Saturday’s disruption of Leitrim in the Fraher Field sunshine lifted Waterford from last to fifth in the Division 4 standings. A much sought after first win considering the mental battering of the previous fortnight. The manic toil behind the scenes by this group has yet to translate into the consistent results they crave but at the fifth attempt, all departments worked harmoniously.
Happy to throw off a four game winless streak, Niall Carew revealed afterwards that he never contemplated ripped up a project he has worked ferociously on. “I didn’t doubt ourselves because I’m firm believer that if you keep doing the right things and keep working hard that you do get the right results. I certainly wasn’t going to throw in the towel with these lads.”
Morale sapping losses to Antrim (14 points) and London (7 points) cut deep. “You start to question yourself but what you do is that you keep reverting back that you are doing things right and the players are training very hard. We had two blips, there’s no doubt about it. In the London game, we just couldn’t score and in the Antrim game, we just never showed up.”
Chasing losses and with Paul Whyte double marked, they struggled to find a way through defences in recent weeks. Three points from play up in Antrim followed by another three against London tells that tale. They rectified the situation by placing Shane Ahearne at full forward and bringing Whyte away from the traffic jam into a deeper and creative role. “It’s something that we are working on in training and something we worked on before the London game as well. We just didn’t get the ball in for some reason. But it has worked and we are using Shane at full forward and we are using him at midfield. We are mixing it up a small bit. When you have someone like Shane in there, lads are more likely to give the long ball because he is a big target. Paul Whyte mixed up his game very well because we found that lads were double tagging him the whole time.” Ahearne delivered 1-2, including the goal that altered the mood and the momentum. Seven players scored in all.
Defensively, they only allowed three points from play and shut up shop in the second half. Conor Phelan played out of his skin. Although not noted for his shooting, he notched two screamers in the first half. He made a telling interception to break up a Leitrim attack on the resumption. Dean Crowley (a real find in the corner from St Saviours), Shane Briggs (punching holes and a trademark points) and Kieran Connery (block towards the end) also leaped out.
In the only minus point, they shipped 23 frees as James Bermingham took charge for the second week running. Six yellow cards also confused Carew. “I think officials are very hard on Waterford. I try to beat them but it’s not working!”
With those two points banked, it’s now about adding another block. Wicklow in Aughrim on March 30 followed by a home finale with Carlow a week later are the two tasks remaining. “I know these lads and they nearly beat a Division 2 team in Galway that could probably win a Connacht final. I know that’s in them and it’s about getting the right balance. We tried a few new things this year and tweaked a few things. It’s only probably coming good today but we have to put another game with it. We have Wicklow next and it’s a great game to get.”
Happy to throw off a four game winless streak, Niall Carew revealed afterwards that he never contemplated ripped up a project he has worked ferociously on. “I didn’t doubt ourselves because I’m firm believer that if you keep doing the right things and keep working hard that you do get the right results. I certainly wasn’t going to throw in the towel with these lads.”
Morale sapping losses to Antrim (14 points) and London (7 points) cut deep. “You start to question yourself but what you do is that you keep reverting back that you are doing things right and the players are training very hard. We had two blips, there’s no doubt about it. In the London game, we just couldn’t score and in the Antrim game, we just never showed up.”
Chasing losses and with Paul Whyte double marked, they struggled to find a way through defences in recent weeks. Three points from play up in Antrim followed by another three against London tells that tale. They rectified the situation by placing Shane Ahearne at full forward and bringing Whyte away from the traffic jam into a deeper and creative role. “It’s something that we are working on in training and something we worked on before the London game as well. We just didn’t get the ball in for some reason. But it has worked and we are using Shane at full forward and we are using him at midfield. We are mixing it up a small bit. When you have someone like Shane in there, lads are more likely to give the long ball because he is a big target. Paul Whyte mixed up his game very well because we found that lads were double tagging him the whole time.” Ahearne delivered 1-2, including the goal that altered the mood and the momentum. Seven players scored in all.
Defensively, they only allowed three points from play and shut up shop in the second half. Conor Phelan played out of his skin. Although not noted for his shooting, he notched two screamers in the first half. He made a telling interception to break up a Leitrim attack on the resumption. Dean Crowley (a real find in the corner from St Saviours), Shane Briggs (punching holes and a trademark points) and Kieran Connery (block towards the end) also leaped out.
In the only minus point, they shipped 23 frees as James Bermingham took charge for the second week running. Six yellow cards also confused Carew. “I think officials are very hard on Waterford. I try to beat them but it’s not working!”
With those two points banked, it’s now about adding another block. Wicklow in Aughrim on March 30 followed by a home finale with Carlow a week later are the two tasks remaining. “I know these lads and they nearly beat a Division 2 team in Galway that could probably win a Connacht final. I know that’s in them and it’s about getting the right balance. We tried a few new things this year and tweaked a few things. It’s only probably coming good today but we have to put another game with it. We have Wicklow next and it’s a great game to get.”
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