Therese O'Callaghan: This was the complete display from classy Cork

Cork registered 5-13 - and only six of the points were from frees. All their forwards scored. It was as complete as that.

Mon, 07 Aug, 2023 - 12:49

Therese O’Callaghan, Croke Park

A crowd of 30,191, a new record for a final, witnessed a devastating Cork at their ruthless best claiming a 29th All-Ireland title in Croke Park.

Matthew Twomey’s side absolutely blitzed Waterford. Amy O'Connor, fantastic throughout, set the pace from early doors on a day she won't forget — captaining her colleagues to All-Ireland honours is one thing, but to score 3-7 (from 10 shots) in the process is borderline incredible.

When she pumped her fist after nailing the opening point in the fifth minute, you could see the St Vincent’s woman was in the zone. But Cork were scintillating all over the field, Sorcha McCartan and Fiona Keating weighing in with the other two goals.

At the other end of the pitch, they didn’t give Waterford a sniff, working the ball out with ease and seemingly relaxed in doing so. To only concede four points from play in an All-Ireland camogie final is a remarkable statistic.

Firm favourites coming into this game, the Rebels, who made one change beforehand, bringing in Laura Hayes for corner-back Méadh Murphy, began to dominate in every position.

Cork registered 5-13 — and only six of the points were from frees. All their forwards scored. It was as complete as that. And sub Orlaith Cahalane got in on the act too. It capped a special day for the Cahalane family with her sister Méabh, one of those aforementioned sterling defenders.

For Waterford, it was a sobering afternoon to finish a wonderful season. They were appearing in their first decider since 1945, and while there was huge respect and admiration for the incredible journey they travelled, the fear was it would prove a bridge too far. Sadly for them, this game was over after 15 minutes. Waterford had just got their first point from, who else but, Beth Carton. Cork already had four on the board.

In fairness to them and their great band of supporters, they didn’t go down without a fight. But it wasn’t to be. The result will be a bitter pill for Sean Power and his squad.

Granted, they suffered a massive setback after a mere five minutes when corner-back Vikki Falconer went down in a heap under the Cusack Stand. Unfortunately, she ended up beign stretchered off — thankfully the cameras did pick her out later sitting on the sub bench.

GOAL HUNGRY: cork's hat-trick hero Amy O'Connor scores her side's fourth goal in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Camogie final at Croke Park.

Waterford won't want anyone's sympathy but it's hard not to feel for them on the biggest day of their careers. For Falconer it was doubly-difficult to swallow, the Tramore woman being so inspirational in their win over Tipperary. It meant sub Iona Heffernan had to come in a lot earlier than expected. It seriously disrupted the set up for certain and was something they could have done without, especially when — as all of this team was - appearing in their first All-Ireland final.

So, what else happened to Waterford? Overwhelmed by the occasion, yes, which can so easily happen with all the hype and noise. And it didn’t help they met a Cork team that was hungry for victory having lost the last two finals by three and one point respectively.

Carton and Lorraine Bray tried their best to stem the flow. They fought the good fight but when you are being steamrolled, there is nothing at all you can do.

Had the Déise scored the penalty before half-time, it might have helped heading to the dressing-room. Carton’s effort skimmed the outside of the post.

They collapsed completely after Amy O'Connor's hat-trick, which came within a scorching two-minute spell (actually 1.59 minutes to be precise) immediately after half-time.

At this level you have to get the basics right; you have to score your frees, and there were too many unforced errors. It was just one of those days when nothing went right for the Deise. Everyone in the game will hope this doesn’t upset the progress they have made.

However it was Cork's day: the stamp of coach Liam Cronin was written all over it. They got the match-ups spot on. Aoife Healy, winning her first senior All-Ireland medal, was given the task of marking Carton. Hayes was brought in to keep a tight rein on Bray.

A richly deserved honour too for Matthew Twomey, leading Cork to their 29th title. You have to hand it to him, especially after the heartache of 2022 in his first year as manager. There will be great delight in Douglas, where they will also be celebrating the sixth All-Ireland medal won by twins Pamela and Katrina Mackey — their first was in 2009. Some service to Cork.

Undoubtedly, Twomey and co. has built the best squad of players in the country. This was flagged after they defeated Kilkenny and Galway en route to the final, their power and athleticism to the fore. For now, they can celebrate and enjoy this All-Ireland.

Finally, a word on Westmeath referee John Dermody, whose job was made easlier by the one-sided nature of proceedings but who managed the game without fuss throughout.