Old habits die hard for the Déise Camogie

With the greatest of respect, the primary emotion associated with watching the Waterford Senior Camogie team at present is inevitably frustration.

Such capability, such promise, such talent and all the ingredients for success but so often the results don’t come to pass.

That said, Sunday’s encounter with Cork is one in which Waterford can blame no one else but themselves for the reasons why the game went the way it did.

Similar mistakes lead to the same eventuality - a sloppy goal conceded, a resultant loss of momentum, concession of soft frees, inefficiency in front of goal and an inability to close an early deficit despite best efforts.

It wasn’t exactly a vintage Cork performance by any stretch, but it didn’t have to be. The Rebels were comfortably efficient, taking the chances that came their way and never really looking under sustained pressure from a Waterford side that simply couldn’t generate enough attacking threat to force the issue.

The statistics tell their own story. Playing with the assistance of the breeze in the second half, Waterford managed just 0-3 from play, while Cork struck 1-3 from open play before the break. Even more concerning was the fact that Waterford still lost the second half by three points despite now having the benefit of the elements. Cork were clinical whenever opportunities presented themselves, whether from placed balls or from play, while Waterford repeatedly left scores behind them through poor shot selection, wayward finishing and an inability to convert pressure into scoreboard returns.

The simple reality is that 0-10 will not win many championship matches, certainly not against the calibre of opposition Waterford aspire to compete with. Elsewhere, Galway underlined the standards required by putting 3-17 past Tipperary. For a period it appeared as though the gap between Waterford and the established elite was beginning to narrow. Performances like Sunday’s are a reminder that the gap can just as quickly widen again if standards slip.

There were positives, albeit too few to outweigh the negatives. Eimear O’Neill once again carried the fight and never stopped driving her side forward despite the circumstances. Clodagh Carroll also impressed with a composed and industrious display, while it was undoubtedly encouraging to see Lorraine Bray return to action after injury. Even in limited minutes, her presence was evident, and perhaps more tellingly, Waterford’s reliance on her influence was highlighted by how much they had missed it before she entered the fray.

Niamh Rockett’s dismissal merely compounded the frustration on an afternoon where discipline deserted Waterford too often. They became embroiled in a series of off-the-ball exchanges that did little other than disrupt their own rhythm and hand Cork needless opportunities through avoidable frees.

It felt uncharacteristic of a side that has generally prided itself on composure in recent seasons. Championship camogie is fiercely competitive and physical, but Waterford simply cannot allow themselves to become distracted or lose their discipline in that manner again.

At the time of writing, whether Kilkenny or Clare await in the All-Ireland quarter-final remains unknown. In truth, however, the opposition is almost secondary. It is Waterford, not whoever stands across from them, who have the point to prove.

Their summer now hangs in the balance and another display like Sunday’s will almost certainly bring it to an abrupt conclusion.

The ability within this squad has never been in question. They have already shown over the past number of years that reaching an All-Ireland decider is well within their capabilities, and if they can recapture their best form there is no reason they cannot do so again. Potential alone wins nothing.

The next day out demands a response in every facet of performance. Otherwise, another promising campaign will ultimately be remembered for what might have been rather than what was achieved.

I trust Beth Carton, Lorraine Bray and Eimear O’Neill to lead Waterford over the line into the semi-finals, but they will need to produce a lot more and they don’t need me to tell them - they will know full well themselves. Thankfully, it is often when Waterford are wounded that they produce their best work.

Fingers crossed that case applies again.