A winning debut for Ryan

Michael Ryan's debut as Waterford senior hurling manager was a winning one in the Waterford Crystal Cup this afternoon, while Limerick and Clare must meet again after their drawn encounter last night.

Waterford withstood a late UCC rally to claim a 3-19 to 1-19 win at Waterford IT's Sportsgrounds in Carrignore.

Captain Michael 'Brick' Walsh and Martin O'Neill were among Waterford's first half goal scorers, as the Deise led by 3-10 to 0-7 at half-time.

UCC outscored Waterford by four points to two inside 11 minutes of the restart. The teams were evenly-matched during the second half with 10 points continuing to separate the sides in the 64th minute.

UCC bagged a late goal, but Waterford held out for victory. They await either Limerick or Clare in a last-four encounter, after the sides drew 1-15 to 0-18 at Sixmilebridge last night.

100 minutes of action failed to separate the sides, including two periods of extra-time. Declan Hannon converted a penalty goal with the teams deadlocked at 1-10 to 0-13 at the end of normal time.

The sides proved inseparable at the end of another 30 minutes of action, with the quarter-final replay fixed for the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick at 7pm on Tuesday.