Supporters who picked Walsh Park ahead of Ireland v France on Sunday were rewarded richly with an exciting draw and the game of the weekend in Division One. In fact, given the heavy underfoot conditions that cut up consistently as the game progressed, the five goals and 35 points in the middle of February was a feast. Anthony Daly and Davy Fitzgerald both flirted with the prospect of an opening win but settling for a draw and picking up valuable pointers on the way proved the fairest conclusion.
The aforementioned rugby game however did visibly affect the attendance on the day.
Only 2,500 paid in to Walsh Park and other disappointing figures were replicated across the country. Coffers will be further hit by the reduction of admission prices to 13 euro for 2011. A former Waterford hurler, whom I spoke to before the game, proposed a simple solution to the issue. In his view all the GAA needed to do was bring forward the throw in times to one o clock across all league fixtures. He argued that the casual follower would more than likely choose the home comfort of staying in front of the television when given the choice. The figures don’t lie; this was a battle the GAA lost.
In the game itself Dublin emerged from the blocks with the clear ambition of erasing last year’s drubbing. Conal Keaney looked like he was never away from inter county hurling with a powerful first half display at wing forward and good striking from placed balls to boot. Shane Ryan and John McCaffrey dominated the middle sector as Dublin threatened to put the game out of sight at an early stage. Anthony Daly clearly targeted the Waterford full back line as Liam Rushe wreaked havoc against Jerome Maher. The curse of the number three jersey returned as the Geraldines man was substituted at half time.
Waterford weathered the storm through a combination of two goals and some defensive readjustment. A bit of luck also favoured the home side with Richie Foley’s opening goal owing to the poor judgement of Dublin keeper Gary Maguire. Foley was a constant threat and provided the leadership to keep Waterford in the game when Dublin looked in command. He scored a total of 2-10 with 1-3 of that from play. His influence on proceedings merited the man of the match award and he is clearly building on his strong pre season form. Seamus Prendergast at full forward could also lay claim to playing a crucial part in the recovery. The tactic of directing ball in the Ardmore man’s direction proved a profitable outlet as he scored a goal, won the penalty and proved a nuisance to no fewer than three different markers. The defensive reshuffle involving Shane Fives’ move to full back and Wayne Hutchinson’s introduction on the wing also proved critical as it reduced the Dubs’ scoring rate in the second half.
That second period saw Anthony Daly’s side lose their way. As so often is the case with teams unfamiliar with success when they find themselves in front they struggle to close the deal. There was also the odd decision of taking Conal Keaney off the free taking with John McCaffrey unsuccessfully replacing him. It all resulted in a barren 25 minute spell broken by David O’Callaghan. The player known as Dotsy rescued his colleagues when they found the going toughest and no better example of this than his goal with ten minutes remaining. Trailing by five at the time O’Callaghan’s green flag inspired Dublin’s late fightback.
Daly’s frustration at surrendering an early advantage was obvious but the battling qualities of his charges and a tally of 2-19 on the road shows enough progress in the right direction. Packaging that on a consistent basis is the challenge and the return of the injury bound Ryan O’Dwyer, Maurice O’Brien and Alan McCrabbe will undoubtedly help their case as the year rolls on. The Keaney factor is already an obvious boost to their ambitions.
For Davy Fitzgerald a sluggish start is a worry but for the team to rebound in the second half and carve out a winning position must be encouraging. His faith in giving young players and those on fringes a fair chance of proving their worth was also repaid. Debutants Pauric Mahony and Darragh Fives, both minors last year, were the most impressive. Fives coped admirably with a lively Dublin forward division and he also supplied the second goal for Seamus Prendergast. Mahony also didn’t look out of place and took his two points from play with the confidence picked up during the Crystal Cup. At the other end of the scale Jerome Maher will look to get another chance this time in his more favoured corner back slot while Tomás Ryan looked low on confidence and sharpness at corner forward. His lack of involvement in UCC’s Fitzgibbon push doesn’t help his plight.
Plenty to work on and plenty to be encouraged by for both sides in preparation for round two. No better learning curve than Division One hurling.
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