Treaty steady up amid the mayhem – Limerick 1-20 Waterford 4-8

 

In terms of uninhibited hurling, the minor championship has few equals. This replay offered further evidence of how the game can excite when played on pure instinct and with the blinding pace at which these two went at it in the second half especially. When the curtain fell, Limerick ended a 29 year wait as Waterford patch up their wounds and soldier on with an alternative route to September in mind.

With an analytical eye, two key points crop up. Waterford went seventeen minutes without a score in the first half and endured another barren spell for almost ten minutes of the second half. In a contest that only runs for an hour, you cannot afford such scoring famines and by contrast, Limerick maintained a steady level of performance and hurled for the full sixty.

The Treaty management also clearly took on board the hard facts of the drawn encounter. They addressed their shortcomings with two changes in personnel and eight positional switches. Moving Ronan Lynch to number six was a master move as he offered a layer of protection to the full back line and his deliveries caused damage at the opposite end. He was still called in for placed ball duty and converted five from seven on the night. The tall and rangy Tom Morrissey earned promotion from the bench and he scored three points in a robust showing at full forward. Speaking with the Limerick Leader, manager Brian Ryan described their approach to the second leg. “We learned a lot from the first day and we made a lot of changes and by and large they worked. Waterford scoring 2-16 from play the last day and didn’t win it and it was going to be a hard ask for them to reproduce that - we learned more from the last day and I think that showed. Ronan Lynch has played centre back for Ardscoil before and we knew he was an option to come back and strengthen the backs and that’s where we had given away quite a number of scores in the drawn game - we felt that moved tightened up the backs. Tom Morrissey in fairness had two great games when coming on as a sub and deserved his day and he proved that tonight.”

It was a strange sort of Tuesday evening. From the lofty vantage point of the Old Stand press box, a trickle of fans could be seen going around the perimeter of the field from the quickly filling New Stand. With no stewards in sight, that trickle quickly turned into a flood. Some even carried pints on the journey across. A message from the PA and the playing of the national anthem didn’t deter the late arrivals. Even when the sliotar was thrown in, there was still supporters scampering to get a better seat. A lack of forward planning and organisation for a provincial final was exposed on an embarrassing evening for the Munster council. Then, seven minutes from the finish, the clock and scoreboard packed up after a power cut. Luckily, a well prepared reporter close by had put a stopwatch on the second half.

Waterford never settled into this replay for sustained periods. From the throw in, their opponents bolted and nearly disappeared into the distance. Austin Gleeson’s influence was nullified as Limerick used their pace down the wings with Cian Lynch catching the eye once more. Stephen Bennett’s solo performance prompted a response. The first delivery in his vicinity hopped through nicely after a defensive mistake and he kept his cool to hit the sliotar into the ground and past the advancing goalkeeper. Waterford had a pulse after that and Bennett ensured that the heart kept pounding. DJ Foran also put his hand up time and again under a high ball and did plenty of unselfish work up front.

The Déise inflicted damage in snappy bursts. 2-2 in six first half minutes reversed their fortunes and they did likewise in the second half with 1-3 in the space of three minutes. Bennett repeated his 3-2 contribution from that breakthrough semi final of 2011 and he left Stephen Cahill for dead from the start. His first touch, movement and precision under pressure almost nudged Waterford over the line in first place.

Meanwhile, Limerick picked off their scores at regular intervals from various sources. They came up with immediate answers to Bennett’s brilliance in front of goal. After that 1-3 without reply, they outscored the opposition by eight points to two. And even when Bennett brought it level with that late free which squirmed towards the net, Cian Lynch won an important free and they finished with three on the trot. They also took full advantage of Waterford’s indiscipline over the two ties. Ronan Lynch struck 1-13 from frees in total and that’s a costly concession.

Manager Seán Power gave an honest assessment of where they fell down in the immediate aftermath. “We haven’t hurled for an hour yet in the whole competition and to win competitions you have to hurl for the whole sixty minutes and we haven’t done that yet. Hence that’s the reason why we haven’t won the Munster championship.”

A routine quarter final can lift the gloom. In 2011, Galway put up 8-26 against the Saffrons. Down emerged from Ulster last year and Clare dismissed them by 23 points. This is the territory that Waterford enter on Sunday. The glitz and glamour of an August semi final with Kilkenny in Croker keeps the mind focussed. No fifth Munster minor title or no longer All Ireland favourites but plenty to play for at the same time.