Waterford SHC Quarter Final
Fourmilewater v Abbeyside (6.00 at Fraher Field)
Back in 2008, Abbeyside were a force to be reckoned with in the race for The News & Star cup. After making the semis in 2007, they came up two points short in the county final twelve months later. They appeared to be on the right track but it didn’t work out as planned and they only have one quarter final appearance to boast about since then.
Fourmilewater have now overtaken them as the team most likely to break the dominance of Ballygunner and De La Salle. In fact, they have dumped Abbeyside out of the championship in the last two seasons. Will it become three wins on the bounce on Saturday night or can Abbeyside arrest the slide?
First of all which Abbeyside will turn up? They mixed the sublime with the ridiculous last weekend. Their first half display was reminiscent of their best form of a couple of years ago as they posted 2-12. Mark Gorman, Gary Hurney and Patrick Hurney all stepped up in attack and contributed 2-7 from play between them on the night. Worryingly they fell away on the resumption and almost allowed a fifteen point lead turn into a one point defeat. The pace of Kevin Casey troubled their full back line and he scored two goals and earned two penalties as a result.
Fourmile hold no such concerns over their form. After a laboured start against Tallow, they got up to speed after the break to outscore their opponents by fourteen points to two. In their five wins, no team have come closer than five points. They will look to expose the Abbeyside inside line by leaving space in front of Shane Ryan, Shane Walsh and Jamie Barron. If two of these three catch fire, Fourmile will be on their way to the final four. They are also a physically powerful team all over the field and Abbeyside will need to match this to stay in the hunt. If they hold any weakness it is in their last line of defence but that hasn’t been tested severely in the games to date. Their greater consistency so far and a wider range of scorers makes them the more reliable pick but they won’t get away without a fight.
Odds: Fourmilewater 2/5 Draw 10/1 Abbeyside 2/1
Last meeting: 2011 - Fourmilewater 1-14 Abbeyside 2-7
Form guide: Fourmilewater: WWWWW Abbeyside: LWDDD
Prediction: Fourmilewater
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