February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Mike Fitzpatrick
Kilkenny 3-11, Waterford 0-12
Kilkenny’s hurlers, perhaps expectedly, came out victorious in this semifinal victory over Waterford in the Brendan Keane Cup on Sunday at Gaelic Park. Kilkenny, having recently defeated a solid Limerick side, always looked as if they were to add Waterford to their list of 1999 scalps. Waterford have never won a hurling title in New York, and their chances at winning this one were dashed by a Cats side eager to venture forth and prosper with silverware this season.
Jimmy Duggan’s Waterford men entered the fray on a reasonably upbeat level having recently beaten Westmeath, but Kilkenny proved to be a far more awkward obstacle to conquer. Vinnie Norton of the Kilkenny midfield was allowed far too much space at times, and a hurler of his caliber tends to make the opposition pay for their mistakes. Norton linked up well with his midfield counterpart Pat Rohan in supplying balls forward for Joey Browne and later on for Brian Barcoe to latch onto. Kevin Corbett was another Cats player given acres of space, and he too punished the Waterford backline by notching a goal and three points throughout the tie.
The game opened with Kilkenny going on the attack, Corbett hit a couple of early points, swiftly followed by midfielder Norton. Dave Ryan and Mike O’Shea replied for Waterford, but following more Kilkenny scores from Norton, David Brennan, and Aidan Ryan, Jimmy Duggan’s men were trailing by three points going into the half time interval.
Waterford came out after the break a lot more attack-minded, and got on the scoresheet with more convincing regularity thanks to Tom Maher, who hit two points, and Ciaran Murphy who grabbed another one. Kilkenny failed to let up, however, and more points followed from Joey Browne and John Nolan. Despite a far feistier performance in the latter stages of the game from Waterford, Kilkenny managed to clinch the tie thanks to a close-range goal from Norton, which goalkeeper Kevin Martin was unlucky not to save. Brian Barcoe scored another goal for Kilkenny in the dying stages of the game, but by then, the tie was all but over. Tom Maher and Richie Purcell hit late points for Waterford, but they will perhaps be glad to get this game out of the way so they can, as the old cliche goes, "concentrate on the League." Kilkenny are looking good for glory this year, but they have yet to meet perhaps this season’s most dangerous-looking side, Tipperary. That’s quite a mouth-watering prospect. Kilkenny advance to the final, and deservedly so.
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Kilkenny: James Joyce, Ciaran Gaughan, Mark Kennedy, Peter Breen, Dan Ryan, David Brennan (0-1), Vinnie Norton (1-3), Pat Rohan, Kevin Corbett (1-3), Jerome Edge, Joey Browne (0-2), Aidan Ryan (0-1), John Nolan (0-1). Subs: Brian Barcoe (1-0), Jim Kenny, Richie Doyle, Tony Spillane.
Waterford: Kevin Martin, Finbarr Cauldwell, Thomas Bermingham, JoJo Sullivan, Richie Purcell (0-1), Owen O’Connor, Dave Ryan (0-3), Tom Maher (0-4), Jamie Duggan, Donncha Docherty (0-1), Mike O’Shea (0-1), Ciaran Murphy (0-2), Finbarr O’Shaughnessy.