Appropriately
Stephen Molumphy cleared the last ball away to safety. In those jittery last
ten minutes, cool heads came to the fore and Waterford possessed just a few more of them. Also
that rub of green, as you need on Munster
championship days like this, went in Michael Ryan’s favour.
Plenty of
effort and sweat on show from both sides but a lack of quality and precision
was also present at times. In terms of entertainment though the first half was
end to end stuff and while it became scrappy after the break, it picked up to
produce a helter skelter finish. Cyril Farrell put it better than I ever could.
“It was great to see a game like this. We have watched a lot of soccer on
television lately – you could have coffee looking at it and fall asleep.” Michael
Walsh conceded afterwards that a vast improvement will be required for the
provincial decider on July 15. “We have to come up one hundred per cent or we
will be facing an outcome like last year whoever we play Tipp or Cork.”
Waterford simply couldn’t shake off a
resilient Banner outfit no matter how they attempted to. They led by six points in the first half and on two
occasions in the second period they moved four points clear but coming towards
the final furlong, momentum shifted. Waterford
survived through keeping their composure as nerves kicked in for their
opponents. Several favourable breaks kept their noses in front. Nicky O’Connell
missed a free to tie it up, his 65’ also tailed off while Darach Honan just
failed to scoop up a ball that should have been dispatched to the net in injury
time. Let’s not forget that outstanding near post stop from Stephen O’Keeffe
that counts as an early contender for save of the season. Waterford’s first All Star keeper in the
making perhaps. All of these moments came in the dying minutes before Patrick
Kelly’s free and serve to underline how close Clare came to ending their barren
winless run in the province that stretches back to 2008.
In
hindsight, the heavy lifting was done mid way through the second half when Waterford fell a point
adrift. Five points in six minutes halted Clare’s progress and gave them an
impetus to see out the contest. Paul O’Brien won two frees in that period which
justified his surprise introduction. Mullane and Prendergast combined to set up
Molumphy for one of the points of the day before the De La Salle man raised his
third white flag of the afternoon. Since making a return to form against Galway in the All Ireland quarter final last year,
Prendergast continues to prove that he has something to offer at this level and
remains the best option at number 11. Richie Foley walloped over a lengthy free
to conclude a productive period that left Waterford
four points to the good. In short, they cashed in heavily when they hit a
purple patch while Clare passed up some good opportunities. Davy Fitzgerald’s
men ended up with ten wides compared with five from their opponents while Waterford could also
count on ten different scorers with all six forwards on the board by
the half hour mark.
For
stretches of the first half it looked like being a lot more comfortable than it
actually turned out. They shook off a vibrant Clare opening to outscore them
by 2-4 to 0-1 between the seventh and the nineteenth minute. Eoin Kelly’s penalty
again owed much to good fortune while the second goal highlighted the benefit
of placing a predator at the edge of the square. The forwards switched around,
which unsettled Clare’s defence, with John Mullane and Shane Walsh looking particularly
sharp. Both players contributed well on the scoreboard but they also
unselfishly provided assists for others. A perfect example of this came when Mullane
fielded a Clare puckout and made an incisive run before putting through Maurice
Shanahan for an easy point. Molumphy’s energy and appetite for work ensured an
advantage around the middle against the formidable pairing of O’Connell and
Patrick Donnellan. John Conlon’s goal revived an ailing challenge from the Banner and things improved further when they trailed by just two at the break
after Conlon found the space to pick off back to back points.
Surprisingly
Conlon moved away from centre forward and out to the wings after the interval
which muted his impact thereafter. Waterford
came out to fire two early points and it could have been more but Shanahan
miscued his second free of the afternoon. The Lismore man drifted from the game
at times but gave a solid display overall and bounced back on the placed balls
to reel off three in the second half. Clare
refused to lie down and sparked back into life predominantly through Jonathon
Clancy and Conor McGrath. If Davy’s game plan delivered a greater volume of
fast ball to McGrath they could have done further damage. In the circumstances
,Stephen Daniels coped well with the Cratloe flyer and also made a vital
intervention in the lead up to Martin O’Neill’s point. Although Michael Walsh
and Kevin Moran showed great leadership in the half back line, Conlon and
Clancy still amassed 1-5 from play between them which is a slight concern. An
inspirational Patrick Kelly free nudged Clare ahead but that five point burst as
outlined gave the Déise a sufficient lead to hold onto.
While their
opponents entered the game as favourites, Waterford’s
proven quality and ability to grind out championship wins shone through. This
victory guarantees a quarter final spot and one more win would ensure a place
in the final four for the seventh year running. Even so, they will still be
regarded as underdogs against whoever emerges from Pairc Ui Chaoimh next
weekend. This lends itself to an ideal preparation for the Munster final with little expectation on the
players but they realise that several areas need attention. The lack of a
killer instinct may worry the management (especially when you consider that
late gaping goal chance), while a disappointing return in the closing stages
also offered some food for thought. Two points in the last ten minutes plus
three minutes of injury time will not suffice against Cork
or Tipperary. A
lack of discipline at times which resulted in five yellows and the concession
of soft frees also needs to be addressed. In terms of selection issues - a couple
of places in defence remain up for grabs, maybe one at midfield while the
forward line will probably stay the same (injury permitting) for the next big
day out.
Four Munster finals adds up
to history in the making but it will matter little if they end up losing three
of them. After an uncertain start to 2012, there’s plenty to be satisfied with
but nothing to get too excited over just yet. Michael Ryan summarised on Sunday
evening that: “There’s a long way to go but we are on the road.”
Finally to
matters on the sideline which created a stir after the game. The Waterford players
involved in the celebrations should have acted just as graciously in victory as
Davy Fitzgerald did in defeat. And why did The Sunday Game promise us “an
investigation” into Davy’s outburst over a line ball? Will Brian Cody and
Anthony Daly receive similar attention this Saturday in Portlaoise? Head
scratching stuff.
