The Big Match is with thanks to George Corbett Mazda.
Antrim: 0-11 (11)
Waterford: 2-23 (29)
Waterford swept aside Antrim by 18 points at Corrigan Park this afternoon to deny former manager Davy Fitzgerald and further consolidate their promotion push from Division 1B of the Allianz National Hurling League.
Goals came from Kevin Mahony and Stephen Bennett on what proved a fruitful visit to Belfast for the Déise - as Peter Queally’s charges kick on ahead of a crucial clash with Dublin next weekend.
Buoyed by a strong travelling support, Waterford got off to the perfect start as they made their bid to pick up back-to-back wins for the first time since 2023.
Padraig Fitzgerald hit the day’s opening score with just 20 seconds on the clock before Michael Kiely caught the resultant puck out and sent it right back where it came from to give the Déise an early two-point cushion - a cushion they would never one relinquish nor be at risk of relinquishing.
When James McNaughton pointed a free to reduce arrears to a solitary point on 4 minutes, little did anyone know that that would be the Saffron’s solitary score for the next 20 minutes.
Waterford dominated the first half entirely, and the game’s opening goal arrived on ten minutes. Following an excellent point from Jamie Barron and a superb 90-metre free from Fitzgerald, the Déise moved 1-4 to 0-1 to the good when Conor Prunty marauded upfield and found Kevin Mahony in space and he bundled the sliotar under under Ryan Elliott into the net.
The floodgates soon opened afterward, as Fitzgerald knocked over another free before Stephen Bennett created and scored goal number two. The Ballysaggart ace produced some mesmerising skill before being dragged down by Keelan Molloy. Molloy was shown a black card and Bennett got up and buried to the left hand side of the net as it was almost already curtains at Corrigan Park, despite the scoreboard showing just 15 minutes.
A fine point from Prunty and another well-worked score from club counterpart Charlie Treen either side of two trademark Dessie Hutchinson scores made Antrim’s seismic task all the more difficult, before McNaughton knocked over their second point of the day on 25 minutes.
Davy Fitzgerald’s men should probably have raised a green flag of their own soon afterward when Niall O’Connor isolated Billy Nolan in no man’s land but shot left and wide.
Waterford duly punished that profligacy as Barron produced a mesmeric effort of his own when driving down the middle past his marker, before Mark Fitzgerald slotted over when found in acres by his namesake Padraig.
A free from Bennett and a third from play by Hutchinson saw Waterford move 2-13 to 0-2 ahead on the cusp of the interval - before a Senan Elliott effort and a McNaughton free saw Antrim put together back to back scores for the first time.
Fitzgerald’s fourth point of the half made it 2-14 to 0-4 at the break, a sixteen point lead - and with eight wides hit, you could’ve argued Waterford should’ve somehow been even further in front.
James McNaughton opened the second half scoring as Antrim looked to restore some form of parity, before substitute Eoin O’Neill capitalised on some slack marking in midfield and Keelan Molloy knocked over a third as the Saffrons did offer a response to whatever Davy Fitzgerald said at the break.
McNaughton then made it four without reply with his fifth free of the afternoon, but it was naturally too little too late, as Charlie Treen fired over the visitor’s first score of the second period of 45 minutes before substitute Kieran Bennett got in on the act.
Jamie Barron knocked over his third point of the day as he again showed why he’s a three-time All-Star, with the game risking petering out at times due to the sizable gap on the scoreboards. Kieran Bennett combined with the onrushing Prunty as he finished with aplomb for his second score, restoring their sixteen-point lead.
Mark Fitzgerald set up substitute Peter Hogan as he became Waterford’s eleventh different scorer on the day, with the bench restoring fresh enthusiasm for the Déise.
4 January 2025; Waterford manager Peter Queally. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Goal number three looked certain as Michael Kiely sent away Dessie Hutchinson but his rasping drive was tipped onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Ryan Elliott on 55 minutes. McNaughton’s sixth free of the afternoon kept Antrim ticking over, as did Keelan Molloy’s second as Antrim crept up into double figures.
A monstrous free from substitute Gerard Walsh was met with the perfect response from the stick of Stephen Bennett as Waterford moved closer to two crucial points. Bennett then curled over a beauty inside the posts to bring his tally to 1-3.
Bennett, Treen and Prunty made way as the clock ran down with Waterford all but home and hosed. Despite their dominance, the Déise did hit fourteen wides, but it mattered little - job done for Waterford as Patrick Curran added his name to the scoreboard late on before the impressive Conor Ryan assisted Hutchinson for his fourth of the day.
Peter Queally’s men were value for their 18-point win, but know it counts for nothing if they don’t back it up. Next up, Dublin at Walsh Park - with a big home crowd required for what will be a crucial game in the race for promotion to Division 1A.
Waterford: Billy Nolan; Conor Ryan, Conor Prunty, Seamus Fitzgerald; Michael Kiely, Mark Fitzgerald, Paddy Leavy; Jack Prendergast, Conor Sheahan; Padraig Fitzgerald, Jamie Barron, Sean Walsh; Kevin Mahony, Patrick Fitzgerald, Dessie Hutchinson
Subs: Kieran Bennett for Padraig Fitzgerald (44); Peter Hogan for Jack Prendergast (44); Patrick Curran for Charlie Treen (62); Sean Walsh for Stephen Bennett (65); Gavin Fives for Conor Prunty (67)
Scorers: Stephen Bennett (1-03: 1-00 pen; 0-02f); Dessie Hutchinson (0-04); Padraig Fitzgerald (0-04: 0-03f); Jamie Barron (0-03); Kevin Mahony (1-00); Conor Prunty and Charlie Treen (0-02 each); Patrick Curran (0-01; 0-01f); Mark Fitzgerald, Michael Kiely, Kieran Bennett and Peter Hogan (0-01 each)
Antrim: Ryan Elliott; Eoin McFerran, Rory McCloskey, Stephen Rooney; Joe Maskey, Eoghan Campbell, Conal Bohill; Nigel Elliott, Senan Elliott; Paul Boyle, Ryan McCambridge, Keelan Molloy; Joseph McLaughlin, James McNaughton, Niall O'Connor
Subs: Eoin O'Neill for Senan Elliott (HT); Cormac McKeown for Paul Boyle (47); Gerard Walsh for Ryan McCambridge (57); Aodhan McGarry for Joe McLaughlin (57)
Scorers: James McNaughton (0-06; 0-06f); Keelan Molloy (0-02); Gerard Walsh (0-01; 0-01f); Senan Elliott & Eoin O'Neill (0-01 each)
Referee: Caymon Flynn (Westmeath)
The Big Match is with thanks to George Corbett Mazda.
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