A Cork win to file under functional rather than flashy

So, not all Munster Championship games come with a ticket to the pantheon after all. Yesterday in Thurles the 14,737 in attendance for Cork-Waterford saw a procession of fumbles and fluffed pick-ups, wayward passes and intercepted clearances.

Perhaps those who stayed away had a premonition. There won’t be any ballads composed about this round-robin game.

Waterford wake today with a sharp sense of what might have been, as they led deep into the closing stages, a performance which featured crisply-struck long-range points leaving Cork in their wake for much of the game. A powerful Seamus Harnedy finish on 67 minutes gave Cork the impetus to beat them to the tape, but it was a win to file under functional rather than flashy.