Ferncombe goal just the tonic for Abbeyside

PLAYING second fiddle throughout most of a pedestrian opening half, Abbeyside upped the tempo on the turnover in Dungarvan on Saturday and deservedly fashioned a five-point victory that qualified them for the penultimate round of the Waterford SHC for the first time in more than three decades.

Tallow looked to be in cruise control in the first period and weren’t flattered by their 0-7 to 0-3 half-time lead. Allstar nominee Aidan Kearney was their defensive rock and, with Ken Kearney also playing superbly at corner-back, one wondered where the badly needed Abbeyside scores would come from.

The answer came within 30 seconds of the restart. Gary Hurney, switched with telling effect from centre- to corner-forward, set up Mark Ferncombe for a peach of a goal, and when Hurney himself quickly tacked on a quality point the sides were level.