Munster SHC Semi-final/Waterford 4-10 Tipperary 3-12: Sometimes you can simply forget the issues that buzz like flies around big matches - what a result might prove about a team's character; how certain switches and ploys work out - and just go with the flow.
Yesterday's Guinness Hurling championship semi-final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh emerged from beneath the shadow of its various agendas to enthral and entertain a big crowd and for the moment that was enough.
The bare facts are that an exhilarating goal a minute from time by Waterford replacement Paul O'Brien derailed Tipperary's challenge, largely a one-man show up front by Eoin Kelly, and earned his side a place in the Munster final against Cork in three weeks' time.
On a beautiful summer's afternoon with the Cork venue's playing surface looking better than for a long time, the hurlers of Waterford and Tipperary set about their business in a match punctuated by scores - some high quality, some a matter of regret for the defenders - and provided an exciting 70 minutes with the result in the balance until the very end.
It mightn't have been classical stuff but there were plenty of good performances and something for both teams to take home and ponder.
In as much as background issues have to be considered, this was a vital win for Waterford. For the first time they have followed one strong performance with another and gone into a match under the weight of expectation and survived its burden.
They produced their customary hot spells of hurling but more impressively, weathered the now inevitable comeback only to hit hard themselves just before the end and raise their game sufficiently to hang on to a minimal advantage through three nerve-racking minutes of additional time.
To have lost to Tipperary would have been a terrible reverse. Waterford were better throughout the field and apart from the prodigious Eoin Kelly, their opponents carried as limited a scoring threat as is possible for a side that racked up 3-12 and came within an ace of winning.
The week's speculation about the composition of the teams proved largely accurate with Lar Corbett confirming he hadn't gone from crutches on Tuesday to a starting place in a Munster championship match by dropping out with, as expected, John Devane taking his place in the full forwards.
Unexpected news came with the announcement that Waterford's 1998 Hurler of the Year, Tony Browne, was off the team because of a hamstring injury. His position at wing back went to Brian Wall, who after a momentary swap with Eoin Murphy, played competently there for the match.
Being able to tolerate that loss with apparent equanimity is another plus for Waterford whose vital half-back line belied its relative inexperience with a polished display. Ken McGrath confirmed the big impression he'd made at centre back against Clare with a dominant first-half display. He wasn't as prominent in the second and Tipp replacement Conor Gleeson broke a few balls off him until injury forced his early withdrawal.
Brian Phelan took up the reins and delivered an excellent performance. In the manic exchanges at the end when Waterford were defending their one-point lead, Phelan won three crucial possessions to lift the siege as Tipp came looking for a replay.
In fact in the early stages of the match it was both defences that were on top with scores coming at a slow rate amid little enough play of note. Yet again we had a player who might have done worse than a yellow card but referee Diarmuid Kirwan chose the lesser punishment after Waterford's Eoin Kelly pulled wildly.
Declan Prendergast, called in at full back by Justin McCarthy, paid his way in the 17th minute with a goal-line clearance that preserved his team's one-point lead, 0-3 to 0-2.
In the second quarter the fireworks began. The fuse was lit by Dan Shanahan in his newly acquired role of goal-scoring machine. A line ball by Dave Bennett was fielded and dispatched to the net. A remarkable five minutes ensued. First Shanahan added a second, amid suspicions of a square-ball offence, touching in a long ball from Kelly.
At that stage Waterford led by 2-3 to 0-2, a seven-point buffer. Even at their most calamitous, Waterford would have hoped to make such a lead last longer than 90 seconds but that's how long it took the remarkable Eoin Kelly to haul Tipp level.
Neither goal will be a comfortable memory for Waterford goalkeeper Stephen Brenner. The first squeezed in at the near post and the second was directed across the goal with more accuracy than power and hopped on its way into the corner of the net. In between Kelly had nicked a point and suddenly the match was level.
The quickened momentum continued until the half-time break with Waterford grabbing a third goal, a good finish by an otherwise well contained John Mullane, who was sent in by Micheál Walsh.
Tipperary needed to find an complementary scoring threat. Kelly ended the afternoon with 2-8, all but four points from play, but otherwise none of the starting forwards scored apart from a late point by Tommy Dunne. Séamus Butler played well on being introduced in the second half and John Devane efficiently played his role as a target man. But overall, the impact wasn't enough.
The backs were better. Diarmuid Fitzgerald held his own in a difficult debut at centre back whereas Eamonn Corcoran and Paul Kelly battled all the way. In goal, Brendan Cummins had a great match, taking up where he had left off in his All Star year, making a number of quality saves, including a double from O'Brien and the waiting Paul Flynn.
The match hung in the balance and Kelly had a point waved wide when the Tipperary support believed it had gone over in the 42nd minute.
It didn't appear to matter when with little over 10 minutes left and Waterford having failed to score from a sequence of control and pressure, up popped another debutant, Colin Morrissey, to cap a mazy solo from deep with a finish to match and a 3-11 to 3-9 lead.
Waterford's initial response wasn't encouraging and Mullane was guilty of a bad wide as the clock started to run down. Then with two points still in it, Séamus Prendergast - whose arrival around the middle helped turn the possession stakes around in the second half - sent in a raking ball that O'Brien ran on to from the right corner and made connection with a precise clip to hit the winning goal.
WATERFORD: 1 S Brenner; 2 J Murray, 3 D Prendergast, 22 B Wall; 5 B Phelan, 6 K McGrath, 4 E Murphy; 8 D Bennett (0-2, one '65), 12 E Kelly (0-2, one free); 11 D Shanahan (2-0), 9 M Walsh (0-1), 15 P Flynn (0-2, one free); 13 J Mullane (1-0), 14 S Prendergast (0-2), 10 E McGrath (0-1). Subs: 21 P O'Brien (1-0) for E McGrath (44 mins), 24 S O'Sullivan for Flynn (65 mins); 19 T Feeney for K McGrath (68 mins).
TIPPERARY: 1 B Cummins; 2 T Costello, 3 P Maher, 4 P Curran; 9 P Kelly (0-1, '65), 6 D Fitzgerald, 5 E Corcoran; 8 E Enright, 7 C Morrissey (1-1); 13 T Dunne (0-1), 11 J Carroll, 12 B Dunne; 14 E Kelly (2-8, four frees), 18 J Devane, 10 P O'Brien. Subs: 17 S Butler (0-1) for O'Brien (half-time); 22 M Maher for Costello (half-time); 21 C Gleeson for Carroll (46 mins); 26 M O'Leary for B Dunne (68 mins).
Referee: D Kirwan (Cork).
