Déise squander big chances in Banner defeat
Waterford's Joe McDonnell and Clare's Paul Rodgers have their eyes on the ball during their clash.
A late goal from Fred Hegarty proved to be to the detriment of the Déise as James O’Connor’s men began their Munster Under-20 Hurling Championship campaign with an agonising one-point defeat away to Clare.
Despite being a youthful group, Waterford were much the better side for large proportions of this game and served it up to a side many have tipped to compete for major honours this summer.
The Banner opened the scoring after a fiercely fought opening four minutes, the impressive Ronan Kilroy offloading to Darren Moroney, who struck with accuracy at speed, before a Hegarty free moved the hosts two ahead.
The Déise opened their account after seven minutes as Shane Power was fouled and David Comerford nailed the requisite dead ball, before he levelled affairs moments later via a 65.
Paddy Spelman was dragged down, and Comerford again made no mistake to hand Waterford a 13th-minute lead, before they doubled their advantage when the star of the show, Sean Mackey, burst free down the right flank and pointed with ease.
In what was fast becoming a scrappy and hard-fought affair, Clare bit back through a moment of quality from Daniel Costelloe, but Waterford responded excellently, notching three on the spin.
Mackey fired brilliantly over the shoulder to set the sequence in motion, before turning provider to Gearoid O’Shea, and he made no mistake when afforded acres.
The chance to establish real breathing room had seemingly arrived for the visitors on 28 minutes when a Hugo Quann delivery was expertly flicked to the net by the marauding Pat Walsh, though the goal was harshly ruled out for a square ball after referee Shane Scanlon consulted his umpires.
Despite that disappointment, Waterford were unfazed, Comerford wriggling free of his man to add his fourth as a four-point lead opened up. A Hegarty free made it 0-7 to 0-4 at the break, but with the likes of Joe McDonnell, Quann and company winning the battle for possession, the chance of a first victory at this grade in 1,435 days began to look all the more plausible.
Terence Fahy’s half-time words seemed to reap rewards for the hosts as they came out all guns blazing after the interval. Half-time substitute Ryan Hayes fired over with his first touch, before a belter from Costelloe reduced the lead to a single white flag.
Costly wides began to rack up for Waterford as another Hegarty free levelled matters once more. Both sides cursed spells of inaccuracy, before another substitute - Jack Mescall, clipped over Clare’s fifth without reply on 45 minutes.
Waterford replied with a timely strike from Comerford - their first score of the half - to draw level for a fourth occasion. They hit the front again four minutes afterward as Shane Power got away from Robert Loftus and dissected the uprights, but a classy 70-metre free from Hegarty established further honours even.
With the game in the melting pot, the Déise engineered two superb scores which were presumably going to be enough to take the points on offer. On 54 minutes, excellent work from Quann and McDonnell created an opportunity for Fiacra Cooney and the Ballygunner defender did what was required, before Mackey unleashed a stunner from the right flank, restoring a two-point cushion.
With two minutes of regular time to go, the bubble was burst cruelly by Clare. The substitutes made their mark once more as a Ryan Hayes delivery was expertly fielded by Paul Rodgers, and he turned provider to Hegarty, who made no mistake in blazing to the net.
There was still time for Mackey to add his fourth of the evening as the Déise would’ve now happily settled for a share of the spoils, but this was to be Clare’s night - Ronan Kilroy established possession from the resultant puckout and showed ice cold composure to find the target, stealing victory at the last viable opportunity.
A hard pill to swallow for James O’Connor and his fledgling Waterford side, but they will take great heart from many aspects of this display. Time for dwelling doesn’t exist as All-Ireland champions and provincial three-in-a-row seekers Tipperary visit Fraher Field next.
Fred Hegarty (1-4; 0-4f); Daniel Costelloe (0-2); Darren Moroney, Ryan Hayes, Jack Mescall and Ronan Kilroy (0-1 each)
David Comerford (0-5; 0-3f; 0-1 ‘65); Sean Mackey (0-4); Gearoid O’Shea, Shane Power and Fiacra Cooney (0-1 each)
Mark Sheedy; Eoghan Gunning, Robert Loftus, Joe Casey; Jamie Moylan, James Cullinan, Matthew O’Halloran; Daniel Costelloe, Darren Moroney; Ronan Kilroy, Michael Collins, Harry Doherty; Marco Cleary, Sean Arthur, Fred Hegarty.
Ryan Hayes for Harry Doherty (HT); Paul Rodgers for Marco Cleary (HT); Jack Mescall for Michael Collins (44); Michael Power for Sean Arthur (51); Ronan Keane for Darren Moroney (56)
James Comerford; Fiacra Cooney, Conor Lynch, Tomás Ahern; Bradley Penkert, Joe McDonnell, Cathal O’Sullivan; Hugo Quann, Paddy Spelman; Shane Power, Pat Walsh, Mark Hartley; Gearoid O’Shea, Sean Mackey, David Comerford.
Pierce Quann for Pat Walsh (47)
Shane Scanlon (Cork)
