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.