Local derby called off in Ballyduff

Once again the weather was a spoilsport on Saturday afternoon last when the eagerly awaited local derby, Ballyduff Rovers v Cappoquin/Railway, had to be cancelled as the Ballyduff pitch was unplayable and while there was an attempt to play the game at the Danes Field instead, this pitch was also unplayable.

In the Airtricity League, the Waterford fans travelled to Oriel Park on Friday night and at the final whistle Dundalk and Waterford shared the points in a scoreless draw. Cork City won at home against Bray, while Cobh Ramblers drew away in Tralee, a game we report on. The good news for all Ramblers’ fans is St Colman’s Park will reopen on Easter Monday with Longford Town the visitors.

Saturday will see John O’Shea’s Republic of Ireland playing Belgium in a challenge game at the Aviva and the following Tuesday, March 26 Ireland will play Switzerland.

Waterford’s Villa defeated Killarney Celtic in the semi-final of the Munster Junior Cup and will now play St. Michael’s in the final.

We also continue our ‘Memories’ section with the 1992/93 season.

WATERFORD LEAGUE FIXTURES

There was only one fixture for the weekend in the west of the county, a local derby we were looking forward to, Ballyduff Rovers v Cappoquin/Railway in Division 3A. Unfortunately the heavy rains of the past number of days saw the Ballyduff community pitch unplayable, as was the Danes Field, so there was no game to report on.

Since Christmas we have written regularly of games not being played because of the weather. All of this is creating a backlog of games and causing problems for the league fixture secretary and secretaries throughout the country.

This of course leads us onto the debate that has been taking place nationally, calendar football or what used be called many years ago, summer football. Clubs and leagues throughout the country have been discussing the proposed change and from what we have heard, the change will take place and calendar football will be introduced for a trial period over a number of seasons.

We ourselves are no longer active in club or leagues and therefore will not comment. Those who have “travelled” through the years with us in the beautiful game will know our view. The game of football has changed since we started out all of sixty years ago and to write on those years is an article on its own. We do remember discussions taking place through the years on changing the seasons from what we were brought up playing, to calendar football. They were only discussions and yet clubs and leagues ran pre-season tournaments commencing in late June and early July and into the start of the season in August. They were always a success and became annual events.

Needless to write, there are always pros and cons when changes are muted and actually take place.

Calendar football has proved to be a hit with the League of Ireland. Yes, this season with only six league games played we have seen the weather change from one weekend to another. In the second game of the season we witnessed what has been described in the national sports pages as four seasons in one night at Mounthawk Park in Tralee. A beautiful early evening changed to see hailstones causing the game to be held up for fifteen minutes while the pitch, an astro turf, was cleared of the downfall, to be followed by thunder and lightning, again another fifteen minute hold up and danger of the game being called off as a safety precaution; and finally heavy rain. Last Saturday the Longford v Treaty Utd league game was cancelled as the pitch at Bishopsgate was under water. So, it is possible that even with calendar football the weather will not always play ball.

Speaking to a number of friends in the amateur game, they tell us that the discussions and debates by clubs and leagues were positive and all were allowed make their views and reservations known. Not everyone agrees with the proposed change, but they are prepared to give the trial the time it will need to see if it works.

We will of course keep our readers up to date with the changes when they happen.

This coming weekend we have three fixtures, starting on Saturday with Brideview at home to Dunmore East in Division 2A with a 2pm start. Brideview are in third spot in the league table, three points adrift of leaders Stradbally, while Dunmore are four points behind the Tallow club with a game less played.

On Sunday, Cappoquin/Railway will have Red Star as visitors with an 11am kick-off in Division 3A. Also in the same division, Ballyduff Rovers travel to Waterford to play the Villa with an 11am kick-off.

MUNSTER JUNIOR CUP SEMI-FINAL

The second semi-final of the Munster Junior Cup took place on Saturday last at Ozier Park with the Villa winning comfortably against Kerry league team, Killarney Celtic. On a pitch that held up well considering all the heavy rain, the Villa proved much too good for their Kerry counterparts and ran out easy 7-0 winners.

The Villa will play St. Michael’s from the TS&DL in the final and this should make for a great game of football between two clubs who have got to know each other so well in the past few seasons. They met in the quarter-final of the FAI Junior Cup a few weeks back with the Villa coming out on top.

At the moment, we do not have a date or venue for the final.

MUNSTER SENIOR CUP

By the time our notes appear in print, Waterford FC will have played Rockmount from the Munster Senior League at the RSC on Monday last in the semi-final of the Munster Senior Cup. The winners will play Kerry FC in the final at Turner’s Cross in May. Kerry defeated Treaty Utd in their semi-final clash at Mounthawk Park two weeks ago.

At the weekend we spoke with the chairman of the Kerry club and he told us they are looking forward to the final, regardless of the opposition, as this will be the first time the club will have played in a final. Considering Kerry FC is only in their second season in League of Ireland football, this is a great achievement for all involved in the club. We will have more information on the final pairing in the notes next week.

WOMEN’S EURO QUALIFIERS

Last week we gave the draw for the Women’s Euro 2025 qualifiers and Ireland are drawn in Group A3 with England, France and Sweden. England are the current Euro holders and both France and Sweden reached the semi finals. This is definitely the hardest or strongest group of the qualifiers and it will take a very big effort from the girls in green to get out of the group.

They commence their group games with an away game to France on Friday, April 5th, and four days later Tuesday, April 9th, will play host to the reigning Euro champions England at the Aviva Stadium. The top two in the group will qualify automatically and the third and bottom teams will play-off to determine which team will go forward in the playoffs.

So, there is plenty of international football, men’s and women’s, to look forward to in the next number of months.

AIRTRICITY LEAGUE Dundalk 0 Waterford 0

Having lost away at the Brandywell on Friday week last, Waterford had the opportunity to get back to winning ways when they travelled to Oriel Park to play Dundalk. Waterford were in joint third spot in the league table while Dundalk were bottom of the league with only a point to show from their five games - a scoreless draw at Tallagh Stadium with Shamrock Rvs at the start of the league. Manager Stephen O’Donnell is under a lot of pressure to get the club up the table, but he has lost a number of players in the closed season, with Pat Hoban, the goal scoring machine allowed leave for Derry and he showed how good he is with the three goals that defeated the Blues. Brian Ainscough, who was Chief Executive Officer with Kerry FC last year in their maiden year in League of Ireland football, departed the Kingdom and his company bought out Dundalk.

So, with all this in the background, Waterford felt this was a game they could get the three points from to keep them in the top four or five position.

In an attendance of just over 2,000, the reports we were receiving from our friends at the Dundalk venue in the opening half tell us goalkeeper Sam Sergeant was in outstanding form, keeping the opposition from scoring with a number of excellent saves.

Waterford did have a chance midway through the half when a Connor Parson’s cross was met by the head of Padraig Amond, but the home keeper Ross Munroe saved the effort. Just before the break Barry Baggley raced in behind the defence but was unable to get power in his effort and Munro saved easily. Half-time arrived and no score and all to play for in the second 45mins.

The second half we are told was a cagey affair with only a few chances for either team. Sargeant came to the Blues’ rescue once again when he saved from Elliott. Waterford had a chance late in the game when Maleace Asamoah broke through but he shot wide and in the last few minutes, Sargeant saved well from Ryan O’Kane. The full time whistle sounded and both teams had to settle for a share of the points.

Following the rest of the results that night, Waterford are fourth in the league table, eight points behind the leaders Shelbourne, three behind second placed Derry and one point behind third placed Sligo Rvs, who leapfrogged the Blues on Saturday night when defeating Drogheda at the Showgrounds.

Oriel Park through the years has not been the happiest of away venues for various Blues teams and Friday night was no different. Dundalk now have two draws and no win in their five league game played to date and it is most unusual to see them at the bottom of the table.

For the Blues, the draw on Friday night was a good result and from what we have been told, they have Sam Sargeant in goal to thank for coming home with a point.

There are no Premier games this weekend due to the internationals and Waterford’s next league fixture will be on Good Friday when they will have Sligo Rvs as visitors to the RSC. Sligo had a good 3-1 win at home to Drogheda on Saturday night and they leapfrogged Waterford into third spot by a point.

Then on Easter Monday, Waterford will have the big game of the season so far when the league champions of the past three years, Shamrock Rvs are the visitors with a 5pm kick-off.

Anytime Rovers come to the RSC we can expect an atmosphere that no other club in the League of Ireland generates and with a time that will suit everyone, the RSC on Easter Monday will be rocking.

Cork City 2 Bray 0

Cork City had Bray as visitors to Turner’s Cross on Friday night last and following victory, Tim Clancy’s charges went top of the league by three points from Treaty Utd, whose game away to Longford Town on Saturday evening was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

With just under 3,000 at the Cross, the largest attendance in the 1st Division, Cork City attacked from the very first whistle and our City friends tell us they should have taken an early lead in the 3rd minute when Sean Murray was put through by Nathan Wood, but his effort went the wrong side of a post. However, a few minutes later Murray did find the net when John O’Donovan’s effort was parried by former City keeper Jimmy Corcoran and the ball fell kindly for Murray to hit the rebound into the net and the lead for the home team.

The second goal arrived on 15 minutes when the new kid on the block, Cathal O’Sullivan ran onto a pass from over the top by the returning Greg Bolger and raced into the area, blasting the ball to the net. Our Cork friends were raving in their praise of O’Sullivan who is only 17 years of age and appears to be a star in the making. We hope to see Cork City playing before the end of the month and to see the new star in action.

With a two goal lead City were in control and did not allow Bray into the game in the opening 45mins. Bray definitely missed the influential Shane Griffin, the former Waterford player receiving an injury in the warm up which did not help manager, Ian Ryan, who had to make an instant change with Guillermo Almirall replacing Griffin. Cork City were content to play keep ball in the second half and City keeper Brad Wade was only really tested once in this half when he saved at the expense of a corner from a goalmouth melee.

At the final whistle Cork City were comfortable winners and are top of the league table after five games, four wins and a draw, which is a great start for manager Tim Clancy who was happy with the result. The return of Greg Bolger is a big plus for the club, as he brings a wealth of experience from the Premier division having joined Shamrock Rvs. from City and then went on to spend three seasons at The Showgrounds with Sligo Rvs, before returning to Turner’s Cross in the off season.

This Friday, City will travel to play the in-form Treaty Utd at the Markets Field. Treaty are three points adrift of City but with a game less played and there should be a very large attendance at the Limerick venue for this top of the table clash. The following Friday, Good Friday, Cork City will have home advantage for the visit of Athlone Town.

Kerry FC 1 Cobh Ramblers 1

Friday night last gave us our first view of Cobh Ramblers when duty had us at Mounthawk Park for Kerry FC v Cobh Ramblers. On a most beautiful evening in the Kingdom, we saw the two teams share the points in a 1-1 draw, which was probably a fair reflection of the game.

This was our second occasion since the season began to see the Kerry team in action and there is no doubt they have improved since the start of February.

Cobh have lost a number of players during the off season, especially Jack Doherty and Chris Lyons, both to Cork City. The game started with both teams creating chances, but the best chances in this half were with the Ramblers. Unfortunately, they were unable to turn the many chances into scores and as the club secretary said to us, if only Jack Doherty was with us the game would be over by half-time. There was no score at half-time and apart from the missed chances, the Kerry keeper Antonio Tuta made a number of excellent saves from Jack Larkin and Samuel Aladesanusi. At the other end, Kerry’s Okwuy Okwute was causing problems on the right wing with his running and making Cian Browne work hard in the visiting defence. Towards the end of the half, Tuta made a fantastic save from the Ramblers’ James O’Leary, to keep the scoreline 0-0.

The second half went more or less as the opening half had with Jack Larkin missing a gilt-edged opportunity - with only the keeper to beat he hit the ball the wrong side of a post. A let off for the home team and they took advantage of the miss when Kerry’s Sean McGrath received the ball and raced into the area and from the by-line, played the ball across the area where it was put into the net by Ryan Kelliher with less than 20mins remaining.

The lead would last only four minutes as Cobh equalised through James O’Leary.

Both teams had a few long range efforts, but none caused problems for the two keepers and at the final whistle, the teams had to settle for a share of the points. Cobh Ramblers are in mid-table, while Kerry have two points in second last position.

The Cobh team had former Waterford players in action on Friday, Cian Browne, Jack Larkin and Dean Larkin.

This Friday the Ramblers will play UCD at Turner’s Cross. On Good Friday, Cobh Ramblers will play Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Ground. Speaking to a few of the Cobh committee in Tralee, they informed us that St. Colman’s Park will be reopening on Easter Monday when Longford Town will be the visitors. The game will take place at 3pm.

The new Astro Turf pitch is now almost ready for use, there are new floodlights installed and the old wall in front of the stand that we were all familiar with through the years, has been replaced with a railing all round the pitch.

We have seen photos of the ground and must say St. Colman’s Park is looking very impressive. We wish the club and the supporters the very best for Easter Monday.

WOMEN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE

In the women’s national league, the league champions Peamount Utd. lost 0-2 at home to Shelbourne in match of the day, while Cork City lost at Eamonn Deacy Park to Galway FC 5-0.

MEMORIES

This week we continue our look back at the 1992/93 season. Last week we wrote of the youth league that had seven teams competing and was won by Brideview, who defeated Valley Rgs in a two-leg final.

In the 1st Division, there was a wonderful battle at the top of the table between the holders of the title, Cappoquin, and Killeagh and Brideview. The league title actually went down to the very last game for Killeagh and Brideview. With just a game each to play, a ten team league at the time and seventeen already played, there was just a point separating Killeagh leading from Brideview, with Cappoquin a further point adrift, could only draw with Lismore. At the time it was two points for a win. In the last league game played on 21st March, 1993, Killeagh clinched the title in Ballyduff, defeating the home team, while at the same time Brideview won the local derby against Valley Rgs and Cappoquin lost to Modeligo. All of that meant Killeagh became league champions with Brideview a point behind as runners-up. Both Youghal and Affane were relegated.

In the 2nd Division, Pinewood won the league and were promoted to the 1st Division. There was a playoff for the runners-up position between Cappoquin B and Glen View Utd. Glen View had two teams in the league that season.

In the playoff that took place on 18th April, 1993 at Brideview Park, Cappoquin B defeated Glen View by the only goal of the game scored by Fintan Murray and so the following season, Cappoquin had an A and B team playing in the 1st Division.

We will return to the playoff and the teams next week.