In any sport, the fans like players who can get the big scores on a regular basis. Be they spectacular volleys into the top corner or home runs hit out of the ballpark, the fans know that this player has the potential to do something special. Waterford’s Paul Flynn was such a player. The reason I say was is because he has announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.
His trademark score was probably the close in free and I don’t think there was a better exponent of this skill in the past fifteen years. The most famous example was his goal against Cork in the 2004 Munster Final. Later in that year, he scored 0-13 in Waterford’s narrow semi-final defeat to Kilkenny.
He has been affected by injuries in recent years and only played a bit part in this year’s championship. He came on in the All Ireland final for the closing 18 minutes.
He will be missed by fans of the game especially those who looked forward to his net busting dead ball strikes.
Elsewhere in Waterford news, John Mullane’s De La Salle won their first county title with a 2 point win over Abbeyside. Other Waterford players who played in the game include De La Salle’s Stephen Brenner, Brian Phelan and Kevin Moran and Abbeyside’s Gary Hurney and Richie Foley.