McGrath Cup Quarter Final

McGrath Cup Semi-Final

Waterford qualified for the semi-finals of the McGrath Cup when they beat Tipperary in a hard fought encounter at Walsh Park. In a game that never really caught fire, it was the superior scoring power of the Waterford forwards which was the key to a narrow victory.

Tipperary got off to a great start as they threatened to completely blow away the home side. They raced into a early three point lead with James Egan, Peter Acheson and danger-man Barry Grogan all raising white flags leaving Tipperary three points to the good with barely six minutes on the clock.

Despite being completely outplayed in midfield, Waterford soon managed to gain a foothold in the game as they were driven forward by the excellent Shane Briggs at centre-back.

It was centre-forward, Kevin Power who opened the Deise’s account in the 7^th minute and it was a full ten minutes before the game’s next score when Mark Ferncombe pounced on a loose ball before firing over. Three minutes later, Waterford were back on level terms when after a couple of misses, Brian Wall converted a free.

Waterford seemed to go back into their shell after drawing level and Tipperary nudged themselves back in front with Egan and the lesser-known Grogan, Seamus dissecting the posts in some style.

Tipperary failed to capitalise on their territorial advantage and with Brian Mulvihill proving to be having an off-day from placed balls, Waterford played their way back into the game.

Kevin Power outlined his claims for a permanent starting position with another excellent finish before John Hurney stole upfield to bring Waterford level. It was left to another defender, Shane Briggs to put Waterford in front for the first time when he kicked an excellent point to leave John Owens’ men in front by 0-6 to 0-5 at half-time.

Amazingly, it was another Waterford defender who opened the scoring in the second half when Eamonn Walsh scored with a fabulous left-footed effort.

The three point lead proved too much for Tipperary to overcome as despite a good point from Barry Grogan and a free from Brian Mulvihill, they failed to make any great inroads in the Waterford lead. The next three Waterford points were all scored by Patrick Hurney as he showed that Waterford did not miss his injured older brother, Gary.

Although Tipperary did narrow the gap, when substitute, Conor Sweeney scored two late points, Waterford were not to be denied a place in the semi-final next weekend against Clare. 

John Owens will be pleased to have his McGrath Cup ambitions intact after this game. With Cork, Kerry and Limerick all on the other side of the draw, he would have been targeting a place in the final as a minimum before the competition started. On this occasion, he would have been very impressed with the performances of Conor Phelan, Shane Briggs, Kevin Power and Patrick Hurney.

Waterford: K Cotter: C Phelan, T O’Gorman, K Connery; E Walsh, S Briggs, J Hurney; B Phelan, T Prendergast; W Hennessy, K Power, B Wall; M Ferncombe, P Hurney, S Fleming Subs: G Kelly for K Cotter, J Phelan for E Walsh, J Walsh for K Connery, M O’Gorman for B Phelan, J Veale for S Fleming Scorers: K Power 0-3, P Hurney 0-3, M Ferncombe 0-1, B Wall 0-1f, J Hurney 0-1, S Briggs 0-1, E Walsh 0-1

Tipperary: P Fitzgerald; N Curran, P Codd, A Morrissey; C McGrath, L Egan, C Dillon; G Hannigan, B Jones; P Acheson, S Grogan, B Mulvihill; J Egan, S Hahessy, B Grogan Subs: A Matassa for S Hahessy, C Sweeney for J Egan, D Dwyer for S Grogan Scorers: J Egan 0-2 (0-1f), B Grogan 0-2, C Sweeney 0-2 (0-1f), P Acheson 0-1, S Grogan 0-1, B Mulvihill 0-1f

Referee:

C Lane

(Cork)