SUMMER HEATING UP NOW
Cork’s wait for title goes on as Waterford claim League ahead of Munster rematch
It was as if Cork didn’t hear the train coming down the tracks
CORK supporters can only hope this is the last act of a phoney war ahead of a Championship battle in five weeks’ time.
Jimmy Barry Murphy used the word ‘setback’ to describe the county’s lame attempt to win a first Allianz Hurling League title since 1998 and it was an apt summary of his team’s display.
Given how well-flagged Waterford’s defensive system was in their remarkable rise from hurling’s second tier to within touching distance of only a third ever League trophy, it was as if the Cork players didn’t hear any sound of the train coming down the tracks.
Time and time again they handed possession over to Waterford, hitting ball aimlessly down the field to teammates who were hopelessly outnumbered.
By the end, they were ruthlessly punished, Waterford’s superior hunger and industry key factors.
It was their superior craft and intelligence of Derek McGrath’s men on the ball, though, that ultimately carried the day, every player buying in faithfully to a gameplan that Cork simply couldn’t handle.
If there was a team who looked like they’d played all their hurling in Division 1A, it was Waterford.
And so, from a position where they lost last year’s Munster quarter-final replay to the same opposition by double scores, 0-28 to 0-14, they ensured a 24- point turnaround, winning by 10 i n the end here yesterday.
For all the talk of work- ethic and team play, they had a number of individuals to sprinkle some gold dust on an otherwise pedestrian affair.
Austin Gleeson’s ball-striking was a thing to behold, a sideline cut and a point off his hurl on the run further indicators of an immense talent.
Kevin Moran played a captain’s role from start to finish, covering an amount of ground and hitting three inspirational points to earn the TG4 Man-of-the-Match award.
And Pauric Mahony’s deadball capabilities went a long way to punishing Cork’s indiscretions at the back, his 11-point haul including two from play and helping to bring him level with Cork’s Patrick Horgan as joint overall top scorer over the course of the League.
After his containment of ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer t he l ast day, Noel Connors did another man-marking job on Horgan, keeping him scoreless from play.
Another worry f or Cork is t hat Alan Cadogan struggled with a hamstring injury after the first ball and had to be replaced by Paudie O’Sullivan early on.
Like a golfer picking the right club from his bag, Gleeson addressed a sidel i ne ball from all of 55 metres and swung it over from the right sideline with 11 minutes gone.
By t he t i me Moran swung over a super score from the halfway point, Waterford had set the tone, leading 0-7 to 0-3 and picking out the extra men in the middle third with ease.
In keeping with Cork’s tendency towards a slow start, it took them 19 minutes to land their first point from play. It came after Conor Lehane received his first good pass of the day and Lehane was to prove Cork’s best attacker on the day, finishing with five by the end.
Cork will point to a rare goal opportunity on 20 minutes as a defining moment. A lovely flick from Horgan played in Séamus Harnedy, whose stinging shot drew a great save from Stephen O’Keeffe. Paudie O’Sullivan was lurking with intent on edge of the square but couldn’t react quickly enough to the rebound, allowing Waterford off the hook.
On one of the rare occasions Cork worked the ball out of defence intelligently, Rob O’Shea picked it up in space and fired a quality score from out around the midfield.
The closest Waterford came to a goal was 28 minutes in when Anthony Nash got down low to block a flick on the ground from Maurice Shanahan after Cork failed to clear the ball from three different attempts.
From a position where they led 0-11 to 0-7 at the break, another scoring burst from Mahony put them six clear on the 50-minute mark.
When Bill Cooper fired over the bar only for the umpires to signal it wide, nothing was going Cork’s way.
As a downpour made the conditions trickier, Waterford’s want looked greater as they shut down the space with a manic work-rate.
Gleeson’s ability to force a turnover was telling and when Shanahan was fouled by Shane O’Neill, who was subsequently yellow-carded, it drew another crowd-pleasing fist-pump, Mahony keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
The one time Lehane got in behind the cover with no extra covering defender, he rattled the Waterford crossbar with a shot on 58 minutes.
Cork needed a goal to get a foothold back in the game but it came down the other end with six minutes to go. Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh did the hard work, winning possession and laying the ball off to substitute Tom Devine whose shot, while not that well struck, slid into the back of the net of f Cormac Murphy’s hurley. At 1-20 to 0-14 points up, Waterford could afford to substitute Gleeson to a hero’s reception. From a point where they started out as third favourites to gain promotion from Division 1B, McGrath’s men have finished the League as outright winners.
AFTER guiding Waterford to a remarkable Allianz Hurling League title, Derek McGrath played down the idea his team are credible Munster Championship contenders.
With a provincial semi-final rematch to come i n five weeks against Cork, he warned that the Rebels still deserve to be installed as favourites — despite yesterday’s convincing 1-24 to 0-17 result.
‘I’m not going to be a hypocrite and say we’re ready to win a Munster Champions hi p. There are huge improvements to be made. No- one does lying in the grass better than Cork. Noone does ambushes better than Cork. My guess is that if you go into Paddy Power in the morning, we might have narrowed but Cork will still be favourites in five weeks’ time,’ added McGrath.
Waterford were full value for yesterday’s 10-point victory in Thurles, one which