NHL Division 1B: Antrim 0-11 Waterford 2-23
Waterford produced a dominant display at Corrigan Park on Sunday to romp to an impressive 18-point win over Antrim.
The Déise made good use of the elements in the first period to build a 16-point lead and managed the game well in the second with Antrim never really threatened to get back into it.
It was a disappointing display from Davy Fitzgerald’s men who were outhustled and outmuscled as the visitors came at them with intensity and the result now leaves them in a precarious position in the battle to avoid the drop.
With the Déise players going up against their old manager, Davy Fitzgerald, perhaps they had added motivation, but having lost their opener in Carlow, the pressure has been on for Peter Queally’s side to deliver in order to remain in the hunt for promotion and that they did with Conor Prunty, Iarlaith Daly, Mikey Kiely, Stephen Bennett and Dessie Hutchinson superb.
Playing with an extremely strong wind at their backs, Waterford immediately set about building a big lead and had two points on the board within the opening minute.
The lead was three with 10 played when they grabbed their first goal as a superb poc-out from Billy Nolan found Connor Prunty in stride with the ball worked to Kevin Mahony to crack home.
Their second goal came six minutes later and from a Stephen Bennett penalty, awarded as he was adjudged to have been clipped outside the area, but deemed a goalscoring opportunity denied and Keelan Molloy would spend 10 minutes in the sinbin to compound matters.
The scores flowed for Waterford with Jamie Barron and Dessie Hutchinson hitting some beauties, as Antrim only had a couple of James McNaughton frees to show until late in the half when Seaan Elliott had a sight of goal but shot over, yet it was the visitors with a commanding 2-14 to 0-4 lead.
Antrim made a decent start to the second period with the first four points including one from substitute Eoin O’Neill, but were unable to sustain the momentum with Waterford adapting to playing into the gale, rattling off four of their own to restore to 16-point gap going into the final quarter.
They could have had a third goal only for the crossbar denying Hutchinson, but the game was long decided and petered out late with Waterford home and hosed.
Next up is a home game against Dublin who were pipped in a Croke Park thriller by Offaly on Saturday night as Dan Ravenhill landed a monster free deep in added time saw the Faithful claim a 0-27 to 1-23, which leaves them clear at the top.
Sunday’s other scheduled game in 1B between Laois and Carlow fell victim to a waterlogged pitch.
ANTRIM: R Elliott; E McFerran, R McCloskey, S Rooney; J Maskey, E Campbell, C Bohill; N Elliott, S Elliott (0-1); P Boyle, R McCambridge, K Molloy (0-2); J McLaughlin, J McNaughton (0-6, 6f), N O’Connor. Subs: E O’Neill (0-1) for S Elliott (HT), C McKeown for P Boyle (49), A McGarry for J McLaughlin (58), G Walsh (0-1f) for K Molloy (60), K Molloy for R McCambridge (62).
Black card: K Molloy (16-26)
WATERFORD: B Nolan; C Ryan, C Prunty (0-2), I Daly; M Kiely (0-1), M Fitzgerald (0-1), P Leavey; J Prendergast, C Sheahan; Padraig Fitzgerald (0-4, 3f), J Barron (0-3), C Treen (0-2); K Mahony (1-0), Stephen Bennett (1-3, 1-0 pen, 0-1f), D Hutchinson (0-4).
Subs: K Bennett (0-1) for Padraig Fitzgerald (44), P Hogan (0-1) for J Pendergast (44), P Curran (0-1f) for C Treen (62), S Walsh for S Bennett (65), G Fives for C Prunty (67)
REFEREE: C Flynn (Westmeath)
