Shanahan goals turn battle for Waterford

Waterford 2-17 Cork 0-20

Yes, Dan Shanahan’s 56th- minute goal was hugely influential in terms of the huge psychological impetus it gave their challenge after scores had been level for the ninth time.

So too, was the leadership of team captain Michael Walsh at midfield, the contribution of substitute Eoin McGrath and the powerful defensive wall they put up in withstanding almost continuous Cork pressure near the end.

But, in the overall context, it required an almost superhuman effort to win this titanic Guinness All-Ireland SHC quarter-final after a quite moderate performance in the opening 35 minutes.

And that’s exactly what Justin McCarthy got from his players after they trailed by a single point at the break.

With Shanahan also scoring his seventh goal of the campaign late in the first half, it was noteworthy that Cork failed to score from two good chances in the opening four minutes. First, Clinton Hennessy saved from Tom Kenny and then he stopped a shot from Timmy McCarthy which lacked power.

At the time, their loss would not have been appreciated, but they had the effect of diminishing the return which Cork’s superior play should have earned them. And, that was to be reflected in the half-time score.

Just like the drawn game last week, Cork were boosted by powerful play from Sean Óg Ó hAilpín and from the consistency of Brian Murphy behind him. And, without Ronan Curran being involved too much, in general the backline was more than holding its own.

From a Waterford perspective, it was noteworthy that neither Shanahan nor John Mullane were making headway (at full-forward and right corner-forward, respectively) and that Seamus Prendergast, again, was not performing. More encouraging was the energetic play of Stephen Molumphy on the left flank.

The battle for midfield supremacy was edging Cork’s way because of the greater mobility of Kenny and Jerry O’Connor, until Michael Walsh came more into the game in the second quarter and Eoin Kelly was a bit more involved.

And, further forward, Cork were making much more headway, with Timmy McCarthy quite forceful against Ken McGrath (who still managed to get in some great clearances) and both Neil Ronan and Kieran Murphy threatening at stages.

Best of all, Ben O’Connor was on top of his game, penetrating frequently and hitting some marvellous scores over both halves from play and frees. On the other hand, Patrick Cronin wasn’t really in the game on the left wing and Joe Deane saw little ball against the steady Eoin Murphy.

Waterford were able to stay in touch by maximising the chances they did get, with Mullane and Kelly each hitting over good scores from the right wing. But, in contrast to the first game, they didn’t lead until the 11th minute (through Shanahan, 0-5 to 0-4) and were trailing by two points before Shanahan had the ball in the net nine minutes later.

Coming on top of their early misses, the concession of the goal added to Cork’s woes. And, with Waterford beginning to waste chances as they showed a gradual improvement, helped by strong play from Ken

McGrath and Aidan Kearney in defence, Cork could not have been satisfied going in at half-time 0-11 to 1-7 ahead.

The first 15 minutes of the second half followed a similar pattern, with scores level four times and the two O’Connor brothers continuing to play leading roles. However, there were clear signs of a revival in Waterford’s form, obvious in outstanding play from Brick Walsh when it was badly needed and in a greater involvement from Tony Browne, Declan Prendergast and Brian Phelan in defence.

Later Seamus Prendergast was also to win vital ball, when the pressure on both sides began to increase and there was almost a premium on every single battle for possession.

Cork were lifted by superb scores from Jerry O’Connor and Tom Kenny but by now, Waterford had Eoin McGrath in their attack, where he was able to exert a strong influence. And they had every reason to be just as confident about the outcome after Eoin Kelly lofted over a huge point from play from the right.

That had the effect of levelling scores for the ninth and, as it happened, the last time. In another minute, Seamus Prendergast had answered the call with a lead point and almost immediately afterwards, Shanahan had the ball in the net again.

It wasn’t quite the beginning of the end for Cork, because there was so much time remaining, but the momentum was now with the Decies.

Eoin McGrath won vital ball up front, later substitute Dave Bennett did the same around midfield and Ken McGrath was majestic. But, it was the cumulative efforts of the 15 players all over the field which helped drive them on with a ferocious will-to-win.

Yet, even with Jerry O’Connor, Joe Deane and Timmy McCarthy off the field, Cork still had plenty of fight left. And, when Ben O’Connor hit over two scores to leave only a goal between the teams entering the last minute, anything looked possible.

Shortly after that, the game was held up for five minutes while the unfortunate Neil Ronan was attended to on the field before being removed by ambulance (and recovering later). When it resumed, Cork had Diarmuid O’Sullivan at full-forward in one last desperate attempt to save the game (and down to 14 men after having used up their quote of subs).

But, with Paul Flynn putting over a vital 70-yard free, their chance of drawing level as good as disappeared — the final whistle signalling a highly credible of performance against the Rebels.