Make no
mistake about it, Sunday’s game was lucky to get the green light. A walk
across the field afterwards towards the dressing rooms was a feat in itself. It proved
difficult to hold your footing as the sod sank deeper with each step
The going
was heavy but the hurling was exciting all the same. At the end of it all, both
sides could take something from it. Cork
proved that they have depth to their fresh faced panel. Waterford meanwhile, withstood another test
of character and fought their way out of a tight corner.
Both sides
enjoyed their purple patches. Waterford
probably should have made more of their period of dominance as they hit seven
wides and dropped three more short. Their
forward play was slick considering the unfavourable conditions as they used the
crossfield ball to switch the point of attack. They also kept their width and
hit the corners. Brian O’Halloran buzzed around in that first half with the
wind in his sails from a recent rich vein of form. The entire forward division
hassled and harried to put Cork
on the backfoot. Brian O’Sullivan tagged on three points to another performance
of hard graft. The value of Seamus Prendergast’s rugged presence was again
underlined but 1-4 in two outings offers evidence that he has added a sharper
edge to his shooting. The warrior in the red helmet led the charge as Waterford knocked on the
door late on,
Cork had gone 25 minutes without a score
before Stephen Moylan’s thunderbolt revived their challenge. On the tacky
surface, the strength of the respective benches came into play. Jimmy Barry
Murphy sent on all five substitutes including William Egan, Conor Lehanne and
Tom Kenny. Lehane made an instant impact and the introduction of the Midleton
man along with Horgan’s clockwork shooting, kept Cork ticking over. Waterford paid a price for their early
exertions and they began to tire. Pauric
Mahony missed a gilt edged free to put them two clear and in a low scoring
game, it almost proved fatal. Horgan, Lehane and Peter O’Brien tacked on points
in quick succession as Cork
kicked for home.
Facing the
gale, the rain and a two point deficit, Waterford
found a second wind from somewhere and then Brian O’Sullivan ended a sixteen
minute wait for a score. Then came the late dramatics and a stunning stop from
Anthony Nash before Seamus Prendergast brought a bit of order.
So it could
have been better and could have been worse but three points is a healthy tally
with Kilkenny, Tipperary and Galway
to come. Injury wise, there are a couple of doubts hanging over the Bank
Holiday Monday meeting with the winless Cats. Darragh Fives departed after 26
minutes with a tight hamstring, Noel Connors is ruled out and Stephen Daniels
is also uncertain to start. Meanwhile, Richie Foley’s rotten run of luck with
injury continues. In more encouraging news, Maurice Shanahan entered the fray
for the closing stages on Sunday after his hip surgery and Shane Walsh dusted
off the cobwebs over 44 minutes.
Michael
Ryan’s troops have shown backbone and resilience so far; other qualities will
be assessed soon. Surviving a war of attrition is one thing but keeping pace on
firmer ground is another. A solid start will be tested when they step up in class
and take on arguably the top three teams in the land. There is certainly plenty
of vibrancy up front and with Jamie Barron and Shanahan coming on to play
their part on Sunday, competition is hotting up. And don’t forget either that
Martin O’Neill is also waiting in the wings. Apart from a few creaks,
defensively things are bedding down and the half back line in particular
already looks like a championship combination. Looking at the big picture,
Shane O’Sullivan’s evaluation hits the right note. “It’s positive
without getting too carried away.”
No comments:
Post a Comment