TODAY IN CROKE Park unfolded like we had expected.
Waterford came out and put it up to Kilkenny, playing like they did all year. Their youth shone through, they played fearless hurling and were certainly not overawed by occasion.
But they didn’t have enough in their attack to cause an upset and Kilkenny were a step up in standard.
Kilkenny will be really happy, another All-Ireland final date booked and this has been achieved without too much fuss. Wexford, Galway and now Waterford beaten. They’ve cruised into another September decider.
Work Rate
Again today they showed that their work rate is the thing that sets them apart. Their tackling was outstanding and their forwards again illustrated how they can win their own ball.
Kilkenny’s tackling and intensity levels were top class. Whoever is going to beat them is going to have to match them in those own departments.
TJ Reid and Richie Hogan are taking up the mantle of leadership now that Henry Shefflin carried for so long. TJ is leading the team and getting the vital scores at the vital times. He’s excellent at the frees, chips away with his points from play and got the only goal of the game.
Richie Hogan was quiet in the first-half but still hit two points and then fired over three more after the break. 1-14 as a combined return from that duo was hugely valuable considering other Kilkenny forwards weren’t as prominent.
Happy
Waterford would have been happy with their first-half display. They were tipping along in the game and a couple of their scores, Austin Gleeson’s from play and a massive free a mile out from Maurice Shanahan, really got their supporters going.
Kilkenny only had two scorers in the first half and Waterford were impressive at the back. Tadhg De Búrca played a lot of ball and was excellent in the sweeper role.
Goal
The goal was probably a big mistake, two players went for the same ball, TJ Reid used all his experience to claim the break and bury the ball to the net.
Waterford were under pressure from that point on. Kilkenny shut them out, knowing they would have to go long. Kilkenny defending the square, never let Waterford get inside them and Paul Murphy was particularly excellent in this regard.
The main area where Kilkenny excelled were their tackling in half-back line. What Waterford forwards were used to in Munster was working the ball through the lines and then when they got over the half way line, they had more space to create a score.
Kilkenny just waited for them in that half-back, half-forward area and then mauled them. That’s where Waterford got the least return today.
On Top
You could say Waterford were on top in the first ten minute but they needed to get further ahead than the 0-3 to 0-2 advantage they possessed. Waterford needed to get goals but they never looked like coming.
Playing with seven backs, you’re going to be dependent on guys running through to break down an opposition defence rather than pucking the ball in long. Kilkenny’s experienced defenders ate up those type of deliveries in the second-half.
Maurice Shanahan did well at times but he was their only target man. Kevin Moran and Brick Walsh were spending most of the time helping out their defence. Colin Dunford was a bright spot for them alright, bursting into the game in the second-half as he struck 0-4.
Shane Bennett, who was excellent the last day against Dublin, just failed to make that kind of impact here. You have to take into account he’s only a young fella out of minor and is just after doing his Leaving Cert. He couldn’t cope with the physicality of the Kilkenny defence but that’s to be expected, it takes time to develop.
In the ten minute period after half-time, if Waterford were going to mount a challenge, they needed to have a good shift. Instead Kilkenny put the points on the board and it was always going to be an uphill battle from there for Waterford.
Waterford stayed competitive to the very end but any time they got it back to three in the second-half, Kilkenny went upfield to tack on a handy point. Waterford defended well in only conceding 1-21 but Kilkenny created plenty chances and probably missed putting another 2-5 on the board.
The level of Kilkenny’s tackling took their toll on Waterford in forcing them to make mistakes at stages like fumbling the ball and producing poor clearances.
Against Kilkenny it’s really difficult to keep that running game going and I don’t think any team has the engine to sustain it for 70 minutes.
Look at Galway in the Leinster final, they tore into Kilkenny for the first 20-25 minutes and then just faded after that. Kilkenny’s appetite was exemplified today by Michael Fennelly, who may have looked a bit leggy and hadn’t much training under his belt but he still put in a fierce shift.
From a Waterford viewpoint, overall they’ll be have to be delighted with their season. They blooded a load of young fellas and took their game to a load of top teams. They’ll learn from this game and know they’ll have to get goals when they next meet Kilkenny.
They need to find one or two scoring forwards, preferably a big physical figure like Maurice Shanahan. Those players are not easy to come by, it’s going to take a couple of years physically for them to come through.
But after the disappointment of this game wears off, Waterford can reflect on a positive 2015. You’d have to say it has been a standard hurling championship and Waterford were a rare exception as a team you’d go watch. Players like Austin Gleeson have lit up the championship.
