Anthony Daly: Déise still search for missing inches but Cork are enjoying themselves
FROM THE GROUND UP: Alan Connolly of Cork scores a point, under pressure from Waterford players Mark Fitzgerald, left, and Aaron O’Neill, during the Munster GAA Senior Hurling Championship Round 3 match between Waterford and Cork at Azzurri Walsh Park in Waterford. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
As I was making my way back home from Wexford on Saturday, the trip was nearly a tease. I went back by Waterford, through the outskirts of the city. Walsh Park wasn’t that far away but it was well into the second half of the Cork-Waterford match by then and the game would have been over by the time I’d have got parking. So I kept going.
I only missed the opening minutes because as soon as I jumped back into the car, I turned on WLRFM and tuned into Kieran O’Connor’s commentary, with Andy Moloney on co-commentary duty. The lads kept me well informed until I watched the match back in full Sunday morning.
I enjoyed the game. It was a real contest. It was obvious from his post-match interview on GAA+ how thrilled
Ben O’Connor was with the result because this reflected everything good about this side so far; dogged, spirited, some brilliant scores – and continuing to find a way.
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The purists may argue that it’s nowhere near as pretty or as devastating as the hurling Cork were playing this time last year. Yet Cork still scored 1-26 and could have had at least three more goals. Is that not entertainment?
Cork only had three points on the board after three games last May and they went into their last match against Waterford sweating on a result. Ben and his players won’t be backing off now against Clare but there certainly isn’t any need for them to get into a lather this time around with six points already in the bag.
It's a great result for Cork but it was another fierce disappointing day for Waterford. Anything that could have gone wrong literally went wrong. Losing three players in the first half to injury – Ian Kenny, Iarlaith Daly and Stephen Bennett – was a huge setback but having to play the match with 14 men for 20 minutes, after the two black cards to Mark Fitgerald and Jack Fagan, was just one setback too many for Peter Queally’s side to try and manage.
Waterford will still have their regrets. They tried four different players on Brian Hayes but I felt they should have played Mark Fitz on Hayes from the outset. Hayes was rampant and was outstanding again. When he’s in the form he showed in the first half, the St Finbarr’s man is literally unmarkable. There’s still only much you can do when the big man is getting quality ball. I felt Mark Fitz was unlucky to be black-carded for fouling Brian for the first penalty, but it still was a penalty.
So much of the commentary around Cork is framed around their attack but I thought this was an evening where their defence – and a defence that has taken a lot of heat – played just as well. Damien Cahalane was really good. Niall O’Leary and Seán O’Donoghue were effective – again. It was a bold call to start Tim O’Mahony at 6 but I thought the half-back line were really solid, and Mark Coleman was excellent.
It was a brave call by Ben to bring up Coleman for the second penalty but he stitched it for his first championship goal. That was the score that finally got Cork ahead. And with Waterford again down to 14 men with time running out, there was no way back. There might have been if Peter Hogan had stuck his late goal chance but Patrick Collins - another man I’ve questioned - made his second excellent stop.
Waterford could have no qualms with the second black card. I do feel sorry for them but they’ll also admit that they can’t keep blaming the system, or referees, or bad luck. They’ve gone to the wire in their three matches but haven’t won any. They just have to keep searching for those few inches that they’re missing.
The way Cork are winning is suiting them down to the ground. It’s business-like but efficient. They haven’t caught fire but that has dampened down the hype machine. They won’t admit it but I’m sure the players didn’t find it easy to deal with that delirium over the last two years. They were destroying teams last year but I just think Cork are enjoying themselves a lot more now. Tim O’Mahony said as much in his GAA+ post-match interview.
It was obvious how tricky the wind was in Waterford, but I’m sure it was nothing like the wind below in Wexford Park. Even though the sun was splitting the rocks, Joanne Cantwell, Ursula Jacob and I were frozen alive above in the TV podium because the breeze was blowing straight into our faces.
It's funny, the wind in Wexford Park is always blowing out towards the sea but it was going the other way. At one stage while we were off-air, I asked one of the lads in the studio to run out to my car for a jacket. It was Baltic up there. Even when Liam Rushe came up afterwards to do an interview, he was nearly shaking with the cold.
Rushey is in great shape but I thought his conditioning told a large part of the story – Dublin were just physically stronger, and (outside of Lee Chin and Liam Ryan) way more advanced in their physique. Dublin were just that bit tactically smarter too. I never saw Brian Hayes playing as deep but he was really effective.
So was Rushey who was sitting in front of the full-back line. After being carved open against Offaly for goal chances, there was none of that here.
Rushey may not be as quick as he used to be but, remember, that’s coming from him being lightning fast, which he was as a forward. He still has the legs to get across and cover. Chris Crummey also played really well on the wing as well. I always felt that Chris was a more natural wing-back than a number 6, while I like Conor Burke at wing-back too because he is such a safe pair of hands. I think there is a better balance to the Dublin defence now.
Wexford shot too many wides but they never looked like penetrating the Dublin defence and were restricted to too much long-range shooting. Mark Fanning did make a poor mistake for David Purcell’s goal but he made two outstanding saves afterwards from Fergal Whitely and John Hetherton to more than make up for that error.
Wexford did have Dublin under the cosh late on. Jack O’Connor did make a difference when he came on but, overall, you couldn’t question that Dublin were the better team and were fully deserving winners.
As soon as I heard that Kildare were ten points up against Galway at half-time in Newbridge, I was thinking ‘wind’. There was a strong breeze there but when I watched the game back yesterday, I couldn’t get over how well Kildare played. They were outstanding. They scored 1-15 in that opening half and could have even had a few more scores.
Even with such a strong breeze behind them, I knew that Galway would need goals in the second half – and they got them, three from Tom Monaghan (who made a huge difference when introduced), Conor Whelan and Cian Daniels.
Galway got the job done but they’ll still see that as a big wake-up call because they weren’t fully tuned in for the first half. Kildare will take huge positives from that performance but they’ll also be thankful that Offaly drew with Kilkenny yesterday. Offaly did need Eoghan Cahill to convert a ’65 with the last puck to get the draw but they showed enough quality throughout a game they could have easily won.
In a match where the sides were level on 15 occasions, Offaly consistently refused to go back from Kilkenny in O’Connor Park. The hosts were unlucky to be trailing by one at half-time after conceding a soft goal in the 27th minute after playing against the breeze. Four unanswered points in five minutes early in the half got Offaly’s confidence surging and both sides just continued to slug it out until Kilkenny thought they’d won it and Cahill ensured they hadn’t.
A win for Offaly would have effectively closed the door for Kildare but they’re still in this championship. So are Waterford. They may only be hanging in there but they’re still alive.
And in this championship, anything could yet happen. Anything.
