Occupying the most north westerly point in the county, Ballyduff Upper continues to punch above its weight when it comes to Gaelic Games. A renowned hurling hot spot, caman wielding is undoubtedly the sport of choice for the young men of the parish. However, this doesn't mean that Gaelic football is alien to them - far from it. As is frequently the case, many of the club's most accomplished hurlers are technically very good footballers and a great run of form has seen them book a place in this weekend's intermediate county final against De La Salle.
Manager, Diarmuid Flynn has put in a big effort with the lads and has consistenly got good performances out of them. They've also been helped on their way by coach Pa Kearney who has them playing a nice brand of attacking football and as a result, they've scored heavily in most of their games. Mikey Kearney (Pa's brother) who with hurling team mate, Cian Leamy, steered Waterford to All-Ireland minor hurling glory in September, is the team's 'go to guy' in the forward division and has an excellent strike rate in front of goals. 
A good captain is another valuable asset and in Shane Hannon, the Ballyduff lads have a man who leads on and off the field. Not surprisingly, the team has an excellent disciplinary record which has also aided their cause this season. From the pundits' point of view they aren't favourites this weekend, but this won't faze a bunch of players who have already downed a succession of highly rated opponents.
Granted, expectations weren't high at the start of the year, but that all changed as the results started to come and confidence grew. In the right frame of mind and with a bit of luck of their side, these lads are more than capable of springing a surprise and winning what would be a rare football title for the famous West Waterford village.

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