A Waterford v Cork
match with a fresh and even unpredictable flavour. Rewind fifteen years and the
circumstances are astonishingly similar to Sunday’s league clash.
On March 22
1998, Waterford and Cork
met in round 2 of the Church & General hurling league at Fraher Field after
coming off the back of impressive opening day wins over Tipperary and Kilkenny respectively. Gerald
McCarthy and Jimmy Barry Murphy were in the process of moulding teams that
could handle long hot summers. Approximately 6,000 souls crammed into Dungarvan
on a scorching day out of curiosity and they were eager to find out if they
could buy into the early hype. Cork eased to
1-12 to 1-5 victory over fourteen man Waterford
but in the long run, that league campaign offered a solid indicator for what
was to follow. Later that spring, the two sides met once more in the league
decider. Despite losing by that seven point margin again, Waterford benefitted from mixing it at the
top table and advanced to the All Ireland semi finals. Clare extinguished the
Rebel rising that summer but Barry Murphy continued to invest in youth and it
paid off in September of 1999. Does the same bright future lie in store for the
2013 vintage?
A sizeable
attendance will again look on to make up their minds about whether promising
opening round wins were a sign of good things to come or just an illusion. There’s no
reason for either side to get carried away just yet. Tipperary
were miles off the pace and only offered token resistance when Cork began to pick off
their points. Meanwhile, the game at Cusack
Park was hardly played at
breath neck speed and the second half was broken up by frees and injuries. Seventy
minutes may well reveal what course the season will take for these two. By
around half past three, the winners can start looking towards the semis while
the defeated will be looking a little nervously over their shoulder.
In the
bookmaker’s view, Cork
are slightly fancied after an uplifting victory dispelled any rumours of
unrest. Even on Leeside, nobody saw that performance coming. They played a high
tempo game and never allowed Tipperary
to settle. Backs and forwards applied ferocious pressure on the players in
possession and from an early stage, their opponents looked rattled. The ball
zipped from one end to the other and before Tipp knew it, they were chasing
shadows. A confident Anthony Nash conducted in the manner of his predecessor
and sprayed around pinpoint deliveries. Christopher Joyce commanded the centre
back slot and the defence overall, never appeared overly troubled. A lively
forward line moved sharply for this time of the year and none more so than
Patrick Horgan. The prolific corner forward has been there or thereabouts in
the All Star shake-up and he laid down an early marker by shooting thirteen
points. Their long range accuracy also punished a couple of sloppy Tipperary clearances. Considering
the cohesiveness of this new look team a fortnight ago, it came as a surprise
that Jimmy Barry decided to disrupt a winning formula. William Egan, Conor
Lehane and Luke O’Farrell are in fantastic form with club and college but
management clearly feel that they require a rest at this juncture.
Michael
Ryan took a different approach to selecting his starting fifteen. Seven players
featured in the Fitzgibbon last weekend but all of those players start on
Sunday. The high intensity of that competition has helped Waterford to get up to speed. It certainly
hasn't done the forwards any harm. Jake Dillon, Brian O’Halloran and Brian
O’Sullivan backed up their performances on the third level circuit by leading
the line up in Ennis. Pauric Mahony’s ability to win primary possession was
also encouraging in the first half. Down the centre, Seamus Prendergast
continued his renaissance with 1-1 last time out and Shane Walsh returns to the
full forward berth where he will renew acquaintances with Stephen McDonnell. The
fitness of the Fourmilewater man will be closely monitored but he scored five
points in this fixture two years ago and holds the upper hand against McDonnell
in recent tussles.
In terms of
the key battles this weekend, the Waterford
half back line will look to take charge against an unproven trio. In an area
where Cork have
struggled in recent times, Cian McCarthy, Paudie O’Sullivan and Seamus Harnedy
make up the half forward unit this time around. Even during the spell of
routinely contesting All Irelands in the last decade, Cork struggled to unearth natural ball winners
and Niall McCarthy’s absence doesn’t help that situation. They face up to a
tried and trusted combination. Jamie Nagle
hit plenty of ball in a busy display against Clare, Michael Walsh was named man of
the match for Munster
last weekend and Kevin Moran has now assumed the captaincy after an All Star
summer. Don’t be surprised either if Darragh Fives and Moran swap positions.
Fives has recovered from an injury hit 2012 to put in an authoritative
Fitzgibbon campaign at number six with UCC. Taking care of Patrick Horgan will
be another priority for the defence. Noel Connors usually takes up the responsibility
but with the Passage man on the injured list, Stephen Daniels may be asked to keep
tabs on the Glen Rovers man. At midfield, Patrick Cronin returns after
producing his best season in a red shirt during 2012. The speedster Daniel
Kearney partners him and this will be another crucial sector considering Shane
O’Sullivan’s strong start to the campaign.
Cork
will look to pile on the pressure and bring the game to their hosts like they
did against Tipperary.
The Waterford
forwards in particular must settle down early doors and convert the placed
balls that went astray in round one. The strange selections made by the
visitors during the week may give Waterford
the edge in key areas and if that experienced rearguard can hold Horgan to a
manageable total, they can squeeze past the Rebels and give the home crowd
further grounds for optimism.
Waterford:
S O’Keeffe, S Fives, L Lawlor, S Daniels, J Nagle, M Walsh, K Moran, S
O’Sullivan, D Fives, B O’Halloran, S Prendergast, J Dillon, B O’Sullivan, S
Walsh, P Mahony.
Cork:
A Nash, S O’Neill, S McDonnell, C O’Sullivan, S White, L McLoughlin, C Joyce, P
Cronin, D Kearney, C McCarthy, P O’Sullivan, S
Harnedy, S Moylan, P O’Brien, P Horgan.
National Hurling League Division 1A
Waterford v Cork
Throw in 2.00 at Fraher Field
Referee: Alan Kelly
Betting:
Waterford 15/8 Draw 10/1 Cork
8/15
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