If you thought what happened in Tipperary last week was bad…
Semi-final and final over four months apart, in two different calendar years https://t.co/FfXkaR6dbe
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 8, 2018
As of this morning, 15 January 2018, three of the eight Waterford county football championships (not including divisions) for 2017 have not yet been completed.
The senior football championship, the senior league and the under-21A football have not yet reached their conclusions.
Senior football
The senior relegation final, to decide which club will be playing senior club football next year, and which club will be playing in the intermediate grade took place on Saturday January 13 between Ballinameela and Portlaw.
That was a month and a half after the relegation semi-final between Ballinameela and Gaultier. Gaultier won that game on November 26 by three points to stave off their relegation fears.
Ballinameela and Portlaw were supposed to play that game on December 10 in Fraher Field, but the game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
It was postponed at late notice, with many on their way to the game when they found out via the Waterford GAA Twitter page.
https://twitter.com/AislingPower/status/939816487082233856
The clubs were eager to get the game played and requested whether they could fulfill the fixture in Cariganore – Waterford I.T’s Sport campus which has a good drainage system.
That didn’t come to fruition.
Is Carriganore not available? It’s been a long season already for both teams.
— Ballinameela GAA (@Ballinameela) December 10, 2017
The sides couldn’t be separated at The Gold Coast on Saturday and were tied 0-11 to 1-8 after 70 minutes of football. The replay is scheduled to take place next weekend, though that is not yet confirmed.
That means that the draw for the 2018 senior football championship can’t take place for another week, at the earliest.
This was in the same year where the county senior final was played a week after the Munster decider, meaning winners Stradbally couldn’t progress to the provincial stages of the competition.
Why was it played a week late? Because the running of the hurling championship was prioritised.
The Nire footballer Jamie Barron was interviewed the week before that game on SportsJOE’s GAA Hour.
“It’s a very competitive championship. Whoever wins it is well able to compete in Munster,” he said.
That didn’t matter.
It’s not the only time this has happened. In fact, Stradbally also won the county championship in 2015. They played their Munster quarter final the very next day against Nemo Rangers.
Under-21A football
Six teams took part in the under-21 A football competition in the county.
Gaultier defeated Rathgormack in their first game out on March 17 2017. That booked them a place in the county semi-final.
That semi-final was played on Sunday, January 14, 2018 – where they defeated Dungarvan by 3-14 to 0-3. That semi-final almost ten months after the quarter-final.
2017 u21a football semi final result Gaultier 3.14 @clgdungarvan .03 into @WaterfordGAA county final #FearTheTír
— Gaultier GAA (@GaultierGAAClub) January 14, 2018
Gaultier will be waiting for two weeks at least, because the other semi-final between The Nire and Ballinacourty is yet to be played. The running of the hurling championship was fast-tracked – despite the ten month gap.
Senior League
The 2017 Senior Football League is also undecided, with both semi-finals yet to be played.
Waterford made it to the All-Ireland hurling final this year. It’s hard to hide behind that excuse when Dublin made it to the football, and had no such problems in the completion of their championships.
All of these fixtures were obtained from Waterford GAA.ie.
