New kids on the block face tricky assignment - Clare v Waterford preview

 

Waterford roll up to Ennis in a state of uncertainty. They enter the fray with little fanfare and the tag of relegation certainties already attached to them. They may have the comfort of three home games to fall back on but this league opener has the potential to shape the rest of the season.

Heading into such a crucial game with players either unavailable, injured or carrying knocks is far from ideal. The team revealed on Friday night showed eight changes from the All Ireland quarter final loss to Cork last summer. Ideally, the second season is all about building on the previous campaign but the turnover of players has left supporters apprehensive about what lies ahead. There are only two survivors up front from that game and how this unit gel together on Sunday afternoon will determine the outcome. They malfunctioned and ran out of ideas in the Crystal Cup against UL at Carraiganore before showing more variety in the challenge wins over Offaly and Wexford. Yet again, Seamus Prendergast will offer the only obvious outlet as ball winner. Four of his colleagues up front endured a nightmare at this venue in the under 21 grade and they have been given little time to adjust to the senior environment. At least a handful of these players will need to get up to speed immediately and step out of the shadows. Brian O’Halloran and Brian O’Sullivan will be keen to stand out from the crowd after a spell away from the panel for various reasons. After being parachuted into the 2010 Munster final and subsequent All Ireland semi final, O’Halloran has taken time to establish himself and this game marks his first start since that forgettable afternoon in Croke Park. Jake Dillon, Gavin O’Brien and Pauric Mahony will benefit from WIT’s extended Fitzgibbon run although the latter is only recently returning from injury.

At this time of year, managers like to talk about putting together a blend of youth and experience. In Waterford’s case however, the two are unevenly distributed. Even the midfield pairing is completely different from that which lined out last summer. The unfortunate Richie Foley misses out again through injury and this gives Dean Twomey a chance to develop a partnership with Shane O’Sullivan. The defence has a much more battle hardened look. Four of the six backs started during championship 2012 with Stephen O’Keeffe growing into the role of number one behind them. Jamie Nagle edges out Stephen Daniels and Darragh Fives for the wing back slot while Shane Fives gets another opportunity in the full back line. His last start came in the 2011 league against Tipperary and he was cast adrift thereafter. He made a statement when he contained Offaly full forward Joe Bergin in a recent challenge game and retained his spot for last weekend’s win over Wexford. Fives and company will need to keep their shape and their discipline on Sunday.

Davy Fitzgerald’s charges are much more certain that their transition cycle is coming to a close and they believe that they can start to mix it with the top teams once more. After picking up a string of victories against UL, Cork and Tipperary in a productive Crystal campaign, they come into this fixture in a positive frame of mind. Those three games allowed them to settle into the new season while Waterford searched for action on the challenge circuit. The Clare fifteen selected for Sunday contains many of those central to their two All Ireland under 21 triumphs. Patrick O’Connor, Seadna Morey and Tony Kelly are three of their brightest prospects. They will miss Conor McGrath however and despite the fact that Darach Honan saw action for UL in the Fitzgibbon during the week, he is short on game time and left on the bench.

Underage success brings no guarantees but there appears to be no danger of Clare getting carried away. It’s a subject that Fitzgerald broached during the week. “It’s great to see us achieve success at minor and U-21. But I'll also ask you the question. Did Limerick and Galway achieve a lot of success at minor and U-21 level? And did that mean they were guaranteed to win All-Irelands or go close to winning All-Irelands? I don't think it did. Winning them creates expectation, but that doesn't always mean you are going to do it. We won an U-21 All-Ireland in 2009, but we didn't win a senior championship game in 2010 or 2011. That’s fact. When you win something like that, it’s how you deal with success. You can get very carried away and get notions of yourself. When you win something like that, you have to work harder than you have ever worked.” Fitzgerald will keep them up to their task and weed out any players who do get notions about themselves. He can also deflect attention away from them as well when the time arises.

Clare will seek to impose their running game and pull apart the Waterford backs early on. Without the prolific McGrath and facing a steady rearguard, they are unlikely to shoot the lights out and that should give the visitors a better chance than the bookies forecast. Even in a low scoring encounter however, it’s hard to be convinced that this new look outfit can knit things together in such a short period of time. The long list of absentees, question marks over an inexperienced forward line and the confidence flowing through the Clare veins means that Davy may have a difficult job to keep expectations under wraps. The locals are waiting in anticipation.

Clare: P Kelly, D O’Donovan, J McInerney, D McInerney, B Bugler, P Donnelan, P O’Connor, S Morey, C Ryan, F Lynch, T Kelly, E Barrett, J Conlon, S O’Donnell, P Collins.

Waterford: S O’Keeffe, S Fives, L Lawlor, N Connors, J Nagle, M Walsh, K Moran, S O’Sullivan, D Twomey, B O’Halloran, S Prendergast, J Dillon, G O’Brien, P Mahony, B O’Sullivan.

National Hurling League Division 1A
Clare v Waterford
Throw in 2.00 at Cusack Park

More info

Referee: John Sexton

Betting:
Clare 3/10 Draw 11/1 Waterford 11/4

Clare hold the upper hand in recent meetings

Waterford travel to Cusack Park on Sunday seeking two league points to get their campaign off to a smooth start but their recent record against Clare in this competition doesn’t offer much in the way of encouragement. The Banner have won five of the last seven league meeting between the counties.

2009 @ Cusack Park
Waterford 0-20 Clare 0-13

2007 @ Cusack Park
Clare 1-13 Waterford 0-9

2006 @ Walsh Park
Clare 1-16 Waterford 0-15

2005 @ Fraher Field
Clare 3-14 Waterford 2-10

2004 @ Cusack Park
Clare 1-16 Waterford 1-14

2003 @ Walsh Park
Waterford 2-18 Clare 2-15

2002 @ Cusack Park
Clare 0-16 Waterford 0-15

Dungarvan CBS 1-22 St Joseph’s Tulla 1-15 (AET) – Corn Phadraig Final

Dungarvan CBS got their hands on the Corn Phadraig after a spicy contest against St Joseph’s of Tulla at Golden on Saturday afternoon. The Waterford school had to absorb the physicality brought to the table by the Banner men before eventually wriggling free and sprinting clear in the second period of extra time.

Patrick Curran rose to the occasion once again and finished up with a staggering 1-15 to his name at the close of business. Although he was pinned down for the first thirty minutes, he sparkled when switched to full forward and also harried the opposing backs to win back possession.

St Joseph's had the aid of a strong breeze in the opening half but Dungarvan were awarded a penalty after two minutes when Darragh Lyons was brought to ground. Cormac Curran accepted the responsibility but rose the sliotar too high and his shot was saved by Dan Vaughan. Some sharp Tulla shooting at the other end established a seven point gap (0-8 to 0-1) by the twenty minute mark. Dungarvan spurned a couple of good chances but they settled down before the break. Darragh Lyons made a difference when pressed into defensive duties and they outscored their opponents by three points to one for the remainder of the half to trail by 0-9 to 0-4 at the short whistle.

With the wind in their favour, they chipped away at that five point lead. They pared it down to two before Patrick Curran conjured up a moment of magic. On 50 minutes, Colin Dunford supplied the delivery and Curran plucked the ball from the sky before he emphatically dispatched to the bottom corner. They were in command for the first time and they added two more points to lead by 1-12 to 0-12 entering the dying embers of the contest. Kevin Daly led a stout Dungarvan defence but there was a late twist in the tale. They conceded a 21 metre free in front of the posts in the final minute and although Eoin Tuohy’s rasper was blocked, Con Smyth followed up to force extra time.

Tulla had a pep in their step and early points from Oisin Donnellan and Steven Conway got them off to the perfect start in the first period of ten minutes. Dungarvan were facing the elements and a two point deficit but they dug in. A hat trick of frees from Curran and an Aaron Donnelly single gave them a 1-16 to 1-14 at the change of ends.

Colin Corbett’s sixth successful free reduced the arrears to the minimum on the resumption but the Déise students managed to steer clear of danger. Despite shooting 21 wides, the Dungarvan attack had come to terms with the aggressive approach from their opponents and the dam burst in that second period of extra time. Three points in rapid succession finally broke Tulla’s resolve as Dungarvan ran out convincing victors.

Scorers:- Dungarvan CBS: P Curran 1-15 (10f), R Donnelly, A Donnelly, C Dunford 0-2 each, D Lyons 0-1.

St Joseph's Tulla: C Corbett 0-6 (6f), C Smyth 1-1, E Tuohy (1f), O Donnellan (1 s-l), S Conway 0-2 each, J O’Brien, M Lynch 0-1 each.

Dungarvan CBS: G Power, C Culloo, K Daly, M Cronin, K Barron, K Looby, J O’Donnell, C Dunford, C Curran, R Donnelly, M Harney, C Breathnach, D Lyons, J Morrissey, P Curran.

Subs: A Donnelly for Morrissey (41), J Morrissey for Barron (74).

St Joseph’s Tulla: D Vaughan, M Perrill, J Noonan, E McMahon, E Tuohy, N Bolton, C Cooney, O Donnellan, C Smyth, D Chaplin, M Lynch, D Kearney, J O’Brien, C Corbett, S Conway.

Subs: J Nelson for Kearney (50), M Daly for McMahon (60).

Referee: John McCormack

Adventures in Division 4

 Waterford 4-7 Wicklow 1-12 (March 4, 2012)

A memorable hat trick from Mark Ferncombe caught Wicklow napping at Aughrim in round 3 of last year's league. Three green flags in a dazzling eight minute spell saw them sprint ten points clear by half time (3-6 to 0-5). Shane Ahearne added a fourth major early in the second period to increase the lead to twelve. Seanie Furlong and Leighton Glynn tried in vain to claw back the deficit but Waterford held on for a richly merited four point win. Wicklow recovered from that setback to gain promotion and win the Division 4 final against Fermanagh as Waterford’s campaign fizzled out.

Waterford 0-20 Clare 2-5 (April 11, 2010)
On a sunny spring afternoon at Fraher Field, Waterford wrapped up promotion in style only months into John Owens’ reign as manager. Clare arrived with high hopes but their day quickly turned sour. They were completely blitzed by a determined Déise outfit and never found their rhythm. Midfielder David Russell also received a red card and they were ultimately shunted out of the promotion picture. The home side led by 0-11 to 1-3 at half time and kept the foot to the floor on the restart. Gary Hurney stole the show with seven points on a day when seven different players contributed. David Tubridy’s late penalty acted merely as a consolation for Clare.

Waterford 1-12 Limerick 1-11 (March 13, 2010)
An injury time free from Wayne Hennessy got Waterford over the line at the Gaelic Grounds and gave their promotion bid a shot in the arm. In the absence of Gary Hurney, the Ardmore man stepped up to the plate by firing six points. The sides were all square at five points each at the break. Robert Ahearne rattled the rigging to push the away side into a five point lead but Limerick reeled them in. Boosted by a Seanie Buckley goal, they drew level before Hennessy had the last word.

Waterford 2-13 Wexford 1-12 (February 5, 2007)

Waterford caused a stir on the opening day of the 2007 league when they surprised Wexford at Fraher Field. Mattie Forde, PJ Banville, Redmond Barry and Anthony Masterson all featured for the Model County. Andy Hubbard and Barry traded goals in the opening half as the visitors went in at the break ahead by 1-6 to 1-5. Brian Wall netted a second half goal to give Waterford the initiative. Wayne Hennessy was also prominent in attack as he finished up with five points to his credit. The majority of that Wexford team went on to contest a Leinster final and an All Ireland semi final a year later.

Waterford 0-14 Cavan 1-9 (April 9, 2006)
At Breffini Park, the Ulster side were installed as 1/50 favourites beforehand and needed a win to book their spot in Division 3. The Ulster side could call on players such as Dermot McCabe and Seanie Johnston but the visitors weren’t intimidated. A Johnston penalty gave Cavan a narrow 1-6 to 0-7 advantage at half time. Despite losing John Hurney to two yellow cards, Waterford took control on the resumption and outscored their opponents by seven points to three in the second half. Five of the six starting forwards also got on the scoresheet. Liam O’Lionain bagged his third point to secure victory in the closing stages. Results elsewhere went against the shell shocked hosts to halt their promotion push.

Waterford 2-7 Sligo 0-12 (February 12, 2006)
Inspired by Gary Hurney, Waterford pulled off a famous victory at Leamybrien to leave a formidable Sligo side empty handed. Goals from Hurney and Liam O’Lionain gave the hosts a healthy 2-5 to 0-6 advantage early in the second half before the Yeats County mounted a comeback. Midfielder Karl O’Keeffe was dismissed with ten minutes remaining and Sligo crept back into contention. Noel McGuire levelled up matters but Hurney nudged John Kiely’s men in front at the death.