Resurgent Cork fill their boots against Waterford

ROUSING RETURN: Darragh Fitzgibbon of Cork attempts to keep the ball in play under pressure from Darragh Lyons of Waterford during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 2 match between Cork and Waterford at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Cork 0-27 Waterford 0-18 

There was a beautiful irony to Cork’s opening. After five weeks of uncertainty about this, that and the other, it took the hosts no more than nine minutes to dispel all mystery.

Cork hurling folk had wondered about the makeup of the team and the decision to start so many players with so few minutes in their legs this season. There’s no happy middle ground between being rusty and championship ready. You’re either one or the other.

They wondered too which Cork would show. The side that outworked Limerick and Galway at the beginning of spring or the one that rolled over to Kilkenny at the end of it?

The answers came thick and fast. Waterford heads were spinning early from the flurry of statements being issued by those in red.

Cork were the last county to open their championship account. In front of a crowd of 29,104, they strutted up to hurling’s front desk at dinnertime yesterday and flashed such an array of notes that heads were turned far beyond Leeside.

In securing their first championship win on home turf since 2019, Cork torpedoed Waterford’s chances of finishing in Munster’s top three.

In starting Pat Ryan’s championship reign with a nine-point hammering, Cork filled their boots with confidence ahead of Tipp’s visit this Saturday.

There was only one terrace open yesterday. Expect the lock to be cut off the City End this weekend such will be the demand to see can Cork back up this opening round declaration of intent.

Waterford, having pushed the All-Ireland champions to the edge of the cliff last Sunday week, were expected to be fine-tuned and full of belief. They were anything but. They were limp to the point of being submissive in the first half.

Their decision-making going forward was inexplicably poor. Their disjointed shape in defence offered an amount of space for Cork to flourish in.

No one flourished more than Darragh Fitzgibbon while a hint of doubt still hung over this fixture. In his first appearance of 2023, the 26-year-old had hit three points from play, one wide, and one short within the first eight minutes.

“Maybe him being off kept him fresh. I mean that’s the way we’re looking at it,” said Ryan of Fitzgibbon’s roaring return to competitive fare. “Same as Seamus Harnedy, he wasn’t back in long either. Seamus gave us a great shift as well.” When Declan Dalton converted a free on nine minutes, Cork led 0-5 to 0-1. It could easily have been 0-8 to 0-1 as three more chances went untaken.

By the 18th minute, the scoreline did indeed read 0-8 to 0-1. It stood at 0-12 to 0-2 on 26 minutes. 0-15 to 0-6 was the interval gap.

Cork had a strongish wind behind them for the opening period. But it was only one of many factors feeding into their unchallenged dominance.

Fitzgibbon, along with the older guard of Conor Lehane and Patrick Horgan, found so much unattended green grass in the opposition half it made a mockery of the fact that the Déise had a plus one back there. Oh how they longed for their usual plus one - Tadhg de Búrca - to bring a bit of structure to the chaos Cork were creating.

And while the Cork finishers will get the firmest of the many back slaps going around this week - everyone bar Shane Barrett from the number seven position up had scored by half-time - the deliveries they were being fed by those further back were of bullseye accuracy.

Ger Millerick forced Neil Montgomery to overcarry midway through the first half. Tommy O’Connell charged down a Darragh Lyons strike. Niall O'Leary wouldn't allow Dessie Hutchinson a moment's peace. When Robert Downey wasn’t busy with defensive duties, he launched over two missiles from distance. Championship debutant Brian Roche was another ravenous for work.

Cork's was a happy marriage of guile and grunt.

“If you’re not going to work hard you’re not going to get anything. We’ve been accused at times in Cork of not working hard enough. I don’t think we could be accused of that today,” said Ryan.

Hutchinson sent over Waterford’s first score from play 28 minutes in. It brought their total to 0-3 in almost half an hour of hurling.

The Déise found a touch more freedom in the second period. They couldn’t, however, find goals. That was the only currency going to rescue them. Their championship now looks beyond rescue.

A combination of Patrick Collins and Damien Cahalane denied Bennett, Hutchinson, and sub Peter Hogan. Davy's lads never got closer than six in a second-half that carried a waft of inevitability stronger than the burger vans lining Centre Park Road on the walk into the game.

For Cork, what a start. Ten different scorers, including two off the bench for the returning Robbie O’Flynn. Debuts to Roche, Padraig Power, and Cormac O'Brien. Their summer is up and galloping.

Scorers for Cork: P Horgan (0-8, 0-6 frees); D Fitzgibbon (0-4); D Dalton (0-2 frees), S Harnedy (0-3 each); R Downey, C Lehane, R O’Flynn (0-2 each); B Roche, L Meade, S Barrett (0-1 each).

Scorers for Waterford: S Bennett (0-9, 0-7 frees, 0-1 ‘65); C Lyons, Padraig Fitzgerald (0-2 each); J Barron, N Montgomery, D Hutchinson, A Gleeson, P Fitzgerald (0-1 each).

Cork: P Collins; N O’Leary, D Cahalane, G Millerick; T O’Connell, C Joyce, R Downey; B Roche, L Meade; D Dalton, D Fitzgibbon, S Barrett; C Lehane, P Horgan, S Harnedy.

Subs: R O’Flynn for Dalton (50); P Power for Harnedy (56); S Kingston for Lehane (59); C Cahalane for Meade (64); C O’Brien for Millerick (69).

Waterford: B Nolan; M Fitzgerald, C Prunty, C Gleeson; D Lyons, C Lyons, T Barron; J Barron, N Montgomery; C Dunford, J Fagan, J Prendergast; S Bennett, M Kiely, D Hutchinson.

Subs: A Gleeson for Kiely, Patrick Fitzgerald for Dunford, P Hogan for T Barron (all HT); C Ryan for C Gleeson (43); Padraig Fitzgerald for Montgomery (66).

Referee: J Owens (Wexford).