Tidal second-half surge a rallying cry for years to come in Waterford

DEISE FRENZY: Waterford manager Liam Cahill in frenzied celebration as Kilkenny's Conor Fogarty gets hooshed out over the sideline minute by Darragh Lyons, Jack Fagan, and Austin Gleeson. It recalled similar moments over the last two decades when men in a black and amber jersey were doing bouncer duty where the sideline was concerned.  Picture: Daire Brennan, Sportsfile

Certain games burn themselves into a county’s psyche, memories to be recalled when the sinews need stiffening.

That was Saturday night for Waterford. At half-time in the All-Ireland semi-final, they weren’t adrift. They were marooned. Mistakes and misses, goals leaked and points gifted meant Kilkenny were seven up at the break, having led by nine at one stage in the first half.

Afterwards, Waterford manager Liam Cahill said reviewing those early proceedings would have his players cringing later in the week.

It made their electrifying second half all the more admirable. They outscored Kilkenny by 1-11 to 0-4 in the third quarter alone, marrying the work rate that has been their hallmark all season with a devastating attacking sweep led by the outstanding Stephen Bennett, whose goal was the jolt of adrenaline that kickstarted the Waterford revival.

The Déise were three up by the second water-break, and Darragh Lyons’ goal pushed them five ahead. Kilkenny fought to the very last, typically, but Austin Gleeson’s late point, snapped over from under the Hogan, made the game safe for Waterford.

The turnaround was so striking that Cahill was asked the most basic of post-match questions after the game.

What had he said at half-time to produce that kind of response?

“It wasn’t anything dramatic, I can assure you of that. It was down to the players really. Just their decision-making was costing us big time in the first half, left quite a number of easy plays and chances maybe behind us.

“I know Kilkenny missed quite a number as well. We just seemed to be off it a little bit, but I thought it was more mentally, with our mindset, than our legs, so we just tried to address that and see could we turn it around.

“We looked for a green flag or two, we needed that to give ourselves a chance of getting back into the game and thankfully we got that.”

That first half conformed to popular prejudices, with TJ Reid and Cillian Buckley dominant personalities. Buckley’s calm distribution gave Kilkenny their platform, while TJ Reid — outfield rather than asking Conor Prunty direct questions at full-forward — kept the scoreboard operator busy.

At this point in his career, Reid is one of those rare players who seems to carry around a little pocket of time and space with him: anything in his vicinity enters a particular gravitational zone where everything occurs at his convenience.

By contrast, his first-half goal was a practical demonstration of workrate any young player could learn from. Prunty had a dropping ball in his sights all the way, but when it bounced out of his grip Reid, steaming through, collected the loose sliotar and was clean through.

For any would-be forward, the lesson was clear. Twenty times a forward might make that run and 19 times end up making the gallop for nothing. Reid showed the virtue of making that 20th run and his goal helped Kilkenny to a 2-11 to 0-10 half-time lead.

At that stage, Waterford’s top scorer from play was wing-back Calum Lyons with two points and Kilkenny’s seven-point lead looked likely to stretch further rather than be reeled in.

Stephen Bennett took the fight to Kilkenny in that second half. Earlier in the week he talked about Cahill and his management team challenging him and the other Waterford attackers to be more direct in general, and questioning Bennett specifically about being “reserved” on the field.

The Ballysaggart man clearly took those questions to heart, because he played with a freedom and panache that Kilkenny couldn’t curtail. His free-taking had kept Waterford in touch in the first period but his mazy running and clever shooting (exhibit A: the improvised finish for Waterford’s first goal) was the difference in that thunderous second half.

With Gleeson imposing himself physically on the Kilkenny defence, which couldn’t cope with the Waterford puck-outs, Cody and his selectors brought on All-Ireland winners in Colin Fennelly and Walter Walsh at the other end to rescue the game but Waterford were, as the saying goes, in full cry.

Irresistible

Evidence? Reid’s frees were Kilkenny’s lifeline, and dependable though he was, Waterford ended the game with 12 different scorers. They harvested 1-3 from their subs alone.

In short, they were irresistible.

For his part, Kilkenny boss Brian Cody acknowledged Waterford’s second-half surge: “We probably missed a fair few chances but they missed chances also.

“But the game lasts for 74 minutes whatever it is and they were very strong in the second half. They won an awful lot of ball and were very athletic and they got great scores and that’s it — we were beaten fair and square.

“It’s very early to look at all these things now. The game goes ahead, they’re strong in the sky, their players are good at doing that, good at winning ball.

Essentially, it’s hurling and the game is played out there and they certainly haven’t done anything that hasn’t been done before.

“They got a huge impact going in the second half and deservedly won the game.” An accurate diagnosis, particularly his emphasis on the second half. Liam Cahill put it bluntly at the final whistle — a repeat of Waterford’s first-half performance in a fortnight’s time would leave them with too much to do in the All-Ireland final, irrespective of the opposition.

On the other hand, while the Tipperary native dismissed suggestions that his players were nervous, an outing in the strangeness that is Croke Park in the 2020 championship — the eerie echoes, the audible goalkeepers, clouds of breath visible around facemasks — will surely help them settle quicker in the final.

But Saturday night will also serve as a rallying cry for years to come in the southeast. The memory of that powerful second half, almost tidal in its surge, will serve as the kindling for Waterford beacons at all levels and age groups going into the future.

For this particular level, this age group, the future is Sunday week’s All-Ireland final.

For them the memory is sharp and fresh: can it be repeated?