1. Waterford’s attention to detail at minor level is paying off.
Waterford’s 2009 Munster minor hurling triumph was a notable milestone for the county after they had endured a 17-year drought in the grade. And significantly they have not allowed that success to be an aberration. Last July they featured in the provincial decider once more, the first time since 1996 that they had contested a second successive Munster final. Last night they began their 2011 endeavours on a winning note when they usurped Tipperary in a splendid clash in Walsh Park. The victory for the team coached by former county senior star Dave Bennett sets them up nicely for the season ahead. They now move on to a semi-final date with Limerick on June 24th where they will have the added benefit of home advantage.
Clearly the focus and effort being applied to nurturing players at minor level is paying off. The physical conditioning of the Waterford side was striking last night as they enjoyed an edge in aerial duels in the middle third while they produced spells of devastatingly slick play either side of the interval that Tipperary had no answer to. Already senior boss Davy Fitzgerald has benefited from this minor renaissance with Ballygunner trio Stephen O'Keeffe, Phillip Mahony and Paudie Mahony, Tourin defender Darragh Fives, Dunhill forward Eamonn Murphy and Clashmore attacker Brian O'Halloran all having graduated to the elite ranks since 2009. De La Salle forward Jake Dillon is widely-touted as the next talent who will make the breakthrough while Roanmore forwards Cein Chester and Gavin O’Brien, who was injured last night, are others to keep an eye on.
2. The Árd Scoil Rís factor is being felt around the province.
Four weeks ago the Árd Scoil Rís players and management were a demoralised bunch scattered on the turf in Semple Stadium after their All-Ireland colleges final defeat to St Kieran’s. A late scoring splurge from the Kilkenny school had undone them for the second year running and shattered the North Circular Road school’s ambitions of attaining national glory. But while it may have been difficult to appreciate at the time as the biggest prize had eluded them, what Árd Scoil Rís had achieved was extremely praiseworthy. The meticulous work of Niall Moran, Derek Larkin and the rest of their coaching staff had enabled them to raise the reputation of the school as a hurling force. Winning two successive Harty Cups and reaching two successive Croke Cup finals has succeeded in developing several bright young hurling prospects.
The fruits of that labour could be seen in the Gaelic Grounds and Austin Stack Park last night. PJ Hall, Barry O’Connell, Ciaran Keogh, Shane Dowling, Kevin O’Brien and Brendan O’Connor were to the fore in the Limerick minor team that claimed a notable scalp against Cork, while Mark Carmody will be link up with the Treaty squad once his Leaving Cert commitments end. Elsewhere Martin Moroney and Jamie Shanahan were manning the Clare defence against Kerry while Óisín Hickey was bagging goals for fun up front. That is nine hurlers who were in action that had their hurling sharpness, physical fitness and big-game experience all operating at a high level as a result of their Árd Scoil Rís involvement. And that is something to cherish.
3. It’s going to be another barren minor summer for Tipperary or Cork.
The origins of Tipperary’s drive to senior stardom last September can be traced directly back to the minor teams that swept to All-Ireland glory in 2006 and 2007. That was the stage where the likes of Padraic Maher and Noel McGrath honed their sparkling talents. But the grade has not been as fruitful for Tipperary since then. They lost successive Munster minor finals in 2008 and 2009, while last year their season ground to a halt in Ennis on May 5th in the backdoor stages against Clare. Hopes that 2011 would take a turn for the better, initially nosedived when they lost out in Walsh Park against Waterford last night. Tipperary took too long to settle to the rhythms of the game while their shooting in front of goal ruined their chances of grabbing a victory. There were bright spots in the form of Jason Forde, Liam McGrath and John Meagher, while the return of John McGrath from injury would be a sizeable boost.
At least they will have the comfort of home advantage for their backdoor clash on Saturday week. Cork, presuming they will negotiate a route past Kerry in Páirc Uí Chaoimh this Saturday night, will face the onerous task of travelling to Thurles in order to salvage their season. There will need to be a marked improvement in the form that Cork displayed last night in the Gaelic Grounds. They were convincingly defeated by eight points and their attacking return was a serious cause for concern with only two points from play registered by their starting forwards. Midfielder Robert O’Shea’s laser accuracy from frees was a positive and manager John Considine will be hoping the experience of featuring at inter-county level will aid his young charges. But an upturn in fortunes will be required if the county wants to avoid a third successive year without a provincial minor hurling final appearance.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/WRzPMBoWJ14/post.aspx
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