In the aftermath of his side’s facile victory over Offaly, Waterford manager Paraic Fanning was again critical of the ‘home ban’ that saw the Déise’s clash with the Faithful County moved to a neutral venue.
Waterford were punished for breaching training regulations before the start of last season’s Championship, but Fanning failed to see the purpose of the punishment and bemoaned the fact that Waterford have not played at home in nearly a year.
"That type of punishment takes hurling away from the community and away from the locality. We haven’t had a home game in ten months, so we’re looking forward to having one. That type of punishment doesn’t serve any purpose," Fanning told RTÉ Sport.
Ultimately, the absence of home advantage didn’t have any impact on Waterford as the Déise cruised to a 27-point victory in Thurles, something that Fanning is pleased with.
"It was a good win and we’re very happy with a lot of things and how the game went. We came up here and we were fairly tuned in for the match and that was reflected in our performance.
"It’s nice for a new management team to get off to a good start. You’re always going to be anxious in your first game and we were. Some of the lads were anxious to do well, so we’ll enjoy the fact that we won today and that we have two points."
Next up for Waterford is a trip to Laois, meaning Fanning will have to wait a little bit longer before he can enjoy home advantage.
