STORM PROOF
McGrath insists fall from top flight is not a disaster for Déise
ON an afternoon so bitterly cold that the players treated every break in play as an excuse to move their arms and legs to keep circulation going, the adverse weather afforded Cork and Waterford the stage to themselves. And in Páirc Uí Rinn, they put on a fairly entertaining show in this relegation play-off.
Bill Cooper caught the eye with a busy performance and he propelled the home side into an early five-point lead that they never lost and certainly didn’t look like losing after Maurice Shanahan was dismissed just moments after coming on the field, for striking out at Tim O’Mahony in the 55th minute.
So, Waterford will be in Division 1B next season. From coming so close to winning the All-Ireland last September to relegation just a few months later, it is easy to believe that, on the surface, Waterford have gone backwards this spring. But you didn’t get that sense from Derek McGrath’s demeanour moments after this game.
He was in upbeat form, pointing out that had his team been more clinical in front of goal, they might have retained their Division 1A status. In McGrath’s first year as manager, Waterford were relegated. And now, in what many believe will be his final season, they have suffered the same fate. But the manager says that the players will pick themselves up from this.
‘I thought it was one of our best performances of the League,’ he remarked afterwards. ‘I thought we had the grounds to feel that we could have been ahead at halftime. We had the goal chances.
‘It is not a disaster and I make that point without being flippant or dismissive. We’re Waterford. We have only won three League titles so it serves us well to be in 1A. It is disappointing but in the overall picture, in terms of my personal record, having two relegations on the CV doesn’t bother me.’
Waterford had the ball in the Cork net within the first couple of minutes, but Patrick Curran’s effort was ruled out because of a square ball. That seemed to unsettle the visitors as Cork raced into a five-point lead inside the opening 12 minutes.
Cooper was an industrious presence throughout. He scored four fine points from play and created a number of other scores for his teammates. By the 20th minute, he had been on the ball more than a dozen times. Alongside him, his young partner Darragh Fitzgibbon took his lead from Cooper, knocking over t hree points himself.
So much of Waterford’s strength springs from the middle third — Jamie Barron and Kevin Moran (out because of illness yesterday) and Tadhg De Búrca behind them. The Deise midfield was reshuffled before the game as Conor Gleeson had been snowed in earlier that morning and Cooper says that Cork knew they needed to nullify them.
Dean Brosnan fired over three fine points from wing-forward while towards the end of the game, as Waterford grew weary, substitute Daniel Kearney and defender Colm Spillane drove forward to nail some points.
Cork had led 0-10 to 1-4 at the break, Curran’s 20th-minute penalty was Waterford’s first score, and what was more impressive about the Rebel scoring was that nine of those points came from play. And while Cooper caught the eye, Meyler was keen to emphasise the contribution of the younger players such as O’Mahony and Sean O’Donoghue. CORK: A Nash; S O’Donoghue, E Cadogan, C Spillane; C Joyce, T O’Mahony (D Browne temp 56-58), M Coleman; D Fitzgibbon, B Cooper; M Cahalane (L Meade 46), C Lehane, D Brosnan (D Kearney 63); A Cadogan (R O’Flynn 69), S Harendy, P Horgan Scorers: P Horgan 0-5 (3f), B Cooper 0-4, D Fitzgibbon, D Brosnan 0-3, D Kearney 0-2, A Cadogan, C Spillane, C Lehane, M Cahalane 0-1. Yellow cards: C Spillane 20, A Cadogan 38. WATERFORD: S O’Keeffe; S Fives, B Coughlan, N Connors; K Bennett (C Gleeson 52), T De Búrca, Philip Mahony; J Barron, C Dunford (B O’Halloran 61); T Ryan (M Walsh 65), Pauric Mahony, S Bennett; P Curran (J Dillon 61), T Devine, M Kearney (M Shanahan 54) Scorers: P Mahony 0-4 (2f), S Bennett 0-3, P Curran 1-0 (pen), T Ryan 0-2, M Kearney, J Dillon, T De Búrca, J Barron 0-1. Yellow cards: T Ryan 29, S Bennett 41, B Coughlan 69. Red card: M Shanahan 55. Referee: J Keenan (Wicklow).