McGrath to miss remainder of league campaign

WATERFORD Allstar Ken McGrath is likely to miss the remainder of their NHL campaign.

McGrath is struggling to recover from a knee cartilage injury and has yet to return to training.

"I can't see myself running for at least another three weeks, possibly four," said McGrath yesterday. "After that it could be another fortnight before I can resume playing."

The news on the field is much more positive for Justin McCarthy's team, who share a perfect campaign record and joint leadership of Division 1A with Galway and Clare.

Despite victories over Kilkenny and Laois, McCarthy is adamant there is room for improvement, most notably in the goalscoring department. Waterford have amassed a whopping 40 points in their last two outings but have failed to raise a green flag. McCarthy insists this must be rectified if they are to extend their winning sequence. He also expressed concern about their complacency when conceding two early goals against Laois at Walsh Park on Sunday.

"We regrouped at the interval (with Laois leading 2-6 to 0-11) and, to their credit, the lads hurled very strongly on the restart," said McCarthy said.

"We spread out the game, played a much more fluent brand of hurling, and got some marvellous points. Laois are a hard team to fathom. They closed us down for a long time and made things awkward for us."

Waterford must overcome Dublin in Parnell Park on Saturday week if they are to extend their winning sequence.

"There are no easy games left , with Galway and Clare to follow the Dubs and while it is great to have four points in the bag we will still have to work very hard to attain our objective of qualifying for the concluding stages of the league," added McCarthy.

Allstar John Mullane shares those sentiments, but believes the tremendous attitude within the squad will help them advance in the league.

"We seem to have taken Laois for granted at the start last Sunday, but at least we managed to get things together in the second-half," he said.

Things are not as rosy in Limerick, with the Shannonsiders suffering a crushing defeat to Tipperary which leaves them propping up Division 1B.

A dejected Padjoe Whelahan suggested afterwards that the loss of centre-back Peter Lawlor with a broken hand had weakened the team, but it was clear there were problems almost all over the field.

Selector Damien Quigley readily conceded they had 'a very poor day.'

"Clearly we were disappointed. Obviously you are trying to win games at this time of the year, but we are looking to get a decent performance together,'' he commented.

"To be fair to the group on the pitch, we have not held a hurley at all, only for the matches we have played in - and it showed. The honest endeavour was there, but the heads dropped.

"They were trying to do things on the pitch that were not just working for them. But, it has not been done on the training pitch, so you can't expect guys to be showing good ball work!

"That's something we as a management have decided to do and we have paid the price for it. Other counties are doing a lot of hurling and we are going to suffer in that regard.''

Quigley agrees that it will be 'very much uphill' for the team to qualify for the second series of games, unless they win their remaining rounds and other results go their way.

Sunday was a double day of celebration for Tipperary manager Ken Hogan. The win in Limerick was the first of the campaign while regular full-back Philip Maher took another step in his comeback bid when he lined out for Borrisoeligh in a county league game against Cappawhite.

"We have a long way to go. There is a lot of work to be done on the training ground, but every game is a stepping stone.What you take out of a game is what you bring into the next week on the training field. It's strange to be playing so many games away , but it was nice to play in the Gaelic Grounds because we were unfamiliar with the new surroundings.

"Come championship time, depending on the draw, we could be playing there," Hogan said.