Live

LIVE: OTB Breakfast

07:30 AM-10:00 AM

LIVE: OTB Breakfast
Advertisement
Football

Waterford set up All-Ireland semi-final date with Kilkenny after victory at Semple Stadium

Waterford 0-21 Wexford 0-11 Waterford will meet Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final after a 10...



Waterford set up All-Ireland s...
Football

Waterford set up All-Ireland semi-final date with Kilkenny after victory at Semple Stadium

Waterford 0-21

Wexford 0-11

Waterford will meet Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final after a 10-point victory over Wexford at Semple Stadium this afternoon.

Derek McGrath's side responded to their Munster final defeat to Tipperary in good fashion, but still showed signs of inconsistency with plenty of wayward shooting in the opening half.

The dearth in quality in the first half meant that Wexford trailed by just seven at the break, but they couldn't get the best out of Lee Chin to drag themselves back into the game. 

In truth, Waterford should have been out of sight by the end of the opening 35 minutes. Wexford had limited opportunities to hurt the Deise, but poor shooting saw the Waterford struggle to impose themselves on the game.

They raced into an early lead after, Micheal Walsh, Maurice Shanahan and Austin Gleeson scoring to send them in to a five point lead.

Gleeson struggled in front of the posts and Wexford began to grow in confidence with points from Conor McDonald and Chin chipping away at Waterford's advantage. 

The Munster finalists racked up 13 wides in the opening a number of which came after 25 minutes when time and again efforts from range went to the left of the posts and wide.

Conor Gleeson and Liam OG McGovern tangle trying to gather possession. Image: ©INPHO/Tommy Dickson

The second half saw Waterford start quite brightly. Austin Gleeson and Maurice Shanahan scored to wonderful points just after the restart to stretch their lead before Wexford found their groove.

McDonald reduced the gap to seven during a period where Waterford went 15 minutes without a score. As the rain fell and conditions deteriorated ever so slightly, Pauric Mahony settled the Munster finalists.

A number of late frees saw them run out comfortable winners in the end, but with Brian Cody in the attendance this afternoon, the Kilkenny manager won't be too concerned by what he saw. 

Some good defensive displays from Waterford, most notably from Tadhg de Burca, but 19 wides in total won't be good enough to tumble the reigning All-Ireland champions.

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Football