65-year wait ends as dynamic Déise minors deliver

Galway 0-16 Waterford 1-21

A first national success at the grade since 1948, this eight-point win is the first in any shape or form for the Déise since their U21s succeeded 21 years ago, and fair to say what was rare was oh-so-beautiful.

No All-Ireland success is greeted with indifference but the manner in which Waterford’s players bowled each other over like skittles at the full-time whistle said everything about just how overdue this was.

That they did it the hard way can have only added to the outpouring.

Their Munster opener defeat against Tipperary was separated by 150 days from this victory and the intervening period dealt them a provincial final replay loss to Limerick to boot.

Yet the end result is a first All-Ireland title for a side with two championship defeats to its credit and, whatever your views on that, there is no doubt their earlier brushes with adversity stood to them here.

Waterford were much the superior side on the basis of the full 70 minutes but they found themselves manning the barricades in a third quarter where they conceded half a dozen points and scored just one of their own.

It was a purple patch that allowed Galway retain parity for the first time since the first minute and the manner in which the lead was lost in that spell could have only multiplied the sense of dread that surely enveloped the Waterford supporters.

In the space of four minutes, Sean Power’s side conceded three points on the back of a) a clearance that rebounded off a teammates’ face, b) a contentious free for an accidental clash of heads and c) the loss of possession from a short puck-out.

It was Keystone Cops stuff but only for that short, if damaging, window, and their reaction spoke volumes in that they limited Galway to just one more white flag while they rattled off 1-6 themselves.

It was a statement of some intent for a county unaccustomed to the trappings of such occasions but one perfectly in keeping with a side that so many had fancied for such honours long before the season started.

Waterford came to Dublin yesterday with a centre-back in Austin Gleeson who has been described as the new Ken McGrath and Paul Curran who more than lived up to the hype that had him tagged as another Paul Flynn.

Curran came up with 1-7, Bennett with four points but, as Mattie Murphy said, it was the next seven or eight players on Waterford’s roster who haven’t made quite so many headlines who made the difference.

Micheal Harney and Shane Bennett were outstanding either side of Gleeson at half-back, Michael Kearney and Colm Roche pitched in with seven points and the result was what the Galway manager said was akin to a white tide.

Eventually it washed over Galway but that was in spite of the considerable efforts of full-back Darragh O’Donoghue and Shane Cooney, who manned the gates of their defensive positions with some authority at number six.

Galway had their spearheads up front too. Ronan O’Meara claimed a quartet of points from the half-forward line while captain Darragh Dolan shrugged of the attentions of Gleeson for long enough to tick off three of his own.

That said, no man was more valuable to the Connacht cause than goalkeeper Cathal Tuohy, who made three superb saves after 19, 25 and 33 minutes without which Galway would have faded from relevance long before they did.

The pity for Galway is that they were unwilling architects of their own demise when, with 13 minutes to go and only four points still separating them, O’Donoghue took a short puck-out from Tuohy and dallied a tad too long.

Curran’s alacrity in spotting the defender’s tardiness was considerable and, in the blink of an eye, he had the full-back dispossessed and the ball in the back of the Galway net.

Cue delirium.

Scorers for Galway: B Molloy (0-5, four frees), R O’Meara (0-4), D Dolan (0-3), S Cooney (f), A Morrissey, B Burke, C Whelan (0-1 each).

Scorers for Waterford: P Curran (1-7, four frees), M Kearney, Stephen Bennett (0-4 each), C Roche (0-3), DJ Foran, A Gleeson (free); T Devine (0-1 each).

GALWAY: C Tuohy; M O Conghaile, D O Donoghue, M Coneely; R Doyle, S Cooney, E Burke; S Linnane, J Hastings; C Shaughnessy, D Dolan, R O’Meara; C Whelan, B Molloy, A Morrissey.

Subs for Galway: V Doyle for R Doyle (27), B Burke for Whelan (37), R Bellew for Hastings (53), S Burke for E Burke (58).

WATERFORD: G Power; W Hahessy, K Daly, C Leamy; M Harney, A Gleeson, Shane Bennett; M O’Brien, T Devine; Stephen Bennett, DJ Foran, M Kearney; A Farrell, P Curran, C Roche.

Subs for Waterford: C Curran for Foran (37), C Gleeson for Farrell (45), P O’Connor for O’Brien (57), S O’Neill for Hahessy, B Whelan for Shane Bennett (both 61).

Referee: C McAllister (Cork).