Waterford hopes dashed by Cork

Cork 2-17 Waterford 2-15, Thurles

Waterford’s hopes of retaining their Munster SHC title fell just short in Thurles this afternoon as All-Ireland champions Cork exerted their authority in a 2-17 to 2-15 provincial semi-final win.

A Brian Corcoran goal three minutes into the second half added much-needed tempo to the Rebels attack and John Allen’s men pushed on for a victory that sets them up for a June 26 final tilt against either Clare or Tipperary.

Former hurler of the year Corcoran drilled home from an acute angle after the Deise had established a 2-09 to 1-09 lead at the break thanks to goals from Paul Flynn (29 minutes) and Dan Shanahan (33).

Joe Deane rattled the Waterford net in the opening minute as he made full use of some slack marking to goal and the Cork corner forward subsequently pointed a free for a 1-01 to no score start.

Allen’s charges went 1-06 to 0-03 in front by the quarter-hour as Flynn and Eoin Kelly kept the Munster champions ticking and Jerry O’Connor (0-02), Diarmuid O’Sullivan and Niall McCarthy all pointed for Cork.

O’Sullivan’s score came from a penalty after Fergal Hartley had hauled downed Deane with a high challenge but the brutish centre back’s goal shot rose just over the bar.

Following an excellent stop by Waterford goalkeeper Stephen Brenner from a miss-hit Kieran Murphy shot, Waterford captain Kelly, who bagged five first half points, rattled off two scores, Flynn notched another and a Seamus Prendergast point helped Justin McCarthy’s men to the lead by the half-hour.

It was Flynn’s goal that saw Cork overhauled as he pounced on a loose ball to smack a searing ground shot past Donal Og Cusack. Credit to Cork, they rallied with points from Deane and Ben O’Connor (free), but then Shanahan latched onto a loose ball from a high delivery to goal Waterford’s second.

Kelly and Tony Browne pointed in the closing minutes to edge Waterford in front at the interval by a clear goal.

Corcoran, quiet in the first half, exploded into life on the restart as following Prendergast and Kelly overs, the Cork full-forward beat Brenner all ends up.

On 45 minutes, McCarthy levelled things up at 2-11 apiece and from then on, Cork’s 2004 All-Ireland experience stood them in the better stead.

Another Flynn point – Waterford’s first score for 14 minutes – was then cancelled out by consecutive points from Ben O’Connor (0-02) and Corcoran for a 2-14 to 2-12 buffer.

Flynn tried manfully to rally the Deise effort, even attempting a goal in deepest injury-time from far out, but Cork were too strong as McCarthy (0-02) and Ben O’Connor grabbed the insurance scores.