Waterford fervour and fire blows Dublin away
Systems and sweepers to one side, it is a rather simple formula that has served Waterford so fruitfully this year; a formula that has delivered league promotion, outright league success, a Munster final berth and now a first All-Ireland semi-final appearance in four years.
As has been the case all through the spring and early summer, there was nothing particularly flash about this Waterford win. Granted, the bodies weren’t as plentiful in their own half of the field, but the work-rate and intensity was very much on par with what they produced against Cork and the first 65 minutes of the Munster final.
Slowly but surely, they ground Dublin down inside the whitewash; Ger Cunningham’s men were then put away on the scoreboard by two sublime goals.
The first of those majors arrived on 40 minutes, Shane Bennett’s ground stroke putting three-points between the sides for the first time in this quarter-final contest. The green flag stemmed from a Waterford turnover, Maurice Shanahan robbing possession off the hurl of Cian O’Callaghan. Let down by the vast amount of errors they made over the 70 minutes, Dublin would be fatally punished on this occasion.
In pick-pocketing his Dublin opponent, Shanahan sprayed the sliotar to the unmarked Bennett on the edge of the square. The Ballysaggart teenager – having started in place of his brother Stephen - opted to pull first time, beating Gary Maguire with a powerful strike.
The pendulum shifted in Waterford’s favour and three-points were quickly added - Shanahan (0-2, one free) and a short free from the inside forward which Colin Dunford duly converted.
Having trailed 0-13 to 0-12 at the break, Waterford now led 1-17 to 0-14 - the clock reading 46 minutes.
“Shane [Bennett] is something of an enigma in terms of his whole approach to the game, but I thought his work-ethic today was much higher than it had been in other games,” said McGrath.
“It can be difficult in families when one brother replaces the other, and it’s great amidst all the talk of systems and sweepers to see a good old fashioned goal off the ground, that’s why I jumped off the seat myself.”
Having managed but a solitary point during Waterford’s spell of superiority, Dublin pared the margin back to five with a Paul Ryan free on 49 minutes. By this stage, however, they were being put under immense pressure simply to work the ball out of defence, much less make an impact at the other end.
In one passage did Jake Dillon dispossess Danny Sutcliffe, Liam Rushe swept up the breaking ball but, in turn, was swiftly disarmed by Kevin Moran. It didn’t matter that Shanahan hit wide in the end. Waterford had hit full stride.
A Shanahan free re-established their six-point lead and the gap was stretched to seven when Austin Gleeson swatted his third minor – the score stemming from a superb Shane Bennett hook on sub Peter Kelly. The winners were relentless.
Under the cosh as they were, Dublin engineered themselves a lifeline on 53 minutes. Joey Boland’s clearance was gathered by Ryan O’Dwyer, his probing delivery fetched by Mark Schutte ahead of Philip Mahony. Swivel, strike, goal.
Crucially, McGrath’s men landed the next score – a Gleeson sideline cut from 65-metres – to quell the Dublin revival. And while Dotsy O’Callaghan and Paul Ryan (free) kept the difference to four, the result was wrapped up on 66 minutes.
Space had opened up in the Dublin defence as they chased the game and it was Shane Bennett who turned provider for Shanahan, the latter drilling the sliotar into the bottom right corner of Maguire’s goal.
The Déise held firm in the closing minutes and Dublin’s exit was soured by Liam Rushe’s red card in second-half stoppages, the centre-back swinging his hurl at Maurice Shanahan.
And how quickly it all unravelled for Ger Cunningham’s men, Dublin shading a first-half that was level on no fewer than eight occasions. Management opted to go man-for-man from the off, corner-back Shane Barrett following Kevin Moran out the field.
Waterford struggled to capitalise on Dublin’s two-man full-back line with the first-half devoid of any clear cut goal chance.
Dublin never led by more than a point during the opening 35 minutes, five of their front six on the mark – Conal Keaney making no impression on the scoreboard.
For Waterford, their scoring contributors weren’t as plentiful as the white shirts throwing themselves into tackles, Shanahan hitting 0-8 of their 0-12 total.
The Lismore forward would finish with 1-12, but undoubtedly his greatest involvement was the pass for Benentt’s goal that, ultimately, turned the fixture in Waterford’s favour.
The Déise journey continues. Next stop Croke Park.
M Shanahan (1-12, 0-8 frees, 0-2 ’65); A Gleeson (0-4, 0-1 sc); S Bennett (1-0); C Dunford, K Moran (0-2 each), J Dillon (0-1).
P Schutte (1-2), P Ryan (0-5, 0-5 frees); D O’Callaghan, D Sutcliffe (0-3 each); D Treacy (0-2, 0-1 ’65), R O’Dwyer (0-2 each); C Crummey, N McMorrow (0-1 each).
S O’Keeffe; S Fives, B Coughlan, N Connors; D Fives,T de Búrca, P Mahony; A Gleeson, J Barron; K Moran, S Bennett, M Walsh; M Shanahan, J Dillon, C Dunford.
S Daniels for Connors (30 mins), P Curran for Dunford (55), T Devine for Dillon (68), Stephen Bennett for Shane Bennett (70), E Barrett for Gleeson (70).
G Maguire; S Bennett, C O’Callaghan, P Schutte; C Crummey, L Rushe, J Boland; J McCaffrey, N McMorrow; P Ryan, R O’Dwyer, D Sutcliffe; D O’Callaghan, C Keaney, M Schutte.
P Kelly for Bennet (47), C Boland for McMorrow (54), D Treacy for Ryan (64), E Dillon for Keaney (67), O O’Rourke for Sutcliffe (70).
J Ryan (Tipperary).
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