The wonder of the game of hurling was once more on display in Croke Park last Sunday week…

Last year, Cork and Waterford served up an extravaganza of skill and drama in one of the great Munster hurling finals. On Sunday week the same teams engaged in a dogfight for survival which was almost as gripping and which, inevitably, was ultimately decided by one flash of inspiration amidst the buckets of perspiration expended by both teams. Perhaps that should be two flashes of inspiration, as Joe Deane’s flick back from the end line was crucial in giving Brian Corcoran his opening. Ironically, that was the only time in the entire second half that Deane – otherwise well marshalled by the excellent Eoin Murphy – played the ball to any effect.

Last year, Paul Flynn was the source of inspiration underpinning Waterford’s great victory. Last Sunday week, his main role was to take the place of someone else who should have been playing. Flynn should never have taken the field against Cork. In his 65 minutes on the field he played the ball in open play just once. Waterford have plenty of other players who can take frees. Surely a fully-fit player of even moderate ability would have offered a greater threat than an immobile Flynn.

Whatever hope there may have been of Flynn picking up breaking ball around the square was dashed by the clueless Waterford ploy of belting high balls into the Cork goal area. An Moltóir counted thirteen instances of such ball being played in, and the Cork defence (mainly Diarmuid O’Sullivan) won twelve of them. Even at his most mobile, Flynn would have had little chance competing for these balls with a man twice his size.

The other forwards to whom Waterford might have looked for alternative sources of inspiration were all marked absent. Eoin Kelly and John Mullane were entirely lacking in focus, arguing with anyone within earshot rather than concentrating on their tasks. It was a wonder Kelly finished the game at all, given the amount of mouthing, fouling and digging he indulged in. There was a general lack of discipline in Waterford’s play, with seven of Cork’s points coming directly from silly frees conceded by the Déise men.

Justin McCarthy has always said that the key to winning hurling matches is the minimisation of error. His own charges certainly proved that last Sunday. Apart from his failure to send them out onto the field in a proper frame of mind, McCarthy was culpable in many other areas. Aside from the decision to play Paul Flynn, he also negatived the scoring threat offered by Dan Shanahan by placing him on the left wing. Apart from his regular goals, Shanahan’s main scoring ploy has been to grab high balls out on the right, turn inside and shoot. As a lefthanded player, this option was not available on the other wing. One also wonders whether, if Clinton Hennessy had played against Clare in Ennis, would Waterford now be preparing for the semi-finals?

The pity of it all from Waterford’s point of view is that the trend of play suggests that, overall, they held a territorial advantage. While both teams made a very similar number of plays (143 for Cork and 139 for Waterford), analysis of who made the plays indicates that the ball spent more time in the Cork goal area than at the other end of the field. Between them, the Cork fullbacks and the Waterford full forwards played the ball 53 times; for their opposite numbers at the other end, the total was just 31. A key difference was that, whereas the plays in the Waterford goal area broke fairly evenly between backs and forwards, at the other end two thirds of the plays were made by the Cork fullbacks. All three played extremely well, with Pat Mulcahy having a real stormer in the second half.

Another feature of this game was the unusually high level of involvement of all the midfielders. For Waterford, Brick Walsh and Dave Bennett played the ball thirteen times, as did Tom Kenny for Cork. However, not for the first time, Jerry O’Connor was Cork’s leading playmaker on 18. Ken McGrath filled this role for Waterford with 15 plays; the excellent Seamus Prendergast was just one behind, whereas his marker Ronan Curran had just six plays. This hole in the middle of the Cork defence should have provided a match-winning channel for Waterford.

Ultimately, Cork’s win can be put down to a superb fullback line, a hardworking midfield, Waterford’s indiscipline and Corcoran’s stroke of genius. While Seán Óg ÓhAilpín put in another strong performance, John Gardiner fell way short of the standard set in the Munster final. Apart from Ben O’Connor in the second half, their half forward line made no impression on the excellent Déise half backs, and An Moltóir is by no means the only person who is mystified by the continued presence of Timmy McCarthy in the Rebels’ starting lineup. At the same time, Cork were up against very formidable opposition in Waterford, and despite not firing on all cylinders, still managed to survive. They could be a different kettle of fish the next time around.

Which brings us to the insipid curtain-raiser. An Moltóir was reminded of last year’s All-Ireland football final, which he watched in a midlands hotel in the company of an elderly couple. About two thirds of the way through the first half, the man turned to his partner and observed that Mayo were not at the races. Quick as a flash came the reply: “They must be at the races, as they certainly are not in Croke Park”.

It was much the same with Wexford. Brittle and all as Waterford’s temperament was, they still fought like tigers up to the end. Wexford simply died without a whimper. The game plan which they have used to such effect against Kilkenny – to play the ball first time into the open spaces – is even more apt when the opposition is Clare, a big team which is always likely to dominate in the air and in the close exchanges. Yet, right from the start last Sunday, Wexford fell back to their old failings of picking and poking, and never relished the physical challenge presented by a highly committed Banner side.

In the circumstances, it is impossible to judge the true merits of this Clare team. However, all the signs are definitely positive. Two good wins in a row will have raised their confidence. The remarkable renaissance shown by Colin Lynch against Waterford appears not to have been a flash in the pan, and Seánie McMahon was really enjoying himself against the Yellow Bellies. Niall Gilligan is showing glimpses of the form which marked him out as a forward of exceptional ability in the late 1990s, and Tony Griffin looks capable of becoming a scoring forward of some substance.

Unlike Justin McCarthy, Anthony Daly seems capable of getting his players in the right frame of mind and has been giving his substitutes plenty of playing time. In even greater contrast to McCarthy, Daly has also got his team into an All-Ireland semi-final…