Footballers masters of McGrath Cup final
Waterford 3-12;
UCC 1-9.
Waterford maintained their winning start to 2015 with a richly deserved 0-9 win over Sigerson Cup holders UCC at the Fraher Field last Saturday evening in the McGrath Cup Final. An announced attendance of 907 paying patrons witnessed the County’s first win in this competition since its inaugural year’s victory all of 34 years ago in 1981.
This was Waterford’s fourth win in the new year under manager Tom McGlinchey and it’s all positives at the moment as the team prepares for the start of their Allianz National Football league campaign with a home game against Wicklow at the same Dungarvan venue this Saturday evening.
Following a period of Winter hibernation and repair work by the Community employment workers and groundsman Ollie Drummy, the Fraher Field was in pristine condition for this final and the weather also played its part, compared to the previous Sunday in Clashmore, as conditions could not have been expected to be any better for this time of the year, January 24th.
Organisation on the night was out of the top drawer and the icing on the cake was provided by the home team who dominated the second half on the scoreboard after a very even first moiety.
Waterford’s trump card at the moment is their possession game fuelled by very high levels of fitness while McGlinchey’s men are not depending on any one or two players to work the scoreboard with ten different players raising flags over the seventy minutes of play.
Kilrossanty’s Paul Whyte was an unfortunate absentee for this famous win due to a hamstring injury, similar to his clubmate Tom Keating back in 1981, who also missed out on the final win due to a serious loft injury. Whyte’s return will add further to a Deise scoring threat in the upcoming National league.
A number of different subs were introduced by team management compared to the Cork game and this is always good to see at this time of the year in order to give all panel members a fair crack of the whip. Certainly Conor Phelan is proving to be a most capable introduction while David Grey’s first touch produced one of the best scores of the game.
It was also refreshing to see Ballinacourty’s Mark Ferncombe coming on near the end as the drive is obviously on and working well to date to cluster all the best players in the County for 2015.
UCC had one eye, it must be said, on the commencement of the defence of their Sigerson Cup title on the Tuesday after this game and team manager Billy Morgan made nine changes in personnel and twelve positional switches from the team that defeated I.T. Tralee in the McGrath Cup semi final. That said, however, the replacements were not out of place at this level and their forwards, in particular, were a speedy lot, who gave the winning defence plenty to think about.
Their stand out player on the night was Tom Hickey from Castleisland, who gave an exhibition of corner forward play and he was withdrawn at the short whistle with Billy Morgan obviously looking ahead to the Tuesday game.
OPENING GOAL
Waterford showed their intent from the outset but they were wide from a second minute free as the team needs a left footed place ball kicker from certain positions. A timely boost followed, though, in the third minute when a long ball by Liam Lawlor was broken down in front of the country end goal by Patrick Hurney and Joey Veale was on hand to finish the ball to the back of the net.
UCC opened their account four minutes later with a Conor Horgan free and it initiated a purple scoring patch for the students as their speed on the ball earned them a further 0-3 via Adrian Spillane, David Harrington and a peach of a score from Kevin Davis.
Shane Ahearn steadied Waterford with a 15th minute pointed free after Patrick Hurney was fouled in possession, followed by a good team worked point by Michael Curry, 1-2 to 0-4. The concession of a free around the middle of the field in the 17th minute proved costly for Waterford when Adrian Spillane’s delivery was latched on to by Tom Hickey and though his pile driver was excellently saved by Stephen Enright, Conor Horgan followed up to finish the size 5 to the net and give the Corkonians an 0-2 advantage.
McGlinchey’s men responded in style with five of the next six scores including a major one from centre back Maurice O’Gorman. Patrick Hurney started this sequence in the 22nd minute from a Michael Curry pass followed by a Liam Lawlor point on foot of good play by the Rathgormack pair of Curry and Nugent.
Conor Cox temporarily interrupted the winner’s run on the score board supported by Alan O’Donovan before centre back Maurice O’Gorman worked his way up the field and his efforts were rewarded when he grabbed his team’s second goal for a 2-4 to 1-5 lead that they never subsequently relinquished.
The winner’s high tempo play continued and Conor Phelan, who had been introduced in the 20th minute, and Shane Ahern provided respectively for Liam Lawlor and Patrick Hurney to shoot Waterford into a 29th minute 0-4 lead at 2-6 to 1-5. Castleisland’s Tom Hickey used his lightening pace to score a fisted point on the half hour mark and the same player finished the first half scoring from a placed ball four minutes later.
With the scoreboard reading 2-6 to 1-7, the half-time talk centred around the quality of the game and that it would be hard won by the home team if they were to prevail.
UCC returned without Hickey and David Harrington reduced their deficit to the minimum before a foul on Joey Veale was punished in the 40th minute by Shane Aherne. Billy Morgan introduced three subs in a three minute period and following a missed free by the College, the scoreboard was unemployed until the 50th minute.
The next score was a game defining one when a long ball by Michael O’Halloran was dropped by the UCC custodian and Gavin Nugent was on hand to raise the winner’s third green flag of the final and secure an advantage of 3-7 to 1-8.
This lead was rounded off to an even two goals when Joey Veale provided for Tommy Prendergast and immediately on his introduction in the 53rd minute David Grey kicked the score of the match with his left leg from the acutest of angles. Waterford were now home and dry and especially so when Shane Aherne pointed following a foul on Maurice O’Gorman on the hour mark and when Conor Phelan clipped over a left legged score four minutes later to put a healthy look on the scoreboard from a Waterford perspective at 3-11 to 1-8.
EMPTIED BENCH
The winners emptied their bench further as the game concluded with a trading of scores by Conor Horgan (f) and Shane Aherne from a Gavin Nugent pass. The new holders of the McGrath Cup won the second half by 1-6 to 0-2 and so they well deserved their name on the trophy for 2015.
It’s all positives for Waterford football at present and this should reflect itself in a further increased attendance at the Fraher Field this Saturday evening for the first round of the National League against Wicklow in what will be another stern test for the Deise side. However, the players are doing all that’s being asked of them to date and their team play and fitness at present is out of the top drawer.
Everyone of the 21 players who saw action last Saturday played their part in this famous win with exceptional performances being delivered by midfielders Shane Aherne and Tommy Prendergast, the O’Gorman twins and Tadhg O hUallachain in defence and a hard working forward sextet, all of whom scored, with the Ballinacourty pair of Michael O’Halloran and Patrick Hurney leading the way.
UCC’s challenge was snookered somewhat by their impending Sigerson Cup tie but they included some fine exponents of the big ball game in Nemo Rangers Conor Horgan, Adrigole’s David Harrington, Adrian Spillane from Templenoe, Jamie Davis from Douglas and especially Tom Hickey from Castleisland, a name to remember for the future.
Waterford’s Top Three: Shane Aherne, Tadhg O hUallachain, Michael O Halloran.
UCC’s Top Three: Tom Hickey, Conor Horgan, David Harrington.
Observer’s Man of the Match: Shane Aherne.
Number of Scorers: Waterford 10. UCC 6.
Scores from Play: Waterford 3-9. UCC 1-6.
Frees For: Waterford 19. UCC 33.
Wides: Waterford 8. UCC 7.
Score of the Match: David Grey’s 53rd minute point.
Scorers – Waterford: Shane Aherne 0-4 (3f), Joey Veale, Maurice O’Gorman and Gavin Nugent 1-0 each, Patrick Hurney and Liam Lawlor 0-2 each, Michael Curry, Tommy Prendergast, David Grey and Conor Phelan 0-1 each.
UCC: Conor Horgan 1-2 (2f), David Harrington 0-2, Tom Hickey 0-2 (1f), Adrian Spillane, Kevin Davis and Conor Cox 0-1 each.
Waterford: Stephen Enright; Dean Crowley, Niall Walsh, Thomas O’Gorman (Capt); Tadhg O hUallachain, Maurice O’Gorman, Ray O Ceallaigh; Shane Aherne, Tommy Prendergast; Michael Curry, Michael O’Halloran, Patrick Hurney; Liam Lawlor, Gavin Nugent, Joey Veale.
Subs: Conor Phelan (20), David Grey (52), Jason Curry (61), Oran Keevers and Billy Power (both 65), Mark Ferncombe (69).
UCC: Padraig McCarthy (Rathmore); Jamie Davis (Douglas), Kevin Fulignati (Nemo Rangers), Kieran Histon (Cobh); Kevin O’Sullivan (Kenmare Shamrocks), Sean White (Clonakilty), Enda Dennehy (St. Finbarrs); Alan O’Donovan (Nemo Rangers), Adrian Spillane (Templenoe); Fintan O’Connor (Knocknagree), Kevin Davis (O’Donovan Rossa), Sean Keane (Killarney Legion); Tom Hickey (Castleisland Desmonds), David Harrington (Adrigole), Conor Horgan (Nemo Rangers).
Subs: Francis Courtney9 Beaufort), Kevin Hayes-Curtin (Douglas), Colm Hyde, Padraig Scanlon (Glin), Shane Power (Clonmel).
Referee: Seamus Mulvihill (Kerry).
