Any notions that the qualifier system had devalued the Munster hurling championship must surely have been put to bed following the epic struggles in Thurles last weekend.

It occurred to An Moltóir that someone would have made a great TV programme by just training a couple of cameras on the faces of frazzled supporters through the course of both games. In the case of Saturday’s game it would have shown Tipp supporters moving from a feeling of satisfied triumphalism to increasing concern and then utter desperation as the Limerick comeback gained momentum in the second half. For Limerick fans it would have been the opposite, as dejected resignation was replaced by a glimmer of hope and then sheer elation as their heroes finally reeled the Tipp men in – and then had to do it all over again in extra time.

One wonders how many Limerick “supporters” had already left the ground before their Lazarus-like recovery got under way. As in the previous week, the Shannonsiders had plenty of real leaders when it mattered whereas Tipperary had no one to stand up against the flood of green shirts pouring through them. Brian Geary was a beacon of defiance right through, but again it was Ollie Moran who broke Tipperary hearts with his late points while the ageless Mark Foley was magnificent in extra time. It is hard to know how these teams will react to either winning or losing this tie, but many young players will have learned a lot about themselves – and so will their managers have learned a lot about them too.

But what about the supporters who had the good fortune to be present in Semple Stadium on Sunday? This was a game to drain the emotions as two superb teams went at it hammer and thongs. It had everything – unrelenting pace, super skill, magnificent scores including a bagful of goals, a missed penalty and the ultimate dénouement with Cork hitting the crossbar with virtually the final stroke of the game. An Moltóir has never experienced an atmosphere like it in Thurles, as both sets of supporters gave it everything to urge their favourites on to victory. Each set had its moments of ecstasy
as one side, then the other, appeared to have gained the upper hand, only for the course of the game to be reversed time and again.

Michael Lyster’s so-called analysts offered the opinion that Waterford deserved to win in the end. This is utter rubbish. It was an extraordinarily evenly-balanced game (just like the league semi-final between the same sides) which neither side deserved to win or lose. In the end it was snippets of good fortune which won it for the Déise – the ball
which hit their crossbar and stayed out, Ben O’Connor duffing his penalty lift (and The Rock not being there to take it in the first place), Cork hitting several bad wides. The statistics show clearly how even the game was. Waterford played the ball 153 times to Cork’s 152. Waterford edged the number of plays in the first half 84-76 and duly went in at half time in the lead; Cork had slightly more plays after half-time (76-69) and won the second half.

An Moltóir rates plays on a scale of 1-4 based on the importance and quality of plays. On this system Waterford had a clearer lead (273-267). John Mullane was the popular choice as man-of-the-match, but the player who really made it happen for Waterford was once again Ken McGrath, whose 18 plays earned a total rating of 33. It will surprise some to know that the second busiest player on the field was Brick Walsh, with 16 plays worth 29 ratings points. Our ratings system also placed Dan Shanahan’s contribution
ahead of Mullane’s, 25-23, both from eleven plays. Eoin Kelly was the only other Waterford player to break twenty, with 21.

On the other hand, Waterford’s Eoin Murphy only played the ball twice, two less than James Murray. Their opposite numbers, Kieran “Hero” Murphy and Joe Deane, both amassed 22 ratings points. By leaving Murphy and Murray on the field as long as he did, Justin McCarthy handed a massive lifeline to Cork. When he replaced Murray, Brian Phelan made a huge contribution to Waterford’s cause, playing the ball seven times in the 15 minutes he was on the pitch.

Ben O’Connor was Cork’s leading playmaker, with 26 points from 15 plays including some excellent points from frees and a sideline), followed by Ronan Curran with 24 points from 14 plays. Pa Cronin was next with 23 points, ahead of the aforementioned Murphy and Deane with 22 each. Cronin had a great tussle with Tony Browne, who ended up with 18 points himself.

Cork will draw great consolation by the performances of their three relative newcomers in the forwards, Cronin and the two Murphys. They now have genuine ball-winning ability on the wings, while Fraggy Murphy certainly showed an eye for goal on Sunday. Cork’s replacement defenders did not have as good a time of it, but they have now got priceless experience of playing at the highest level which will stand to them.

Michael Lyster’s pair of jesters also referred to Waterford targetting the new Cork fullback, Cian O’Connor, with high balls into the goal area. The idea of Waterford having any kind of game plan under Justin McCarthy is laughable in itself, and the idea that Waterford’s goals came from high balls is simply invalid. Only John Mullane’s goal came from this route. Three of Waterford’s goals came from players gaining possession fifty yards out and running in on the Cork goal, while Dan Shanahan’s goal came after a
high ball which landed about 25 yards out bounced through to Ronan Curran who failed to control it.

Ironically, two of Cork’s goals came from the long ball route, and could have been prevented had the Waterford defenders tried to bat the ball out rather than trying to catch it. Indeed, despite the overall quality of the Déise display, it was still littered with mistakes (fumbles, failed lift attempts, misplaced passes, silly fouls, bad misses). An Moltóir counted 31 in all, compared to just 16 for Cork. If Waterford can reduce the error count significantly, they will be an awesome force.

It was also a game full of individual incident. “Hero” Murphy committed a rather nasty foul on Declan Prendergast early on for which he was not penalised, and subsequently made a meal of Prendergast’s harmless and accidental tap on his face guard (for which the Waterford fullback was rather harshly yellow carded). Ken McGrath’s pull on Niall McCarthy’s foot was also nasty and, in this scribe’s view, merited a yellow card.

There were two excellent examples of Tom Kenny’s combination of pace and vision, the first when he dashed into the left hand corner from midfield to take a pass from Joe Deane and nail Cork’s fifth point, and the second when he made a similar dash to prevent Paul Flynn scoring what looked like a certain goal (although the injury sustained in the process possibly cost Cork the game anyway).

And, of course, one has to ask why Barry Kelly took no action when John Gardiner threw his hurley at Eoin Kelly as he scored Waterford’s clinching fifth goal. Rule 5.24 of the rules of hurling specifies a caution (i.e. yellow card) for throwing a hurley “in a manner which consititutes a danger to another player(s)”. Having already been yellow carded for a foul on Stephen Molumphy, Gardiner should have walked.

Ultimately, then, Cork, Limerick and Tipperary are all likely to come out of last weekend’s games as more formidable hurling outfits, while Waterford are already playing at a higher level than they have done before. It looks like it could be one hell of a championship!