Munster Final - Waterford 2-15 Cork 2-15 IF THE GAA could bottle and sell the excitement this fixture produces they could clear the national debt in a year. These teams seem averse to the dull and predictable when they meet one another.
Yesterday’s Munster final may not have reached the vintage of 2004, but when Tony Browne, the tireless Waterford warrior, snapped a goal for his team in the 74th minute of the match, it marked another perfect crescendo to an absorbing Munster classic.
And the drama did not even finish there. Michael Cussen, the big Cork substitute whose entry had obliterated the cohesion of Waterford’s defence, had a late, late chance to graffiti his name in the sky when he sent a shot looping towards the town goal.
For a second, it looked like the ball might carry, but, with Niall McCarthy screaming through the middle, the ball tailed wide.
Waterford, not for the first time in their harem-scarem recent history, had survived.
And defeat would have been the bitterest taste because, for three-quarters of this final, they had a firm grip on the match.
The teams will meet in Semple Stadium next Saturday evening at 7pm and, in a burst of generosity to the 35,375 in attendance here, the GAA have declared the price of admission will be reduced by €5.
It was ironic that Browne, perhaps the most venerable of Waterford’s old guard, struck the decisive blow because it was a day when their mid-career men shone. Shane O’Sullivan had a fine match, landing two points in a tight first half and claiming hard ball in the midfield sector.
Michael Walsh was sensational for Waterford, not just because he hauled so much ball down from the sky but because of the use he made of it throughout.
It was Walsh who drilled the low ball that led to John Mullane’s opening point, Walsh who again found Mullane to initiate Waterford’s promising blitz of three quick points after half-time and Walsh who saw and supplied Eoin Kelly with the ball for the play that marked another stunning goal in the Passage player’s career.
Waterford were trailing by 2-12 to 0-14 at this point and with 58 minutes gone, they must have found the scoreboard bewildering. Just five minutes earlier, they had led 0-13 to 0-12 and Ben O’Connor was the only Cork forward to manage a score from play.
The Waterford strategy of refusing to rain ball down on the Cork half-backs was paying off and Liam Lawlor – with terrific cover from Eoin Murphy and Noel Connors – was coping with the size and unorthodox athleticism of Aisake Ó hAilpín on the edge of the Waterford square.
Nonetheless, Cork were beginning to find the pressure points. Donal Óg Cusack, frustrated at seeing Cork’s puck-outs gobbled up in the first half, twice found big Cussen with perfect deliveries in the second half, the first which led to a free for Aisake Ó hAilpín on 49 minutes.
It was a significant concession because it convinced the Waterford mentors it was time to pull Lawlor – already on a yellow – ashore. Declan Prendergast, who had been having a fine game on the wing, dropped back on Aisake detail. And something in the Waterford defence gave.
On 54 minutes, another Cusack puck-out was sweetly flicked on by Ben O’Connor and the younger Ó hAilpín was in the clear for the first time all day. He goaled, the red terrace went wild and the game had no sooner restarted than O’Connor followed up, racing on to Kieran Murphy’s handpass and finishing with his customary coolness.
So now Waterford had fallen into a hole and when Kelly collected that pass from Walsh, it required something special. Kelly brushed Shane O’Neill aside and cut loose with an inspired, perfect shot from 21 yards that gave Cusack little chance.
Waterford were suddenly back in familiar country; defiant, living dangerously and poised for late melodrama.
Cork found it hard to play their way into this match. In the beginning, Cathal Naughton used his speed and light touch to tremendous effect, swooping to clean up midfield ball and striking two fine points.
Niall McCarthy had a lionhearted match, pocketing plenty of Cork ball that he had no right to and stepping up to clip a well -earned point on 65 minutes when it seemed as if his side would hang on. Cusack also looked sharp, alert to the few occasions when Cork men were left free on his restarts and masterfully stopping and controlling a Kelly shot from distance on 32 minutes.
Tom Kenny hit full stride on occasion, John Gardiner’s influence grew with the game, Ronan Curran collected whatever ball came his way and O’Connor, who hit three sideline cuts and a free wide in the first half, had a big second half.
But, as a unit, Cork were slow to warm here until the game spun dramatically in their favour after that two-goal rush.
For even after Kelly’s wonderful strike, it appeared as if Cork would make it across the line. Corner back Brian Murphy had the chutzpah to bang a score from halfway and a foul on Cussen led to an O’Connor free and a goal margin between the teams after 72 minutes. That set up Waterford’s speciality: the Last Stand.
Mullane took possession, busied the Cork defence and as he went to strike, Brian Murphy was called up for playing the opponent’s hurley. It was a brave call so late in the match and, unlike the fiasco in Croke Park, the correct one.
Eoin Kelly blasted unsuccessfully for goal from 23 yards and then Browne, 19 years a-hunting now, swooped to drill home the rebound and give Waterford fans yet another back-from-the-dead story and plans for another visit to Thurles on Saturday night.
