Waterford exited O’Connor Park Tullamore with two league points but finished the game in an unsatisfactory manner that leaves a few lingering doubts. After 57 minutes Waterford surged eight points clear and on their way to a comfortable win when Brian O’Sullivan pounced after Richie Foley’s free landed around the square. Instead of pushing on and sealing the win, Offaly grew in stature and made it a contest by the finish. The strong wind played its part in that late surge by Joe Dooley’s men but Waterford made life very difficult for themselves in that period despite many pleasing aspects in the performance up to that point.
Let’s concentrate on the positives first of all. 2-19 is an endorsement of an improved forward effort all round. 2-7 of that tally came from a full forward line where Shane Walsh again stood tall. He posted 1-4 from play, set up two other points and also won a free that Richie Foley converted. The supply of ball inside helped his cause and he was consistently first to the sliotar against David Kenny. His goal was all down to his own hard work. Offaly midfielder Dylan Hayden looked to clear his lines as he emerged from defence but Walsh dispossessed him and headed for goal. When a cool finish was required he provided it as he fired low under the body of the advancing goalkeeper James Dempsey. Gavin Crotty and Brian O’Sullivan complimented Walsh inside with the Ballygunner man likely to gain another chance against Galway after firing 1-2 on Sunday.
Kevin Moran and Richie Foley combined well in the middle with the Abbeyside man in particular showing some nice touches and his nine placed balls kept the scoreboard ticking over. Jamie Nagle followed up his good display against Kilkenny with another busy display at wing back beside the ever consistent Michael Walsh. Tony Browne looked a bit rusty at times but will be glad to have the first seventy minutes of 2011 under his belt.
On the minus side the sluggish way Waterford closed out the game is a concern. Only one point in the last 13 minutes to Offaly’s six is a reflection of that late turnaround. In his post match comments Joe Dooley felt disappointed that his team didn’t get more from the game. Waterford rested on the cushion built up by O’Sullivan’s goal and began to give away scoreable frees that Shane Dooley punished. If Offaly didn’t miss two decent goal chances it could have been far worse. Shane Dooley pulled his effort narrowly wide on 37 minutes and Joe Bergin was only denied by a great block from Tony Browne on 59 minutes.
Bergin was a constant thorn for Wayne Hutchinson all afternoon and contributed 1-2. In the second half a wind assisted home side boomed high balls on top of Bergin and one of those deliveries led to a clinical finish by the full forward. Hutchinson has held his own in the league to date but this was a reality check. Despite this setback he needs consistent exposure to the full back position. With Liam Lawlor back in harness Hutchinson could be dropped against Galway and that would be a blow to his confidence. Another frustrating aspect of Sunday’s display was the short puck out strategy adopted. On five occasions this was used with one puck out in the second half leading to an Offaly free and another resulting in Brian Carroll hitting a shot wide. A number of short hand passes also led to trouble for Waterford and Johnny Ryan also penalised for steps against several Deise players.
Despite a mixed performance Waterford maintain an interest in the league after Tipperary’s scoring spree in Salthill. They will have to plan without Richie Foley who was forced off with a hamstring injury late on that rules him out for up to a month. Davy Fitzgerald refused to comment to media after Sunday’s game and is perhaps choosing to adopt a low profile in light of his four week suspension. A steady if unspectacular league campaign continues with plenty to work on for Davy on the training ground but still something to play for.
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