Blink and
you would miss a score or a substitute. 59 scores in seventy minutes on Friday
evening left a journalistic colleague running out of space to jot it all down. Such
is life on the challenge circuit.
As Mallow basked in the sunshine, Waterford
and Limerick were level on fourteen occasions
before Martin O’Neill’s goal five minutes from time gave the Déise wiggle room.
As the score line suggests, both sides were given freedom to express themselves.
Although playing this game was risky business with the Clare collision so
close, it was a worthwhile exercise for Michael Ryan and the exchanges were
much more hard hitting than last Friday night in Carrick On Suir. During the
first half in particular some meaty challenges came flying in. With little at
stake however, space soon opened up and as both bainsteoirs started to
experiment it developed into a crazy shootout where neither side were running
out of bullets. It nearly turned into a Leaving Certificate Maths exam during
the second half and while it was below championship temperature, it wasn’t a
bad way to pass the evening all the same.
In these
conditions, you look for little pointers, a couple of players to stake a claim
and to avoid injury most importantly of all.
Unfortunately Shane Fives departed the fray with a suspected hamstring
injury after 22 minutes which casts a doubt over his involvement next Sunday.
The Waterford
half forward line which comprised of Brian O’Halloran, Seamus Prendergast and
Pauric Mahony led the attack with purpose. O’Halloran put in a busy first half,
Prendergast plucked ball after ball from the sky and Mahony put points over
like clockwork from frees and open play. Ray Barry with 1-3 also looked bright
and scavenged for possession when needed. Paudie Prendergast deputised for
Fives in the second half at corner back and showed that he can fulfil that role
if required. The battle for number one between Ian O’Regan and Stephen O’Keeffe
rages on as both goalkeepers were given a half each. During the second period,
the Mount Sion stopper was called into action to
make two routine saves and also flung himself to ground to prevent Niall
Moran’s effort. Limerick matched Waterford
stride for stride and held an advantage in the physical confrontations. John
Allen will have noticed the performance of the reliable Tom Condon, the three
point contribution from James Ryan and a second half burst of four points
courtesy of Kevin Downes who desperately wanted to impress.
It didn’t
take long for this scoring spree to take off. 17 seconds in, Seamus Prendergast
sent over the first of 54 points that we would witness. Waterford edged the opening ten minutes by
five points to four and then a minute later, a snappy move involving Prendergast
and Brian O’Halloran was finished to the top corner by Ray Barry. O’Halloran
was to the fore in the first half as his pace and intelligent link up play made
him a constant menace. Waterford
switched the direction of the attack and began to cut loose. By the twenty
minute mark, they were 1-11 to 0-6 in the clear. Shane Fives then departed the
fray with Mark Wyse taking his place. Limerick reeled off 2-2 without
reply to undo Waterford’s
work. Shane Dowling latched onto a break from a puck out to strike a goal on 21
minutes and that was followed by James Ryan’s third point and a free from
Dowling. After 25 minutes, Graeme Mulcahy broke swiftly through the cover and
finished smartly by shortening the stick and batting the ball past Stephen O’Keeffe.
This brought the sides level but four Pauric Mahony points nudged Waterford into a 1-15 to
2-11 interval lead.
In
predictable fashion, a string of substitutions took the edge off proceedings. Limerick reconfigured their forward line at half time
with four new faces as they made nine switches in total. Waterford also utilised their bench by making
seven substitutions of their own. What resulted was thirty scores over thirty
five minutes.
Waterford were awarded a penalty on 39
minutes when another fetch from Seamus Prendergast saw him hauled down. Ian
O’Regan made the long journey up the field but blasted over. A double from
Darragh Fives established a three point cushion but Limerick’s
changes were making an impact. Tom Condon was also bursting out of defence to
drive things forward. Seanie Tobin squeezed the sliotar to the net on 46
minutes from a narrow angle to level it up again (3-14 to 1-20). The
Shannonsiders upped the ante. Declan Hannon sent over four frees and Kevin
Downes made an impact on his arrival. His fourth point was a screamer from the
sideline under pressure and that put the Shannonsiders 3-22 to 1-25 ahead with
ten minutes left. Waterford
were restricted to long range efforts but they kept their eye in. They punished
any slackness or space with a crisp finishing. Ray Barry notched three points
with a high degree of difficulty before they made a sprint finish. On 65 minutes they got a glimpse of goal and Martin O’Neill was at the end of the move o squirm out
of a tackle and fire home. That left them two points in front and when he
followed that up with a point, the evening’s entertainment was decided in their
favour.
Challenge
games carry a caution of course but the stage is nearly set. With the blast of
heat at our backs, there’s finally some signs of summer in the air. One week to
go and the countdown is on. It’s nearly showtime.
Scorers:
Waterford – P Mahony 0-12 (7fs, 2 65’), R Barry 1-3, M O’Neill 1-1, J Dillon
0-3, B O’Halloran, S Prendergast, G O’Brien, D Fives 0-2 each, J Barron, D Twomey,
I O’Regan (pen) 0-1 each.
Limerick – S
Dowling 1-5 (4fs), D Hannon 0-5 (4fs, 1 65’), S Tobin 1-1, G Mulcahy 1-0, K
Downes 0-4, J Ryan 0-3, C Allis 0-2, T Ryan, N Moran, D O’Grady, P O’Brien (f)
0-1 each.
Waterford:
S O’Keeffe; B Coughlan, S Fives, N Connors; J Nagle, P Prendergast, K Moran; D
Fives, D Twomey; B O’Halloran, S Prendergast, P Mahony; R Barry, J Dillon, J
Barron.
Subs used:
M Wyse, I O’Regan, G O’Brien, T Browne, S Kearney, M O’Neill, E Barrett.
Limerick: N
Quaid; S Walsh, R McCarthy, T Condon; P O’Brien, W McNamara, G O’Mahony; P
Browne, D O’Grady; C Allis, J Ryan, S Hickey; G Mulcahy, S Dowling, S Tobin.
Subs used:
K Downes, D Breen, N Moran, D Hannon, C King, A Murphy, M Carmody, A Dempsey, T
Quaid.
Referee: C
McAllister (Cork)
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