Oscar Traynor Cup final : Galway Vs Waterford

Statoil Oscar Traynor Cup final in Waterford

The representatives of the Galway League will be chasing an historic first success in the final of the Statoil Oscar Traynor Cup when they travel to play the Waterford League on their local ground at Ozier Park on Sunday (7 pm kick-off).


It is upwards of 11 years since Waterford won it so the final is certain to be of huge significance to both contestants who came through a demanding competition to reach the final.


Waterford’s run to the final included a tense tie against their neighbouring rivals of the Kilkenny League. They overcame the Inishowen League in the quarter-finals and then caused something of an upset by beating a fancied Leinster Senior League selection in the semi-final.


Galway produced a surprise of their own by overcoming a strong selection from the Dublin AUL in the quarter-final before knocking out the Wexford League in the semi-final.


Waterford will be led by team captain John Power and they have several members of the successful Waterford Crystal team in their selection. Waterford Crystal will play in the final of the FAI Junior Cup next month.


Galway include two amateur internationals in Seamus Crowe and Noel McDonnell in their team and they have also looked to the skill of the Spanish born Johan Rojas for much of their inspiration in their run to the final.


The competition for the Statoil Oscar Traynor Cup is invariably one of the most demanding in the programme every season. This contention is supported by the difficulty experienced by teams attempting to retain the trophy.


Last season’s trophy was won for the first time by the Clare League and they beat the Leinster Senior League 1-0 in the final in Clare.