For the
first time in ten years, there is no quarter final or semi final spot
available. 2003 however turned out to be a gap year between two Munster titles. While Waterford
bow out at an earlier stage of the 2013 championship, there are more
signs of progression to be taken from this performance than the quarter final
exit to Cork in
2012. A few regrets linger but they will dissipate. Every drop of energy was expended
to shove the champions over the cliff edge.
Kilkenny
somehow found the resolve and ten points in extra time after clinging on by
their fingernails at the end of the seventy. They relied on a combination of
their experience banked over the years in defence and the emergence of their
younger forwards (Colin Fennelly, Richie Hogan and Matthew Ruth) to drag them
through another dogfight. On reflection Waterford’s
heroic efforts to peg back a five point deficit in seven minutes drained their
energy for the first period of extra time. Bumps and bruises also took key
players out of the action and by the finish it was all hands on deck with the
strength of the panel tested to the maximum and bodies getting very scarce.
They gave
the champions a real shaking from the start. Darragh Fives and Richie Foley were
alive to the breaks and took total charge of midfield. These two settled down
quickly and imposed Waterford’s
possession game. The first
three points came their way but it could have been more if Jamie Barron
converted his opening for a goal. Although
Kilkenny woke up momentarily, the three point gap was restored when Fives made
an intercept and launched over his second. Waterford would have to wait another fifteen
minutes for their next score however and that became a pattern in a game of few
easy scores or makeable frees for that matter. The forward configuration
required a tweak here and there as Seamus Prendergast was getting little change
of Jackie Tyrell in the corner. At the
other end, Richie Power was plucking balls from the sky and giving the Brick a
bit of bother.
Power’s
blaster off the back stanchion secured a three point advantage which didn’t
reflect Waterford’s
midfield dominance or their monopoly on puck outs.
Michael
Ryan moved Seamus Prendergast into full forward and while this boosted the Ardmore, the output from
the others remained an issue. Until Ray Barry’s introduction, the attack lacked
vibrancy and a predatory finisher. Prendergast started to win a few possessions
against JJ Delaney but his shot selection let him down and hit two wides from
good positions. He did strike a point however and showed the way when others
melted with the heat on full blast from the Kilkenny backs. Numbers one
to nine did all in their power and even Henry Shefflin’s arrival failed to
rattle the likes of Liam Lawlor who was enjoying one of his best games in a Waterford shirt.
A few
cracks started to appear in the short passing game but they stuck to their
guns. They had no other choice. Barry and Kevin Moran drove an unlikely
comeback operation. Moran gritted his teeth and chased down that five point
gap. He has rediscovered his All Star form through the qualifiers and accepted the role as on field leader. Those two
lung bursting runs finished were capped with sublime finishes and even allowing
for James Owens whistling up before Matthew Ruth’s point, the momentum was with
Waterford.
Kilkenny’s
response in extra time was emphatic. They came out with five points and a rejuvenated
Richie Hogan. In full flight, Hogan is such a tricky operator with his slick
close control and an ability to dance through defences. The short puck outs
came with an expensive price in this period as two were sent over the sideline
and one into the hands of a Kilkenny player. A slice of luck in the form of Jake
Dillon’s arrested the slide but Hogan again opened in the scoring in the second
period. They found another spurt of points to cancel out a piece of quick thinking from Ray Barry.
When the space developed in extra time, Kilkenny possessed the firepower to give them that push.
The Déise
starting sextet finished with 1-4 from play while the six stripey forwards
managed thirteen points. Martin O’Neill’s unfortunate knee injury added to the
injury list that already included Brian O’Halloran, Gavin O’Brien and Pauric
Mahony. Those losses cut deep down the home stretch especially when new options
were needed to give Kilkenny something different to think about. Maurice
Shanahan was also held scoreless which marked another significant gain.
With the
benefit of hindsight, the Munster
opener with Clare will linger more than Saturday night. They will look on
enviously at the quarter finals in two week’s time and wonder. The boost of
operating at that higher plain should leave them hungry for more. Six players
made their championship debut and the conveyer belt of talent shows no sign of
stalling. Noel
Connors stated last Saturday night that the players are already looking forward to 2014. To retain his manager's position, Michael Ryan must start from square one and get through the selection process yet again. The tactical awareness shown over those ninety minutes offer hard evidence that the project is on the right road. The bottom will need to be taken care however as three wins
in seven championship games is an underwhelming return. If Ryan receives
an extension, results will prove the only barometer of success.
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