“It was a chastening experience for all of us, it was an education we got,” Derek McGrath summarised straight away.
Page ten of the programme in Cusack Park reeled off a list of league results between the two counties. The first meeting in 1934 saw Clare defeat Waterford by 10-5 to 5-3 at Newmarket On Fergus. This wasn’t as lop sided, but it ran perilously close.
At half time, memories came flooding back to other massacres of the recent past. Kilkenny’s lead stood at 17 in the 2008 All Ireland (2-16 to 0-5). Tipp also departed with 17 in hand during the 2011 Munster final (5-10 to 0-8). The under 21 horror show (2-22 to 0-9) at the same venue also sprung to mind. Five of the Sunday’s starters were involved on that July evening. The difference between those three examples and Sunday’s 23 point climb was that this happened in March.
The first half statistics were frightening. Clare fired 24 shots compared to 9. For an eighteen minute spell (between the eighth and 26th minutes), Waterford didn’t trouble the target whatsoever. It took 33 minutes for Brian O’Sullivan to score from play and end a 28 minute wait since Pauric Mahony’s forgotten pair of opening frees.
Shane O’Donnell didn’t register in the three previous league outings but went to town on the space afforded in front of him. By half time, he scored 1-2 and laid on 3-1. On 45 minutes, he rounded Noel Connors and stuck the sliotar in the corner just after Waterford glued together five points. Even the best man marker on the field couldn’t put manners on the Eire Og goal machine. Stephen O’Keeffe faced down five separate one on one situations with little chance of spoiling any of them.
Davy Fitzgerald clearly studied the shape of Derek McGrath’s side. Waterford had squashed the centre previously using their half back line as part of that ploy. That left space in behind but Galway and Dublin were unable to get their hands on possession or move the ball quickly inside. Clare managed both and had support runners coming from deep. The Waterford half back line got sucked out the field with Podge Collins turning up where he liked in a wandering centre forward role. Shane Fives was sacrificed after 26 minutes even though he was left utterly exposed. O’Donnell showed not only his pace but his strength as well (take a look at the first goal where he uses his frame to protect and scoop up the sliotar before feeding Patrick Donnellan). The meanest defence in the division was torn to shreds in 35 minutes. 4-11 of the 4-15 arrived in play through eight different sources.
Michael Walsh, missing for the first time in 28 Waterford games (between league and championship) offered encouragement on the sideline but his stewardship was necessary even nearer to the action. His absence didn’t fully explain this systems failure however. Kevin Moran became completely flustered and instead of picking out Stephen Molumphy, the ball flew out over the sideline. If it was a basketball match, a time-out would have been called. Jamie Nagle dropped in front of Noel Connors before the blow for half time but the damage was done.
As the mist fell, Derek McGrath held his hands up about the absence of a sweeper to protect a prone full back line. “Clare are down the road in terms of their development and how they play. The reality is looking back on it not to go seven at the back from the start and hold them out as opposed to what happened. We just got drawn into their short game and we got sucked down the field and in fairness to poor Shane and Noel, they were left isolated. It’s hard to address that as it goes along. That’s the reality of it, that’s what happened. We will be ok and we will show resolve when we have to.”
Davy Fitzgerald offered the written press a gloomy analysis afterwards as he chewed gum and spoke in short, sullen tones. “The win was great. I was very disappointed with the second half performance. We did some great things in the first half. We moved well. We just totally lost our way in the second half. I want us to be consistent for seventy minutes. We got the result, that’s all that matters. We have things that we can work on after today. I think that Waterford just got caught cold early on. We made the faster start and if you make the faster start, then you have a bit momentum. We got that and we kept it going. Is the wind a big factor? It is a big factor. There was a nice breeze there to tell you the truth. There was some great stuff and not so great stuff.” He succeeded in shielding his satisfaction and only gave way on one matter. “The only thing I am happy about is that we are not in relegation.”
Only a couple of the visitors could be content that their ratings didn’t collapse through the roof. Brian O’Sullivan hit four from play (two in each half) and continued to show in that wretched first half. Jamie Nagle peppered passes forward throughout. Maurice Shanahan and Stephen Roche livened up matters up front on their introduction. Tadhg Bourke shook off the early jitters. The pedestrian pace allowed Waterford pick off sixteen points and it gave the panel something to cling to after the first half shock to the system.
And what about the fall-out? The next starting fifteen for Nowlan Park will be watched intently. Will Fives receive the backing to make up for a first half out of kilter with what went before? Barry Coughlan seems to be next in line if any of the back six drop out. The inner walls will be well insulated this time. Jake Dillon certainly needs to be shoved closer to goal. He picked up some possession on Sunday but was far too deep to make proper use of it. Maurice Shanahan is also a probable starter. Dan Shanahan hinted afterwards that a few more of the walking wounded may make an appearance.
The underhit efforts into Donal Tuohy were equally as frustrating as the slim total of goal prospects. A couple of Ryan Donnelly attempts at an early stage of the second half were particularly disheartening although he wasn’t the only guilty party. The wides also wound up in double digits. On the rare occasion when a green flag opening arose, Brian O’Sullivan’s track to goal was stopped by a Cian Dillon hook and Shanahan lashed a late free that was saved on the line.
Derek McGrath was present in Parnell Park last Saturday. “Kilkenny were only really getting going in the second half. I think we are going to get the sharp lash of Kilkenny at their best. I think they roll out all the big guns next Sunday.”A win lifts them into the knockouts while a loss leaves uncertainty and a reliance on results outside of their control. The odds makers give them a 3/1 chance.
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