Waterford - Player Ratings v Wexford

Stephen O’Keeffe – 8 Another good performance from the teenager and another memorable save to deny Rory Jacob as well. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this lad could go on to become one of the all-time greats.

Darragh Fives – 8 This lad seems to get better and better with every game. He started off the year hoping to get a run in the Waterford Crystal Cup but at this stage he is in possession of the jersey and it is getting difficult to see who can take it off him.

Shane Fives – 8 For the second week in a row, he looked very comfortable at the edge of the square. Near the end when we were under pressure, he came out with a lot of ball and used it very well. It is early days but, he looks promising.

Noel Connors – 6 He was in big trouble on Rory Jacob in the first half and the Wexford man could have had 1-2 bagged by half-time. He did settle down in the second half and looked more like the All-star that he is.

Wayne Hutchinson – 9 A very impressive full debut from the Ballygunner man. He looked comfortable under the high ball, won a lot of low ball, came out of a few rucks with possession. He was also unlucky not to get a score.

Michael Walsh – 9 Man of the match for the second week in a row. He seemed to be targeted for some special treatment by the Wexford attack but he stood up to it well. Made one spectacular catch in the first half before being decked by a Wexford forward!

Jamie Nagle – 8 This was looking like a typical neat and tidy Nagle appearance until the last 15 minutes when he was the best player on the pitch. He had a succession of Wexford attackers in his pocket and almost grabbed a trademark long-range point.

Shane O’Sullivan – 7 He is rapidly becoming one of the key players on this Waterford team and one of its unsung heroes. He gets through a massive amount of work and takes a multitude of belts over the course of a game.

Philip Mahony – 7 He almost gets through as much work as his uncle beside him. He looked a little too keen at time yesterday, and gave away a couple of frees as a result. It could be argued that he would be more at home in the half-back line but he could well win a jersey in this position.

Shane Casey – 6 Shane tried hard throughout but besides his effort that led to Prendergast’s goal he never looked like scoring. He has looked sharper than in other years but needs to get on the scoresheet more in order to get a regular place in the team.

Richie Foley – 6 This was without a doubt Richie’s worst display of the year, coming on the back if his best display ever against Dublin. He missed two easy frees, failed to score anything from a 21 yard free and a penalty. To his credit, he didn’t hide and was still showing for the ball deep in stoppage time.

Pauric Mahony – 8 This lad has an old head on young shoulders. He has a hurling brain that defies his tender years. He scored an excellent point and got a scolding form his manager when he offloaded to Shane O’Sullivan when his own score was there for the taking. It says a lot about the trust Davy has in him that he finished the game in the key position of centre-forward.

Tomás Ryan – 7 This was a much better showing than his display against Dublin a week ago. He showed better for the ball, scored two points and was unlucky not to get a goal or two when the ball just failed to run for him. If he starts to win his own ball, he will be very dangerous.

Seamus Prendergast – 7 A mixed bag again from the Ardmore man. There was a ton of ball sent in to him and he probably won less than half of it. From the ball that he did win, he caused havoc as there is only one way of stopping him – illegally.

Stephen Molumphy – 5 This was probably the worst display yet in a Waterford jersey from the captain. However, he is not a corner-forward and never will be. He needs to be brought out the field quickly before his morale is damaged.

Subs:

Maurice Shanahan – 8 The introduction of Shanahan proved to be the winning of the game for Waterford. He notched three points after his arrival and took over the free-taking duties to good effect. He is sure to start next week and let’s hope this is the beginning of a good run of form for the Lismore man.

Shane Walsh and Stephen Power – Not on long enough to be rated.  

De La Salle - Player Ratings V Clarinbridge

Steven Brenner – 6 He possibly could have stopped Mark Kerins penalty as it was at an ideal height for a goalkeeper. He had no chance with any of the other two goals and his puck-out was long and accurate throughout.

Darren Russell – 7 Another good game from Russell who has had to change his style slightly after playing most of his career to date out the field. He has adapted well to playing at corner-back and uses his pace and hurling ability to full effect.

Ian Flynn – 6 He struggled to deal with the mobility of Alan Kerins in the opening stages and would have been relieved to see him moved out the field. He coped a lot better with Mark Kerins when he came in on him and cleared a lot of balls in general play

Michael Doherty – 8 De La Salle are in the luxurious position of being able to play Doherty in his best position of corner-back. He didn’t give Paul Coen a sniff for long periods and was probably out on his feet with tiredness when Coen got his two late points.

Brian Phelan – 7 He was a lot quieter than on other days but he really came into the game when it really mattered. He has a remarkable ability to do the right thing all the time, hitting it long when needed and off-loading hand-passes to Moran on occasion. He kept his head to score the point which forced extra-time.

Kevin Moran – 9 Once again Moran was immense. Since moving to centre-back in August, he has got better and better with every game. It will be interesting to see if Davy Fitzgerald sees him as a runner at centre-back. In my opinion, it’s worth a shot. Strong in the air, a brilliant point and wreaks havoc when he drives forward. Man of the Match.

Stephen Daniels – 8 Once again, Daniels did his bit for the cause. He has a fantastic ability under the dropping ball and almost always gets a good clearance in. He is bound to get a run with the county team in the remainder of the league and after that, it’s up to himself.

Conan Watt – 5 He was struggling with a back injury in the days leading up to the game and never really got going. He tried hard and battled all day but he simply wasn’t fit enough to make an impact.

Dean Twomey – 8 He did his burgeoning reputation no harm at all with another good display at midfield. He showed his ability to pick off scores from out the field but needs to stop drifting out of games. Sources tell me he may get a run on the county team which may do his confidence the world of good.

Paudie Nevin – 6 It wasn’t his best game and he only managed a point from play over the course of the game. He was up against a very good player in Micheal Donoghue and never got the opportunity to run at the Clarinbridge defence.

David Greene – 6 He battled hard over the game but didn’t get a lot of freedom off David Forde who was immense at centre-back for Clarinbridge.

John Mullane – 8 Once again, the De La Salle talisman stood up to the plate. Five points from play is more than pulling your weight and he was the go-to man yet again. He will be haunted by the missed free in the first half which proved critical.

Jake Dillon – 8 This guy is going to be a star. He was absolutely brilliant yesterday, grabbing three super points from play. The thing I like most about him is his ability to win his own ball which is a rarity amongst forwards but so important nonetheless

Eddie Barrett – 6 Barrett failed to make an impact throughout bar a superb early pass which picked out Mullane for his first score of the game. He looked very promising at underage level and needs to impose himself on games and take more responsibility.

John Keane – 7 Keane has been a useful acquisition for De La Salle as he has a great ability to pick off a score. He may not seem to be in the game for long stages but he only needs a sighting of the posts and the ball is over.

Subs:

Eoin Madigan – 9 Another excellent performance off the bench from Madigan and one may well wonder what might have been if he had been started. He is a huge man who can win ball but he complements that with a graceful touch as epitomised by his score-taking.

Lee Hayes – 7 He wasn’t on long enough to make much of an impression but he did score an excellent point which looked as if it had won the game for De La Salle

Waterford V Dublin (Player Ratings)

Adrian Power - 8
Made one superb save during the first half to deny Peadar Carton a certain goal. However, he will be slightly disappointed with the second Dublin goal. A goalkeeper should have come out and taken both man and ball. Puck out remains a useful weapon though.

Darragh Fives - 8
Another good performance from the younger of the Fives brothers. He kept Carton anonymous for long periods. He will probably end up in the half-back line but for now he is doing a very useful job in the corner.

Jerome Maher - 5
It wasn't a great day for Maher who had endless trouble with Liam Rushe in the first twenty minutes before being moved to corner-back and eventually being replaced.

Noel Connors - 6
It wasn't Noel Connors best display in a Waterford jersey but we all know at this stage what he can do and he will get better. Taken for three points by Dotsie O'Callaghan which will disappoint him but we won't get unduly worries yet.

Shane Fives - 8
It was a good performance from Fives who looked comfortable at wing-back and snuffed out the threat of Liam Rushe when moved to full-back. He should get a run of games at full-back now which will help.

Michael Walsh - 7
It wasn't a vintage performance from 'Brick' but he still won vital balls when they were needed most. One wonders whether he really needs to play every single game and may benefit from being rested once in a while.

Jamie Nagle - 7
At this stage we know what exactly we are going to get from Nagle. Everything he does is neat and tidy but at times he seems to lack the aggression required for this level. He tends to get bullied out of it by the really top teams. Great point yesterday though!

Shane O'Sullivan - 8
Another typical O'Sullivan performance. He gets through a lot of the hard work that others don't, wins the dirty ball and wins an abundance of frees. He has added a lot of consistency to his play over the last couple of years and continued in that vein of form yesterday.

Philip Mahony - 7
It was a solid if not spectacular debut for the older of the Mahony brothers. His eventual home will probably be somewhere in the half-back line but maybe there was a reason Fitzgerald put him in midfield alongside his Uncle. Won a lot of ball and kept it moving into the forwards.

Stephen Molumphy - 6
The captain was not as good yesterday as he was in the Waterford Crystal Cup against Cork. However, the effort levles never dropped and he was out of position for the entire second half. He scored a good point which won't do the confidence any harm.

Richie Foley - 9
Man of the Match, Man of the Month and certainly the Man of the Moment. Scored 2-10 yesterday. He took his frees very well but also notched 1-3 from play. He now looks like a valid option at cenntre-forward come championship time.

Pauric Mahony - 8
It was a very good debut by Mahony yesterday in which he scored two points. He also showed a level of maturity and intelligence which belied his tender years with some smart passes. He is going to be around for a long time to come.

Shane Casey - 7
He looked sharper than he has done for some time yesterday. He took his point well and gave a fortunate assist for Foley's first goal. He also worked very hard when moved to wing-forward and cleared a couple of balls near the end, one of which resulted in a point for Prendergast.

Seamus Prendergast - 8
He may not look like he is moving very freely at times but he is ana absolute nightmare to mark. He scored 1-1, won a ton of frees and would have won a lot more if the referee was on his game. He looks to be approaching something like his best form.

Tomás Ryan - 5
It wasn't a day to remember for the young Tallow man. With so many players absent he had a chance to lay down a marker but he failed to do so. He look nervy and left an early ball which should hae been straigh-forward run through his legs.

Substitutes
Wayne Hutchinson - 7
He did well when introduced at half-time. Won and cleared a couple of balls early on which helped him settle. He looked short of pace when McCormack out-aced him for Dublin's second goal but he is only back from a long term injury and will improve.

Eamon Murphy and Ken McGrath - Not on long enough to be rated.

Waterford Team to play Dublin

The Waterford team to play Dublin in the opening round of the National League was named last night and makes for very interesting reading. There are several players coming in for their National League debuts, including the Mahony brothers from Ballygunner who are named at midfield (Philip) and wing-forward (Pauric) respectively. It is very interesting to note that the only other Ballygunner player named in the first fifteen, Shane O'Sullivan is an uncle of the Mahony's. O'Sullivan will partner his nephew, Philip at midfield.
Shane Fives who has been on the panel for a couple of seasons gets a chance to stake a claim for a more permanent place, gets his opportunity at right-half back. In keeping with the family theme, Shane's younger brother, Darragh makes his debut at corner-back behind him.
Clinton Hennessy retains the goalkeeping jersey while after an impressive Waterford Crystal Cup campaign, Jerome Maher holds on to the number 3 jersey, with regular incumbent, Liam Lawlor out with a knee injury.
After playing a starring role during the successful Waterford Crystal Cup campaign, Richie Foley lines out at centre-forward while Tomás Ryan returns after missing a large chunk lf last year with an ankle injury.
However, the list of players who are unavailable for Waterford reads like a veritabel who's who of Waterford hurling with, Ken McGrath, Eoin McGrath, Maurice Shanahan, Tony Browne, Kevin Moran and John Mullane all unavailable for one reason or another. Ken McGrath is listed amongst the substitutes and may well be used if needed.
The full team is as follows;
1. Clinton Hennessy (Ardmore)
2. Darragh Fives (Tourin)
3. Jerome Maher (Geraldines)
4. Noel Connors (Passage)
5. Shane Fives (Tourin)
6. Michael Walsh (Stradbally)
7. Jamie Nagle (Dungarvan)
8. Shane O'Sullivan (Ballygunner)
9. Philip Mahony (Ballygunner)
10. Stephen Molumphy (Ballyduff Upper)
11. Richie Foley (Abbeyside)
12. Pauric Mahony (Ballygunner)
13. Shane Casey (Dunhill)
14. Seamus Prendergast (Ardmore)
15. Tomas Ryan (Tallow)

Wexford 4-11 Waterford 2-6

Waterford’s footballers had a disastrous start to their Division 3 campaign when they conceded four goals on their way to a 4-11 to 2-6 defeat to Wexford on Sunday. It ended up being a day to forget for John Owens men who had played so well for so much of the first half before coming unstuck in first half injury time, conceding 1-3 and handing the initiative to the home side.

Up to that point, John Owens will have been quite happy with the progress his team were making. Waterford’s short passing game led to long periods of possession which seemed to frustrate Wexford who at times, were over-anxious to make use of the strong wind at their backs. On multiple occasions during the opening half, Wexford were over-zealous in trying to get the ball into their dangerous full-forward line. There were several occasions when the ball ran tamely out over Tom Wall’s end-line, much to the joy of the small Waterford band of supporters.

Wexford did look like the more likely team to score as Waterford hardly created any scoring opportunities in the opening half. Wing-forwards Brian Wall and Wayne Hennessy played so deep that there were times when they passed the ball forward to their colleague in the half-back line, most notably Shane Briggs and Eamon Walsh, both of whom made efforts to get forward whenever the opportunity arose.

With the Waterford defence coming under so much pressure, it was inevitable that they would crack at some stage. Wexford strung together some excellent moves throughout the half and kicked some excellent points, with Brian Malone, Ciaran Lyng and free-taker Ben Brosnan all getting on the score-sheet.

The only scores Waterford managed to get during the first half were a fine effort from play by Brian Phelan, and a free from Patrick Hurney.

Just as it looked as if Waterford would go in at half-time within touching distance of the home side, disaster struck. There was a long hold-up after an injury to Wexford wing-back, Adrian Flynn who was forced to leave the field on a stretcher.

The problems for Waterford began in that time added on when Tomas O’Gorman lost possession with a wayward pass. In the blink of an eye, Wexford had worked the ball across to new full-forward, Kevin O’Grady who planted the ball past Tom Wall and into the back of the net.

As the Waterford heads dropped, Wexford came forward in droves. They followed the goal with a delightful score from the dangerous Brosnan who curled the ball over form 35 yards with the outside of the boot.

This all left Wexford leading by 1-9 to 0-2 at the break.

Waterford needed an exceptional start to the second half if they were to have any chance of getting anything out of this game. However, a good start was not forthcoming and another quick-fire passing movement involving Ciaran Lyng and Redmond Barry led to a goal for Ben Brosnan and a twelve point lead for Wexford.

Waterford did make some progress when they played the long ball into Tommy Prendergast and this tactic yielded a goal in the 51^st minute when Prendergast rounded his marker before goaling. Four minutes later, substitute Michael O’Gorman set up Patrick Hurney for another Waterford goal as John Owens men threatened to make a game of it. However, it was not to be and Wexford managed to score two more goals in the final quarter with Ben Brosnan grabbing his second of the game and Ciaran Lyng rounding off a superb display with a fine goal near the end.

There were several observations one could make about this Waterford team from watching this game. Not surprisingly when playing against the wind, they set out to negate Wexford and to a certain extent they did this quite well for most of the first half. However, a couple of lapses in concentration near the end of the half had disastrous consequences and Waterford were then forced to chase the game in the second half.

Waterford struggled to win primary possession at midfield for most of the game and this put them on the back foot from almost the very beginning. In modern day football, you have to win kick-outs and this is something that Waterford failed to do. One would wonder why Tommy Prendergast was not brought out to that sector because there were long periods when he was virtually a spectator in this game.

Waterford also gave away the ball too cheaply at times and gifted hard won possession back to Wexford on many occasions.

However, it was not all negative for John Owens. There were good performances from Shane Briggs and Maurice O’Gorman. There are still several players to come back from the treatment table, including three key players in Tony Grey, Gary Hurney and Liam O’Lionain. These three are all vital players for Waterford and without them, there is a considerable hole in the side.

As regards the chances of retaining their position in Division 3, a big improvement will be required if they are to get the all-important wins. The forward line looked a little lightweight and struggled to hold on to the ball when it was played to them. This was where the loss of Gary Hurney was most expensive. They will certainly need to beat old-rivals Limerick in Dungarvan on February 20^th as Limerick will certainly be smarting following a surprise defeat to Tipperary last Sunday. All in all, it looks like an uphill challenge for Waterford, but they have faced similar mountains before and succeeded, so here’s hoping they can do so again.

Waterford Football Team to Play Wexford

The following is the Waterford team to play Wexford in the opening round of the National Football League on Sunday.

Tom Wall, Kieran Connery, Tomas O'Gorman, Conor Phelan, Eamon Walsh, Shane Briggs, Maurice O'Gorman, Brian Phelan, Mick Ahern, Brian Wall, Kevin Power, Wayne Hennessy, Patrick Hurney, Tommy Prendergast, Sean Fleming

Waterford manager, John Owens has picked a very strong team for this game as he looks to open up their campaign against a Wexford team that was hammered twice in the O'Byrne Cup. Clashmore corner-forward, Sean Fleming is the only player that did not feature on last year's team and he takes his place after impressive showings in the McGrath Cup.

A lot has been made in the media that Waterford's main priority this year is to retain their status in Division 3 but Owens has rubbished those claims this week, saying that Waterford, just like everyone else in the Division will be hoping to win promotion to Division 2.

Goalkeeper Poll

We had a very interesting result to our Goalkeeper poll, where we asked Waterford hurling supporters who they thought Davy Fitzgerald should entrust with the Number 1 jersey for the year ahead.

Finishing in first place, and the person Waterford supporters would most like to see playing on goal for Waterford in 2011 was Ballygunner’s teenage star, Stephen O’Keeffe. O'Keeffe won 44% of the votes with Clinton Hennessy in second place with 38% and Adrian Power in third place with 17%. O’Keeffe first caught the eye in 2009 in the Waterford minor’s run to the Munster title. He made two saves in particular in the final which left the large Thurles crowd in awe at the youngster’s agility. Since then, O’Keeffe has gone on to make the Ballygunner Number 1 jersey his own, displacing the long-serving Patrick Haran in the process. In Ballygunner’s successful 2009 Championship campaign, O’Keeffe again caught the eye with some superlative stops.

There are several facets to O’Keeffe’s play as a goalkeeper which make him stand out from the rest of his peers. The first, and probably the number one characteristic is his shot stopping. O’Keeffe makes saves that you would not see any other goalkeeper making, bar Brendan Cummins or Damien Fitzhenry. Even when a forward plays the ball low to the corners, O’Keeffe is still well able to get down and scoop the ball back out. His save in the County Under 21 final against Dungarvan last year was simply incredible when not twice but three times in quick succession, he got down to thwart the Dungarvan forwards.

The second aspect is not just his ability under the high ball but his confidence. On more than one occasion this year, I have seen O’Keefe come out of his square and get up above both the full-back and the full-forward to make a clean catch and clear the ball. In this regard, it does help that he is over six feet tall.

Then, when it comes to clearing the ball, O’Keeffe has a monstrous drive on the ball. His puck-out may not have the length of Adrian Power’s but it is a lot more accurate and may prove an asset if Waterford have the likes of Seam us Prendergast, Maurice Shanahan or Richie Foley in the half-forward line. Even from general play and when clearing the ball on the back foot, O’Keeffe is able to clear the ball well downfield and out of harm’s way.

O’Keeffe has also developed into something of a sweeper-keeper, in that he comes out of the goal to lend a hand to defenders. In Ballygunner’s game against Cratloe in the 2009 Munster club championship, Gunners’ full-back Alan Kirwan was being chased back towards his own corner flag with the ball. Instead of watching his full-back deal with the situation, O’Keeffe came out of the goal, Kirwan played the ball to him and O’Keeffe cleared it 80 yards down the field. Danger averted!

It remains to be seen who Fitzgerald will start with in the Goalkeeper’s jersey this year. With Adrian Power currently sidelined with an injury, and Clinton Hennessy having played all the games in the Waterford Crystal Cup, there is every chance that O’Keeffe will get a chance during the National League. If he does get the opportunity, chances are that he will grab it with both opportunities. Davy Fitzgerald will have a tough decision to make when the Limerick game comes around in June but that is a testament to the talent of the three guys he has at his disposal. We may not be well-endowed with talent all over the field but it looks as if the goalkeeping position is safe for years to come.