goal of his own to steady his side.