PAUL FLYNN: Sunday is not a mission impossible against Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds
Waterford's Mark Fitzgerald and Limerick’s Seamus Flanagan battling it out during their 2023 Munster SHC clash in Thurles. Sunday's game is set up for a cracker. Photo: Inpho/Ken Sutton.
A sold out Cusack Park was the scene of Waterford’s latest outing in this absorbing Munster Senior Hurling Championship and after a hugely entertaining seventy plus minutes of action, we came out on the wrong side of the result by a single, late point.
The massive call at the end over a hotly disputed ‘65 caused tensions to run high understandably, but we now know it was a ‘65 but how lucky was the umpire that he guessed correctly. Another week where the umpires are making the headlines and he was a spilt second away from waving it wide.
The fuss over the last-minute decision can’t hide the fact that this was a huge opportunity for Waterford to pick up at least a point from the game to progress to the All-Ireland series. It must be remembered that Clare were without David McInerny and Tony Kelly.
The possession stat in the opening-half saw Waterford enjoy 70% of the ball but using the ball mainly without hands was ultimately our downfall. The comparison between the quality of delivery and more importantly the speed of delivery decided the game.
It must be a very frustrating experience playing inside for the Waterford forwards. The most surprising piece was the turnovers we conceded in the middle third by our most experienced players. Winning possession, turning back and playing it centrally into the crowed area simply didn’t work. Losing Darragh Lyons very early didn’t help the cause, but why wasn’t Shane Bennett the first option? Jack Prendergast set a good early tone running at the Clare defence but for the remaining 50 minutes we didn’t see any more of it.
John Conlon was like Tom Brady at centre back for Clare pinging balls from his central base, but realistically the two first-half goals were the winning and losing of the game. A team, which having been well drilled in defensive play, a team set up to be defensive with a low block of four players having Tadgh as the spearhead. How were there two runners from outfield all alone inside our small rectangle unmarked? Hammer blows. System break down!!
Modern hurling out done by direct play was the story of the first-half. Shane O’Donnell was electric in possession and gave Iarlaith Daly a hard afternoon. Having allowed Waterford enjoy possession Clare went in five points up at the break. A very impressive Mark Rodgers got an early second-half goal but after that the momentum swung in the visitors’ favour. Stephen Bennett operating in his natural habitat got a great goal. Clare continued to find their passes and only for some wayward shooting may well have been out of sight.
Four unanswered scores put Waterford right back in the game. Kevin Mahony had his shooting boots on landing four throughout the afternoon and a super score from Ian Kenny had the situation looking rather positive for Waterford.
Two players going for the one ball allowed Tony Kelly to slip past and despite Shaun O’Brien’s best effort to save the ball spilled over the goalline. All the hard work undone, but credit to the team who kept fighting.
Shane Bennett showed class in dispatching the penalty won by Patrick Fitzgerald in the 71st minute. The long range free delivered from Tony Kelly was drifting well wide of the posts, was there a need to play it? Could it have been allowed out of play? In the heat of battle these are the decisions that are made on instinct.
The outcome of the result now leaves a pretty simple scenario, we need to win in Limerick on Sunday to guarantee qualification out of Munster. The championship to date has been a fresh air compared to the horrid hurling that was served up in the few previous seasons. Most teams have abandoned the short puck out game putting a huge amount of pressure on the defenders in the one area of the pitch that a turnover can be detrimental. Cork let Limerick back into the game with two such mistakes. The driven puck out to the middle third is the safer option. Most game plans in hurling have already been exhausted but the one that hasn’t been out mastered is the quick ball. Primary possession is still King and Duggan on the wing for Clare is a super example of this.
Waterford have arguably had their best performances in the round robin away to Limerick in the last few seasons. Sunday is not a mission impossible in the Gaelic Grounds. Limerick have been using their squad to good effect with some new faces doing well. Adam English being one to watch, David Reidy has been very versatile and Cian Lynch is the standard for players currently with his link play making Limerick tick.
Playing through the lines and up the middle is right down Limerick’s alley. Cork went about playing Limerick on their own terms and perhaps that’s the way. The possession stat would count for very little after the 70 minutes if it’s not reflected on the scoreboard. A quick start is vital as Limerick have been very slow to get going in this year’s championship with the exception being against Tipperary. Trying not to concede can often have the reverse effect, the fear of a mistake always leads to a mistake. Waterford have the added incentive to knock Limerick out of the championship with a win if Clare beat Tipperary and having suffered more than most from this Limerick’s team dominance that would be a nice outcome. Knockout hurling is special!!
