Never say die Cats having time of their lives

Kilkenny 1-22 Waterford 2-16 aet

First, with just seven minutes remaining of normal time, they held a five-point lead but were pegged back, point-by-point Déise captain Kevin Moran and supersub Ray Barry to the fore. Then, right at the end of the two minutes’ added time, Matthew Ruth broke onto a ball inside the 45m line with the posts at his mercy and duly pointed. A second earlier however referee James Owens blew for full-time and it didn’t count.

Forced to regroup, Kilkenny came out and shot five consecutive points to start extra-time, looking like winners for the third time.

Not yet though, not yet. Waterford got their first goal; worse from a Kilkenny perspective. It should have been disallowed, Jake Dillon standing inside the square when Seamus Prendergast’s shot was saved, striking home the rebound.

Worse was to come for the Cats. Just two minutes remaining of extra-time Kilkenny still a goal to good, Waterford got their second goal and this time there was no question, Barry rifling home the rebound of Maurice Shanahan’s 20m free.

That score tied the game yet again, momentum again with Waterford. And again, and for the final time, Kilkenny rose to the challenge.

Fittingly it was two young guns, captain Colin Fennelly and Richie Hogan showing the way with a point apiece while one of the old stagers, Aidan Fogarty, hit the final point.

Over the hill? Four big games in three weeks in a heatwave bound to take its toll on an ageing team? Not these guys. Where do they get that continuing resolve? No-one knows them better than manager Brian Cody.

“Ah, we dug savage deep a few times! There were huge questions asked here,” he said. “If our spirit was remotely diluted or if our attitude or determination was in any way below par, we would have been blown away because that’s the standard they were playing at. Every one speaks about the outstanding Waterford players who are no longer playing with them and they were top class players, you could rattle off the names.

“Now they have assembled a team of serious, serious skill and ability and determination, and they have a lot of good young players coming behind them as well. We came here expecting a ferocious challenge and with a full realisation that we could be beaten tonight if we were anyway off attitude-wise at all, we wouldn’t have a hope of winning this match. And that’s what drove us on, I suppose. Great credit is due to them.”

One of those players is Tommy Walsh and not for the first time the Tullaroan Tiger epitomised the spirit of which Brian speaks. As Waterford raced into an early 0-5 to 0-2 lead, roared on by their massive support in the 17,235 crowd, Tommy was one of those who drove the recovery, helped Kilkenny to a one-goal half-time lead (1-6 to 0-6). The goal came just before the break, a Richie Power penalty deemed to have come back into play off the back stanchion supporting the net.

And what a half!

“It was like a coliseum out there!” said Walsh. “Waterford came back at us a few times but that’s what championship is all about. We met them in the league and they played a good style of hurling, all short passing; they’re well able to play around with the ball and we were under no illusions coming in.”

Five Waterford points in a row (two by rampaging Kevin Moran and two by sub Ray Barry) tied the game in regular time, that Matthew Ruth ‘winning’ point for the Cats ruled out.

No matter. In that extra-time, the momentum should have been with Waterford it was Kilkenny playing their best hurling of the game, perhaps even of the season.

“You’re trying from minute one and sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t,” said Tommy; “We hit a few wides at different stages but at the end, we were more clinical.

“It was just great out there. It was like Nowlan Park last week, the crowd really got into it, real old-style championship hurling. The smaller grounds, where the crowd are kind of on top of you, I think that’s what every player loves. This one was just epic, great to be part of it.”

Made epic by Waterford, who grabbed two more goals in that extra-time, Jake Dillon and Ray Barry, tying the game again with just two minutes left, momentum swinging again. Did Tommy feel it was going from them? Did he hell! “No, never!”

And so Kilkenny drive on, that indomitable spirit intact, taking the by-way rather than the highway. Better this way perhaps?

“Who knows? We won’t know til the next day and hopefully we’ll come with a big game again.”

Scorers for Kilkenny: R Power (1-5, 2fs, 1-0pen), R Hogan (0-5), C Fennelly (0-4), E Larkin (0-4, 3fs), A Fogarty (0-2), M Ruth, M Fennelly (0-1 each).

Scorers for Waterford: R Barry (1-3), J Dillon (1-2, 1f), K Moran, D Fives (0-3 each). R Foley, J Barron, B O’Sullivan, J Nagle (free), S Prendergast (0-1 each).

KILKENNY: E Murphy; P Murphy, JJ Delaney, J Tyrrell; T Walsh, B Hogan, K Joyce; E Larkin, M Rice; C Fennelly (c), R Power, M Ruth; A Fogarty, W Walsh, R Hogan.

Subs for Kilkenny: H Shefflin for W Walsh (39), M Fennelly for Rice (47), W Walsh for Shefflin (70), L Ryan for Fogarty (70), A Fogarty for W Walsh (83), C Fogarty for JJ Delaney (88).

WATERFORD: S O’Keeffe; S Fives, L Lawlor, N Connors; J Nagle, M Walsh, K Moran (c); R Foley, D Fives; J Dillon, S Prendergast, S O’Sullivan; J Barron, M Shanahan, B O’Sullivan.

Subs for Waterford: R Barry for B O’Sullivan (48), M O’Neill for Shanahan (55), S Walsh for O’Neill (inj. 58), P Prendergast for Foley (inj. 60), T Browne for D Fives (inj. 68), E Barrett for Barron (77), D Fives for P Prendergast (82), M Shanahan for Moran (inj. 85).

Referee: J Owens (Wexford).