A second half collapse by the Waterford minor footballers signalled their exit from the Munster Minor Championship at the hands of Clare in Ennis on Monday evening (April 19).
Waterford simply had no answer to the power of Clare midfielder Aidan Malone who finished with an incredible tally of 3-2 as the Kilfenora clubman ran riot.
For the second game in a row, Waterford started the game very badly and Clare had the ball in the back of the Waterford net before new goalkeeper, Marcus Millea even realised he was in Ennis. Dangerous corner-forward, Tony Kelly ran at the Waterford defence before passing to the marauding Malone who finished to the Waterford net. First blood to Clare.
Tony Kelly extended Clare’s lead with a fine finish in the5th minute before Paudge Collins, a brother of Clare senior hurler Sean, scored his first point to put the Banner men five points up.
Ballyduff Lower’s young star Emmet Power was surprisingly left out of the Waterford team for the first round game against Limerick. He was recalled here and showed his credentials when he converted two frees in quick succession to give Waterford some sort of presence on the scoreboard.
However, things got worse for Waterford before they got better. Aidan Malone tapped over another point before there was a major turning point. A Waterford defender was adjudged to have touched the ball on the ground in his own square and the referee controversially awarded a penalty to Clare. Clare were never going to look this particular gift horse in the mouth Malone stepped up and drove his penalty past Marcus Millea.
See The Munster Express newspaper for full match report.
