Search Results for 'Waterford GAA'

Waterford may have started as only third favourites for this year's Munster championship but when the lights were finally turned off in Semple Stadium last Saturday evening nobody could argue that the Deise weren't worthy winners of the Munster cup.

Kilkenny 1-20

How refreshing it was to finally see a good honest championship match. The games to date in this year’s campaign have been either one sided affairs or ones of poor quality. So with the World Cup just about to get underway the GAA got a great boost when Waterford and Clare did battle in Thurles last Monday.

An impressive first half backboned by two good goals helped Kilkenny minors to victory over Dublin in this Leinster minor championship game played in Nowlan Park on Saturday last.

The GAA's decision to scrap the scoring difference in favour of the head to head format left the association with egg on its face last weekend, as all bar one of the last round league games ended up being nothing more than glorified challenge matches. The only game of any real importance was the relegation battle between Dublin and Limerick.

Justin McCarthy would have had a wry smile on his face last Sunday afternoon. As you all know he resigned from his post as the county team’s hurling manager a number of months ago after a “heave” from his own players. It had become apparent, in the wake of a heavy defeat to Clare in the Munster championship, that some of the players were unhappy with McCarthy. Much was made of Dan Shanahan storming off the field that day and refusing to shake Justin’s hand when substituted. As in that game big Dan was totally anonymous last Sunday, barely touching the ball, until he was rescued from the action or, should that be non-action! I wasn’t too enamoured with the Waterford players at the time as I felt it was another example of player power being exerted, something that has become quite common this year. Remember it was McCarthy who took Waterford to three Munster titles and also to the brink of All-Ireland glory. It wasn’t his fault the players choked when so near the finishing line. They had the perfect excuse last year. The system militated against them, they said, as they had played three consecutive Sundays in a row. The manager is always the easy scapegoat after failures and these players must have felt the need to apportion blame to someone. Justin is obviously a proud man. He walked before it got ugly and, other than issuing a brief statement at the time, he kept his powder dry. I am not sure if he went along to Croke Park last Sunday, but as the game unfolded he would have felt fully justified in having walked from the job when the players had the audacity to question his methods after seven relatively successful years in charge.

Travelling down to Walsh Park last Sunday I could sense that a tough day at the office lay ahead for the Kilkenny hurlers. It wasn't completely based on a gut feeling. You see over the years these league encounters with our neighbours have always been tough, uncompromising and as the records show the spoils have been divided fairly equally in recent years.

Waterford 2-17

In a feast of hurling that saw National League holders Tipperary and

James Stephens have qualified for the semi-final of the senior championship after an exciting game in Nowlan Park last Saturday.