Gaelic Games

Weather plays havoc as Waterford see off Tipperary in Dungarvan

Davy Fitzgerald’s experimental approach gives Déise chance to win Munster Hurling League for first time

Tipperary’s Craig Moran in action against Waterford’s Padraig Fitzgerald in the Munster Hurling League. Photograph: Ken Sutton/Inpho

Dylan O'Connell
Sun Jan 7 2024 - 19:00

GAA Round Up – Hurling: Waterford are through to the final of the Co-Op Superstores Munster Hurling League after a 1-22 to 1-20 victory over Tipperary at Fraher Field, on a day that saw Limerick’s game with Cork on the other side of the competition called off due to a dense fog in Mallow.

The Déise followed up their midweek hammering of Kerry with late scores from Padraig Fitzgerald, Reuben Halloran and Seánie Callaghan giving them the win over their near rivals Tipperary.

Davy Fitzgerald took an experimental approach to the game, with just four players included in the starting XV from the group that faced Tipperary in the final round of the 2023 Munster Senior Hurling Championship at Semple Stadium.

While Padraig Fitzgerald took in the applause at full-time after hitting 0-10 (6fs), Jack Prendergast walked off the pitch in Dungarvan having scored 1-3.

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This decided a game that started with Tipperary’s Robert Byrne getting a straight red card, and the Premier County responded by overturning a nine-point deficit in the second half. Seán Ryan led the charge for Liam Cahill’s side by hitting 1-12, with 1-3 from play.

At the break, Waterford were leading 1-12 to 0-8 and the second half was a straight shoot-out by two teams looking to lay down a preseason marker before they meet in the third round of the Munster championship on May 4th at Walsh Park.

The Déise now have a chance to win the Munster Hurling League for the first time ever, but they will have to wait until the other games have been played in Group A.

Waterford have worked towards this since a premature exit from last year’s Munster championship, and Davy Fitzgerald is using the preseason competition to work with players like Padraig Fitzgerald, who scored 1-9 against Kerry, with 1-4 from play.

On the other side of the tournament, the game involving Cork and Limerick was supposed to get under way at 2pm in Mallow but a decision was made to postpone the fixture which had attracted a big crowd.

The weather also played havoc with the Walsh Cup in Leinster, leading to games involving Carlow/Kilkenny and Westmeath/Antrim getting cancelled. The Barrowsiders will get their day out against last year’s beat All-Ireland finalists, with the fixture now scheduled for Tuesday, January 9th, at SETU Carlow.

There was a similar situation with Galway’s matchup with Offaly, except that game had to be abandoned in the 55th minute with the Tribesmen leading 4-14 to 1-11. The result stands, and it means Henry Shefflin’s team could qualify for the next round with a victory over Laois, who started their campaign with a 2-18 to 0-18 victory over the Faithful County.

There was plenty of action on Saturday with games taking place in Connacht and Ulster. The highlight of the weekend was New York continuing their impressive start to the year by defeating Mayo 2-25 to 2-12 in the Connacht Hurling League final at the University of Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome.

At half-time the Exiles were in front 0-13 to 1-2, and they never once looked like throwing away that lead during the time left to play.

[ Waterford selector Peter Queally: We put four or five months into focusing on Limerick last season ]

There was also joy for a Galway development side as they overcame Roscommon 2-25 to 3-16 in the Connacht Hurling League shield-final.

The Conor McGurk Cup quarterfinals were also held on Saturday and there were wins for Down, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Antrim.

The competition’s semi-finals will see Fermanagh face Donegal and Antrim will host Down, with the games scheduled to take place on the 9th of January.

GAA results

Sunday

Munster HL round two: Waterford 1-22 Tipperary 1-20, Fraher Field; Limerick P-P Cork, Mallow

Walsh Cup: Offaly 1-11 Galway 4-14, O’Connor Park; Westmeath P-P Antrim, Kinnegad; Carlow P-P Kilkenny, Cullen Park

Saturday

Connacht HL final: Mayo 1-12 New York 2-25, Connacht GAA Air Dome

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