BY NOW, WE can probably get our heads round to the way of thinking that Waterford’s loss to Carlow was not a true reflection.
How much of that was down to the fact that Carlow had a game the previous weekend, a draw away to Offaly and the only dropped point for the midlanders so far, we cannot say.
But with Waterford sitting out the first day of the league, when they finally got going, they fell to Carlow by seven points.
It was the kind of result that raises attention. The League Sunday panellists concurred that it might act as a springboard for all of Carlow’s progress, while lamenting the slippage in Waterford. Monday morning quarter-backing, brought forward to Sunday night.
Little wonder that the following week, a ten-point win over Laois had some nervy moments especially at the start.
“The performance was very sketchy,” manager Peter Queally told reporters as all concerned found the chill wind blowing across Walsh Park and wanted to make for the safety of indoors.
“Very nervous at times, overkeen and overanxious.”
In making sense of the Carlow loss, he stated that training in the intervening week had been healthy. He hadn’t needed to say much. He found his players revved up.
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“A lot of emotion there, they were angry, they were sad, they were mad, they were disappointed.”
We’ve seen a more accurate representation of Waterford since. Last weekend, they knew they were heading to Corrigan Park and there was an awful lot on the line.
Coming up against their former manager Davy Fitzgerald, some players had publicly voiced their confusion around Fitzgerald’s previous statements that when he arrived in Waterford for his second spell, he found the players, ‘on the floor.’
They were also conscious that Antrim had taken the scalp of Clare and drew with Wexford in league hurling, while they also pushed Cork in an All-Ireland tie until just after the hour mark, all in Corrigan Park.
But Waterford simply blitzed Antrim and looked extremely comfortable in doing so, 2-23 to 0-11.
It’s left them this weekend with a task glorious in its’ simplicity. Beat Dublin at home, and promotion beckons. Their final two games are away to Westmeath and at home to table-toppers Offaly, who inflicted the first league defeat upon Niall Ó Ceallacháin’s Dubs.
“All we know is we have a massive game next week. Our promotion prospects will very much hinge on the result of that match,” said Quelly at the post-match briefing in Belfast.
“I won’t lie to you, I probably would have preferred if Dublin won last night! It’s a wide open promotion race now with three, four or five teams in with a chance of going up, which is exciting for neutrals. Next Sunday’s game between ourselves and Dublin, there will be a lot on the line in relation to promotion.”
The long journey back from Belfast had to be satisfying. They got Conor Prunty, Stephen Bennett and Iarlaith Daly back onto the pitch and starting line-up for the first time this season. Their team mates gained an inch with their inclusion.
Prunty’s return opened up Mark Fitzgerald for a return to the half-back line. Daly and Prunty behind him allowed him to hurl naturally.
Others are on their way back too. Quelly is expecting Darragh Lyons to feature against Dublin, or at the least fill a spot on the bench. The much-anticipated return of Austin Gleeson is slated for the Westmeath game. For Tadhg De Bruca, it’s looking like the last day of the league against Offaly.
For Niall Ó Ceallacháin, it’s been a busy period. He completed club hurling in January by leading Na Fianna to the All-Ireland title, only the second Dublin club to manage that feat after Cuala’s two-in-a-row in 2017 and 2018.
His life is a thicket of poles balancing spinning plates. For months he was double-jobbing Na Fianna and Dublin hurlers. His day job is with the Clúid housing charity, where he is Chief Operations Officer.
In the build-up to the All-Ireland final, he and wife Sarah welcomed their son Alfie into the world.
The week after, Dublin were getting started on the league and ate Antrim in Croke Park, 1-25 to 0-14.
The obvious concerns for Dublin hurling after the end of the Micheál Donoghue years, was full-back and former captain Eoghan O’Donnell switching codes, the Whitehall Colmcilles man taking his talents to Dessie Farrell and the county footballers.
Fortunately, Ó Ceallacháin had a crop of U20 players that while they might lack in silverware, still ran eventual All-Ireland winners Offaly to three points in the Leinster final.
The full-back of that team, David Lucey has clicked into that position with authority. His performance against Westmeath earned him a spot on the GAA.ie Team Of The Week.
A sporting prodigy of Kilmacud Crokes, he was a promising full-back in the Leinster Schools rugby system with St Michael’s College and certainly on the radar for the IRFU. But a hurling-mad father from Cork tends to bring you down other paths.
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Another Crokes prospect, Conal Ó Riain has had an eventful start to the season, grabbing 1-3 against Antrim, then 1-2 in the win over Westmeath, before a red card.
Brendan Kenny, making his debut last week against Offaly, is another addition and went in to midfield. Others to be fast-tracked include Diarmuid Ó Dúlaing, and David Purcell, an attacker who was still a minor last year.
Meanwhile, Danny Sutcliffe and Paddy Doyle are making their way back to full integration with the team.
All in, Ó Ceallacháin is tasked with the first major decision of any new, young manager; do you trust in youth, keep the faith in the old warriors, or find some sort of blend?
It’s a question that will occupy both managers as they bid to keep pace with Offaly.
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New bosses Ó Ceallacháin and Queally square off with no margin for error in Walsh Park
BY NOW, WE can probably get our heads round to the way of thinking that Waterford’s loss to Carlow was not a true reflection.
How much of that was down to the fact that Carlow had a game the previous weekend, a draw away to Offaly and the only dropped point for the midlanders so far, we cannot say.
But with Waterford sitting out the first day of the league, when they finally got going, they fell to Carlow by seven points.
It was the kind of result that raises attention. The League Sunday panellists concurred that it might act as a springboard for all of Carlow’s progress, while lamenting the slippage in Waterford. Monday morning quarter-backing, brought forward to Sunday night.
Little wonder that the following week, a ten-point win over Laois had some nervy moments especially at the start.
“The performance was very sketchy,” manager Peter Queally told reporters as all concerned found the chill wind blowing across Walsh Park and wanted to make for the safety of indoors.
“Very nervous at times, overkeen and overanxious.”
In making sense of the Carlow loss, he stated that training in the intervening week had been healthy. He hadn’t needed to say much. He found his players revved up.
“A lot of emotion there, they were angry, they were sad, they were mad, they were disappointed.”
We’ve seen a more accurate representation of Waterford since. Last weekend, they knew they were heading to Corrigan Park and there was an awful lot on the line.
Coming up against their former manager Davy Fitzgerald, some players had publicly voiced their confusion around Fitzgerald’s previous statements that when he arrived in Waterford for his second spell, he found the players, ‘on the floor.’
They were also conscious that Antrim had taken the scalp of Clare and drew with Wexford in league hurling, while they also pushed Cork in an All-Ireland tie until just after the hour mark, all in Corrigan Park.
But Waterford simply blitzed Antrim and looked extremely comfortable in doing so, 2-23 to 0-11.
It’s left them this weekend with a task glorious in its’ simplicity. Beat Dublin at home, and promotion beckons. Their final two games are away to Westmeath and at home to table-toppers Offaly, who inflicted the first league defeat upon Niall Ó Ceallacháin’s Dubs.
“All we know is we have a massive game next week. Our promotion prospects will very much hinge on the result of that match,” said Quelly at the post-match briefing in Belfast.
“I won’t lie to you, I probably would have preferred if Dublin won last night! It’s a wide open promotion race now with three, four or five teams in with a chance of going up, which is exciting for neutrals. Next Sunday’s game between ourselves and Dublin, there will be a lot on the line in relation to promotion.”
The long journey back from Belfast had to be satisfying. They got Conor Prunty, Stephen Bennett and Iarlaith Daly back onto the pitch and starting line-up for the first time this season. Their team mates gained an inch with their inclusion.
Prunty’s return opened up Mark Fitzgerald for a return to the half-back line. Daly and Prunty behind him allowed him to hurl naturally.
Others are on their way back too. Quelly is expecting Darragh Lyons to feature against Dublin, or at the least fill a spot on the bench. The much-anticipated return of Austin Gleeson is slated for the Westmeath game. For Tadhg De Bruca, it’s looking like the last day of the league against Offaly.
For Niall Ó Ceallacháin, it’s been a busy period. He completed club hurling in January by leading Na Fianna to the All-Ireland title, only the second Dublin club to manage that feat after Cuala’s two-in-a-row in 2017 and 2018.
His life is a thicket of poles balancing spinning plates. For months he was double-jobbing Na Fianna and Dublin hurlers. His day job is with the Clúid housing charity, where he is Chief Operations Officer.
In the build-up to the All-Ireland final, he and wife Sarah welcomed their son Alfie into the world.
The week after, Dublin were getting started on the league and ate Antrim in Croke Park, 1-25 to 0-14.
The obvious concerns for Dublin hurling after the end of the Micheál Donoghue years, was full-back and former captain Eoghan O’Donnell switching codes, the Whitehall Colmcilles man taking his talents to Dessie Farrell and the county footballers.
Fortunately, Ó Ceallacháin had a crop of U20 players that while they might lack in silverware, still ran eventual All-Ireland winners Offaly to three points in the Leinster final.
The full-back of that team, David Lucey has clicked into that position with authority. His performance against Westmeath earned him a spot on the GAA.ie Team Of The Week.
A sporting prodigy of Kilmacud Crokes, he was a promising full-back in the Leinster Schools rugby system with St Michael’s College and certainly on the radar for the IRFU. But a hurling-mad father from Cork tends to bring you down other paths.
Another Crokes prospect, Conal Ó Riain has had an eventful start to the season, grabbing 1-3 against Antrim, then 1-2 in the win over Westmeath, before a red card.
Brendan Kenny, making his debut last week against Offaly, is another addition and went in to midfield. Others to be fast-tracked include Diarmuid Ó Dúlaing, and David Purcell, an attacker who was still a minor last year.
Meanwhile, Danny Sutcliffe and Paddy Doyle are making their way back to full integration with the team.
All in, Ó Ceallacháin is tasked with the first major decision of any new, young manager; do you trust in youth, keep the faith in the old warriors, or find some sort of blend?
It’s a question that will occupy both managers as they bid to keep pace with Offaly.
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Dubs GAA Hurling National League tight margins Waterford