'All to play for' as Waterford and Cork face off in Walsh Park

This Sunday, April 21 – Walsh Park 4pm. Munster S.H.C. Waterford V Cork 

It may be just a first game of four in the Round Robin Munster Championship but for Cork and Waterford Sunday’s clash in Walsh Park will be no different to a knockout fixture. Earlier in the afternoon, at 2 pm the front runners for the Munster, and some will say the All Ireland title, Limerick and Clare, will get things underway in Ennis and whatever team loses will remain favourite to go on and contest the Munster final against the winner. The remaining teams, Waterford, Cork and Tipperary will be involved in a dog fight to secure the remaining two Munster places in the McCarthy Cup, according to all the experts.

It remains to be seen how such a scenario pans out over the following weeks but for Waterford and Cork a win on Sunday is all important as it would leave the winner needing just one further victory to remain in the race for the McCarthy Cup. In Waterford’s case defeat would mean having to beat Tipperary two weeks later in Walsh Park and then winning away to either Clare or Limerick.

Cork go into Sunday’s game as strong favourites as a result of beating Waterford in the league on a score of 1-21 to 1-19 and finishing their campaign with a decisive win over a Wexford team that had beaten Waterford the previous week.

Cork’s last championship visit to Walsh Park was in 2022 not too long after Waterford, under Liam Cahill, had inflicted a decisive 4-20 to 1-23 on the Rebels in that year’s league decider. Cork came away from Walsh Park that day having reversed the result of the League final on a score of 2-22 to 1-19, demonstrating that league form does not always follow on into the championship. The following year Cork all but ended Waterford’s championship campaign with a one sided 0-27 to 0-18 win in Pairc Uí Chaoimh as it was then.

That much said, Waterford have not beaten Cork in league or championship since that league final win of 2022. Little has changed in the make-up of either side in the two years since with twelve of that Cork team seeing action in this year’s final game of the league against Wexford. Waterford were badly hit by injuries to a number of key players throughout this year’s league campaign and while some returned to see action towards the end others were deemed to need that bit longer to attain championship fitness.

Injuries, long term and short term, dogged Waterford throughout the league and while only one win was secured against newly promoted Offaly a narrow one point defeat to Clare and a two point loss to Cork might easily have gone the other way while only one goal, a puck of the ball, was the difference in the losses to Wexford and Kilkenny. Considering the injuries that dogged the league campaign the results and the final league table may give a distorted impression of just where Waterford are going into this championship.

Since the Kilkenny game, in house games , a week of warm weather training in Portugal and a challenge against Wexford, all behind closed doors, have taken place in the run up to this week and while the word out is that the long term injured are in the mix for selection on Sunday and Calum Lyons, who was considered doubtful, is believed to have made a speedy recovery from injury though Peter Hogan is said to have joined the injured list.

Given the word that Conor Prunty, Tadhg De Burca, Iarlaith Daly and Michael Kiely have been taking a full part in training and games over recent weeks one can only speculate as to how Waterford will line out on Sunday next. In a perfect world it would be expected that all five players would be in the starting line up but given how little competitive action they have seen there is a risk factor to consider. On the other hand if they do not play on Sunday then the same situation arises for the following game against Tipperary so, if fit, all are in the mix to start against Cork. There is however, some doubt as to Stephen Bennett’s readiness to play a full seventy minutes.

Shaun O’Brien will line out in goal and it is very important that he gets his puck out strategy right on the day. Conor Prunty will most likely return at fullback with Mark Fitzgerald also in the line with fitness in training to decide whether Kenny, Daly or Kieran Bennett will take the third fullback line position.

Calum Lyons will almost certainly line out at wing back and if De Burca is passed fit enough to play it beggars the question as to what role Billy Nolan will have in the defensive set up, if any. Considering he settled into De Burca’s role in last year’s championship win over Tipperary and in the more recent league games one would have to wonder just how De Burca and Nolan would operate in the same defence. With De Burca lining out at centre back Jack Fagan and Darragh Lyons would be in contention for the other wing back position.

The midfield pairing of Paddy Leavey and Jamie Barron looks straight forward but it is in attack the difficult decisions will have to be made.

Stephen Bennett has been rested through the later stages of the league and it is not expected that he will start on Sunday though he may well be on the bench. In an ideal man on man situation a full forward line of Dessie Hutchinson, Michael Kiely and Shane Bennett would trouble any defence but given Waterford’s set up in recent times we may have but two players up front . Shane Bennett appears to be coming back to his best form while Jack Prendergast is the players in possession in the half forward line with the Fitzgeralds, Padraig and Patrick, Patrick Curran and Neil Montgomery also in contention for starting places.

Just how Cork will line out on Sunday may be more predictable. Padraig Collins will be in goal while Damien Cahalane, the Downeys, Ger Mellerick, Ciaran Joyce and Sean O’Donoghue are likely to fill the defensive positions though Mark Coleman is believed to have made an unexpected recovery from injury and played in a recent win over Galway. Darragh Fitzgibbon will line out in midfield with reliables Seamus Harnedy, Conor Lehane and Patrick Horgan in attack backed up by goal scoring specialist Alan Connolly and Shane Barrett.

From a Waterford perspective it all comes down to how the team is set up. We can expect a sweeper system which means just two forwards up front and in that situation we need players with pace, such as Dessie Hutchinson. Michael Kiely or Shane Bennett, receiving fast ball from outfield. The puck out strategy must be improved on what we saw during the league with Waterford winning ball in the middle third and sending on quickly to the front runners.

There is no doubting that Waterford have the players to win this game. It comes down to how well the injured players have recovered and how well the game plan works on the day. Going into this game as outsiders will do Waterford no harm at all. It is time for Waterford to make home advantage count and that can only be done by the real