An extraordinary game of hurling unfolded in Walsh Park on Saturday as Waterford made it to a July 10 Munster final meeting against Clare. The 3,208 who witnessed it will do well to see a better one this year after an 80 minute shootout to remember.
The home side produced a whirlwind opening with the aid of the breeze blowing from left to right. 3-3 to 0-0 ahead after ten minutes doesn’t do justice to the term ‘dream start’. Darragh Flynn billowed the roof of the net after just 49 seconds with Adam O’Sullivan providing the assist. Three minutes later Stephen Bennett began his personal goal scoring spree as he skipped past his marker from a Shane McNulty delivery and shortened the grip to flick it past PJ Hall in the Limerick goal. Gavin O’Brien landed a monster free and Bennett added a peach of a point over his shoulder. Then the Lismore youngster bagged goal number three after he collected Cein Chester’s delivery and fired home a low bullet. A Jake Dillon point completed ten minutes of total hurling rarely seen at any level.
This sizeable lead didn’t reflect how closely these teams were matched and Limerick picked themselves up from the early blitz by putting an extra man into defence. Kevin O’Brien scrambled a goal after Shane Dowling’s effort was blocked by Paddy Cooke. Mark Carmody also took up the challenge and if the visitors didn’t clock up five wides they would have made more inroads by half time as they trailed 3-7 to 1-4. The intensity and work rate alone from the Waterford side did justice to that scoreboard however. Gavin O’Brien added two glorious points from play before the interval to underline their superiority.
With the elements in their favour and a reworked formation, Limerick chipped away at the lead. David Reidy switched from wing forward to centre back and suddenly the supply to the Waterford forwards dried up. The Limerick corner forwards now came to the fore and used their pace to great effect. When fouled Shane Dowling was there to convert the frees. Stephen Bennett managed to stop the rot with a point on 39 minutes but the men in green shirts hit a purple patch striking 1-4 in the next eight minutes. Kevin O’Brien grabbed his second goal again from a rebound and the sides were level. Against the run of play Bennett gave Waterford renewed hope to claim his hat trick. Again he raced past his man and finished with aplomb. Two minutes later the ever dangerous Mark Carmody sliced through at the other end to strike to the bottom corner. Momentum swung back to Limerick with Carmody, Dowling and O’Brien on the mark to hit the front by three.
A fifteen point turnaround in their favour they looked destined for the final but Waterford dug deep. With a strong bench to call upon they stayed in the hunt. Dillon pointed a free from centre field, Ray Barry struck a point and then substitute Cormac Heffernan came up with the score of the evening. Collecting the sliotar in a ruck of players 50 metres from goal he set out on a mazy solo run before striking straight off the hurley and over the bar. Two late Limerick efforts tailed wide and the drama continued into extra time.
Liam O’Connor’s side were grateful for the second chance after looking dead and buried in normal time. In the two periods of ten minutes their strength in depth told. Outstanding full back Damien Ahern retired injured late in the second half but his replacement Jim Power coped well in his absence. Cormac Heffernan starred in the opening half of extra time earning two frees that Jake Dillon pointed. Leading 4-16 to 3-14 going into the second period the tide again turned towards the home side in this epic tussle. Another substitute Donal Breathnach extended the lead with a white flag and missed a glorious chance to raise a green one moments later. Limerick didn’t lie down and accept their fate despite the deficit and the loss of Shane Dowling. Kevin O’Brien and Mark Carmody were both denied goals to revive their challenge as the Waterford rearguard only conceded a single point in extra time. The final whistle sounded and as the clock approached half nine on a Saturday evening nobody was in any hurry to leave the scene just to talk about the spectacle they had just witnessed.
Scorers:- Waterford: S. Bennett 3-2, J. Dillon 0-8 (5f, 1 65), D. Flynn 1-0, G. O’Brien 0-3 (1f), R. Barry 0-1, S. McNulty 0-1, C. Heffernan 0-1, D. Breathnach 0-1.
Limerick: K. O’Brien 2-2, M. Carmody 1-4 (1f), S. Dowling 0-7 (7f), J. Aherne 0-2.
Waterford: Paddy Cooke, Jamie Barron, Damien Ahern, Colin Walsh, Stephen O’Neill, Darren Foley, Shane Roche, Shane McNulty, Ray Barry, Darragh Flynn, Jake Dillon, Gavin O’Brien, Adam O’Sullivan, Stephen Bennett, Cein Chester.
Subs: Cormac Heffernan for Chester (42), Micheal Harney for Flynn (50), Ian Kenny for Roche (53), Jim Power for Ahern (60), Colin Dunford for O’Neill (71), Donal Breathnach for O’Sullivan (71), Chris Kervick for McNulty (79).
Limerick: PJ Hall, Shane Irwin, Barry O’Connell, Brian Murphy, Liam Ryan, Ciaran Keogh, Barry Lynch, Dan Morrissey, Diarmuid Dee, David Reidy, Shane Dowling, Mike Fitzgibbon, Kevin O’Brien, Mark Carmody, Jack Aherne.
Subs: Patrick Carroll for Keogh (26), Stephen O’Riordan for Fitzgibbon (59), Chris O’Riordan for Murphy (67), Mike Fitzgibbon for S. O’Riordan (70), Eoin O’Farrell for Dowling (72).
Wides – Waterford: 6 Limerick: 12
Man of the match: Stephen Bennett (Waterford)
Referee: Fergal Horgan (Tipperary)
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