Waterforfd and Cork shared the points in a stirring NHL game last weekend which pleased both managers.

Eoin Kelly scored a whopping 1-17 as Waterford consistently fought their way back into the game.

Deise boss Davy Fitzgerald said, “Other teams might have thrown in the towel after getting two or three killer blows. How many times were we six points down?

“Again in the second half we could have folded. But we didn’t. We fought on and that’s one of the things I like about these things.”

Cork manager Denis Walsh added, “It was a fair result really. I felt both sides deserved to take something out of it which happened in the end.

“Waterford hurled very well in the second half, but I thought we put some nice passages of play together too.”

Cork end Dub's unbeaten run in the League

Dublin’s unbeaten start to the NFL campaign came a cropper in Cork on Saturday night as the home side worked hard for the Division One 2-13 to 2-6 victory in a fiercely contested game.

“We always knew it was going to be that kind of pace at the start,” said Cork star Paul Kerrigan.

“It was a top-of-the-table game and luckily enough we got that intensity up in the first half, and we went in a few points ahead.

“We felt if we could control the tempo and the possession in the second half we’d pick off the scores and that’s what happened. The intensity dropped a bit but that’s the way we wanted it.”

Dubs boss Pat Gilroy slated his team’s first half effort and said, “We let them come on to us far too much. You get punished by top teams like that and Cork are a very good team.

“We were very naive with some of the things we did, but we were still trying. In the second half our work rate was a lot better and we looked a lot more solid in the second-half.

“I thought we recovered well enough in the second-half to say we didn’t roll over in the game.”

Cork boss Conor Counihan said, “We’d have been a bit disappointed at some of the options we took in the second half, but we wanted a response from our lads after losing last week and we got that.”

 
Galway Wins

GALWAY added to Tyrone’s relegation problems with a well-deserved NFL Division One 1-15 to 0-14 win in Tuam on Sunday when a man of the match performance from Joe Bergin proved decisive.

“Joe Bergin has always been a good player in my eyes and he showed that today,” said Galway boss Joe Kernan.

“When we needed someone to stand up today he certainly stood up. He led like a captain.

“We certainly wouldn’t have been happy with ourselves in the last few weeks. I know we are missing a lot of quality players and you can use that as an excuse but you still want to see the rest of your players stand up and they certainly stood up today.”

Tyrone boss Mickey Harte admitted, “Galway had everything to fight for here today. They were on their home ground and they knew that if they lost this they were probably in a very bad place.

“They responded to where they needed to get to from last week. We need some kind of response like that next week against Kerry if we are to survive.”

 

Mayo Wins

MAYO are top of the NFL Division One table after a surprise but deserved win over Kerry in Tralee on Sunday.

The home side were a point ahead at the interval but Mayo struck back to win the game by 1-12 to 1-10 thanks to a fine performance from substitute Conor Mortimer.

“We felt we should have had more scores on the board at half-time,” said the Mayo boss afterwards.

“There was a tricky wind out there and it was frustrating to then go in behind. But what was pleasing was the work-rate all over the pitch remained high.

“We gave each other a dig out and that’s what we’re trying to get to, which is giving us the momentum in games. We’re happy with our progress and have had three wins away from home which is very pleasing.”

Kerry boss Jack O’Connor said his team’s second half performance was “poor and sluggish.”

He added, “Our two orthodox wing forwards, Paul Galvin and Donncha Walsh, were absent and they’re great scrapping for ball. You’d miss them. “But a reality check is no harm.”

Kilkenny Wins

KILKENNY got back to winning ways with a 2-21 to 0-23 win over Dublin in the NHL on Sunday at Parnell Park, but Dubs manager Antony Daly was happy with his team’s efforts.

He said, “Ah, well at least we turned up this week. It was a terrible effort last week in Tullamore, but at least today, well it was silly mistakes that cost us for the goals after we did most of the hurling in the first half, we ended up going in behind.

“If Peter Kelly’s one had gone in, David Treacy had half a chance, you never know.”

 
Limerick Woes

Limerick boss Justin McCarthy faces yet another vote of confidence this week after his team were hammered by Tipperary in the NHL on Sunday by a score of 2-24 to 0-8.

McCarthy refused to talk about Tuesday night’s county board meeting after his side’s heavy loss when they were reduced to 14 men after an early red card for midfielder Dean Madden.

Tipp boss Liam Sheedy admitted, “Ah, the sending off made a difference. It was very early in the game and it was always going to be tough on Limerick after that.”

Galway Wins

Galway scored a four point win over Offaly in their NHL clash last weekend, but manager John McIntyre is looking for more from his team.

“If we had everything right in the middle of March with nothing left to learn for the rest of the league, then we’d be in trouble,” he said.

“The players were very determined to make a statement and for large tracts of the match they did.”

 
Payment Issue

Croke Park director general Pauric Duffy has vowed to tackle the “payment for managers” issue in the coming weeks.

Duffy made the pledge at the launch of his annual report ahead of next month’s GAA congress.

“There is more than enough evidence to allow us conclude that some are accepting payment is excess of what is permitted,” said Duffy in his report.