GAELIC GAMES NHL Division One A/Waterford 0-25 Cork 2-15: This is February, and although with all the talk of heavy training and "taking a look" at players it shouldn't happen, sometimes you get a cracker of a match like this, writes Seán Moran at Páirc Uí Chaoimh
It wasn't perfect and the pitch was scabby, but there was some fine quality scattered throughout the afternoon, even if it couldn't realistically at this time of the year be sustained over the 70 minutes.
Waterford swooped for a second win in the Allianz National Hurling League Division One A at Páirc Uí Rinn yesterday. They did so despite being reduced to 14 men for three quarters of the match, including the entire second half against the wind. And of course they were playing the All-Ireland champions.
Cork can claim that they are seriously under strength, but with Séamus Prendergast's departure after two yellow cards in less than a minute, the visitors faced an immense challenge and really rose to it.
"There certainly was an edge to it," said Cork manager John Allen. "Every team we play are going to be measuring themselves by how they play against us. We're going to find the same against Clare, Wexford and Down."
Asked did he fear the worst after the sending off, Waterford manager Justin McCarthy was retrospectively calm.
"No. Genuinely no. I knew we could win it. We kept getting scores just after they had scored - even after the (first) goal."
That they did. Within a few minutes of Conor Cusack's well-executed, seventh-minute strike after Kieran Murphy (the Sarsfields version) had carved open the chance, Waterford had reclaimed the three points with a brace of Paul Flynn frees and a storming point out on the right wing from Prendergast.
Waterford used the wind well, and their long-range striking was impressive. Eoin Kelly was impeccable from frees and play for a first-half total of six points, but there was plenty of variety, with Prendergast, Brian Phelan and Jack Kennedy getting in on the act.
On the developmental front, it was a tough but instructive afternoon for young Kevin Moran at full back having to mark Joe Deane, whose early sharpness meant every conceded possession was dangerous. But Moran stuck to the job and was part of a top-class collective display after half-time, and also kept Deane scoreless from play.
Cork's goal looked to have punched a hole in the visitors' wind advantage, but a late scoring sequence sent Waterford in three points up, 0-13 to 1-7.
The obvious prescription at the break was to keep it tight at the back and maintain pressure on Cork's defence to prevent a platform for scores. It must have been a concern to Waterford that their opponents' quick-transfer game would press home the numerical advantage by locating the extra man up front.
But that proved more of a problem than anticipated. "We didn't utilise the extra man well and were hunting the game for a long time," said Allen. "We tried Cian O'Connor as the spare man between the full-back line and half-back line. Then we decided it should be Wayne Sherlock after half-time. But we were being beaten further out the field, so tried to bring Tom Kenny out and Wayne up. We can't be accused of not trying a few options.
"We were being beaten in too many positions, but then again we didn't have our full team out and we haven't been training as much as other teams and we're probably a month behind. Then you take out the O'Connors and Seán Óg and Pat Mulcahy - that's a very strong back bone."
In the end, the man who did more than any other to shape the second half was Michael Walsh. Switched to centrefield in the forced re-shuffle, he dominated the area and was instrumental in forcing Cork on to the back foot.
"Michael Walsh was outstanding. He doesn't know when to stop and has a fierce big heart. He caught some great balls and went straight at them," said McCarthy.
So despite all the disadvantages, Waterford found themselves out-scoring Cork by 0-6 to 0-3 in the third quarter, doubling their interval advantage. John Mullane came into the match strongly after a frustrating first half where, despite winning some good ball off Sherlock out on the wing, he didn't convert it into anything tangible.
Relocated to the full-forward line he stepped it up, and, as well as taking two good points, used his pace to pick up ball and keep the screw turning. Dan Shanahan emerged as a replacement in the 47th minute, caused trouble in the air and bagged three points into the bargain.
Constantly under pressure at the back, Cork weren't faring much better in attack where the Waterford defence tussled for everything, and at times you'd have struggled to see where they were a man short. Hurler of the year John Gardiner was introduced to bolster the resistance and he managed an unusual, kicked point from about 25 metres.
Ronan Conway was game and knocked over two points and three wides.
Neil Ronan came on for the All-Ireland champions and got a respectable late total of 1-1 - the goal an injury-time embellishment - and earlier Diarmuid O'Sullivan saw his ballistic 20-metre free deflected over the bar by Clinton Hennessy.
But the winners had too much in the bank to run into trouble.
CORK: D Cusack (capt); B Murphy, K Cronin, C O'Connor; W Sherlock, R Curran, D O'Sullivan (0-2, one free); T Kenny (0-1), K Hartnett; K Murphy (0-2), N McCarthy (0-1), M O'Connell (0-1); K Murphy, J Deane (0-4, two frees and a 65), C Cusack (1-0). Subs: R Conway (0-2) for O'Connell (31 mins), J Gardiner (0-1) for Hartnett (47 mins), N Ronan (1-1) for McCarthy (55 mins), G Callanan for O'Connor (60 mins).
WATERFORD: C Hennessy; T Feeney, K Moran, D Coffey; B Phelan (0-1), J Murray, E Murphy; E Kelly (0-7, five frees), S O'Sullivan (0-1); S Prendergast (0-1); M Walsh (0-2), J Mullane (0-2); P Flynn (capt; 0-6, four frees), C Carey (0-1), J Kennedy (0-1). Subs: G O'Connor for O'Sullivan (46 mins), D Shanahan (0-3) for Carey (47 mins), E McGrath for Kennedy (60 mins).
Referee: S Roche (Tipperary).
