Kelly points out Déise’s team ethic

YESTERDAY we cast aspersions on the man who said a little learning was a dangerous thing (it was Alexander Pope, of course; please stop ringing in with his identity, there are no prizes on offer).

We were referring to the Waterford-Cork draw in the NHL on Sunday, but we probably should have used another Pope line: some people never learn anything because they understand everything too soon.

Eoin Kelly of Waterford finished with 1-17, for instance, but he was looking at the reasons he got those scoring chances rather than focusing on the headlines.

“It’s great to get that kind of score, of course, but that’s down to the hard work the whole team puts in.

“I got 13 points from frees and one 65, and obviously that’s down to the other lads on the team who were putting Cork players under pressure to concede those frees, or were winning them by running at the Cork defence.

“They should get huge credit for doing all that work. People will probably talk about the scores I got but in fairness to them they’re the ones who created the chances.”

True enough. Stephen Molumphy and Tomas Ryan in particular caught the eye with their ability to take the ball into contact and win frees; Waterford boss Davy Fitzgerald will be happy that it wasn’t just an experienced player like Molumphy taking on the Cork defence.

Rebel boss Denis Walsh said after the game that he’d warned his charges about Kelly’s accuracy: “We spoke about it in the dressing room, that if you gave him chances within 80 or 90 yards, he’d put them over. He’s a very good striker of the ball, and this wouldn’t be the biggest pitch around, either.

“It was a bit like Joe Canning with Galway last year – if you commit a foul anywhere on the field you’re going to be under pressure.”

Kelly was happy to claim the first Déise goal as well – “Fair dues to Shane, but I’ll take that one,” he said with a laugh – but he also pointed to Waterford’s overall improvement as the match wore on.

“You can see now that the lads who were given the few months away from training, the likes of Dan Shanahan and John Mullane, are coming back and helping out in terms of experience.

“The newer players have done well but it’s no harm to have lads who can come in and steady the ship when games like this get tight.”

With veteran Tony Browne expected back training this week, Waterford will only be missing Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh (injured) and Ken McGrath (honeymoon) as the league winds down.

Denis Walsh has had his own focus, but he shares Waterford’s determination to blood new players.

On Sunday Eoin Cadogan’s late withdrawal from the starting 15 meant plenty of defensive switches, but the up side for the Cork boss was that Michael Walsh of Kildorrery, in particular, survived a testing debut.

The name mightn’t have rung a bell with casual followers, but he was certainly well known to Waterford’s manager.

“Yes, Davy was talking to me about him before the game,” said the Cork boss.

“He had Michael up in LIT for two Fitzgibbons, and always rated him as a guy with great character. And you need character for this game – it’s not always about hurling all the time.

“We took a punt on him and fair dues to him, we were forced to shuffle him around but he did well everywhere – he answered the call in the three or four places we tried him. That says a fair bit about his character.”

While the Cork manager said that making the league final is his goal – “at least” – he also predicted changes to the team he’ll send out against Dublin next Sunday: “I think fellas would be surprised at this stage if we left the team the same.”

No surprise there. With new players in new positions, you can’t learn anything if you try to understand everything too soon.