ON THE LONG days when Waterford supporters were traipsing home from Thurles or else De Pairc during the Munster championship of 2023, they could always console themselves that a fresh spring day in a revamped Walsh Park would give them that little bit more.
Well here we are. Four games into the season and Walsh Park has been spruced up and brushed down and all around was licked in fresh paint.
But the results? Eh… Still the same. Dress it up whatever way you want but Waterford will not be among the group of the top seven teams in the country in 2025.
The margins have been tight. A point loss to Clare on 11 February. One puck of the ball here against Wexford. They are close. And then take into account the injury list – totted up as 13 by mid-February. In a world of narrow losses, Waterford have a reservoir of excuses close to hand.
Manager Davy Fitzgerald might be accused of reaching for them, but he’s only answering the questions he’s been asked.
Yesterday he was able to start Shane Bennett, Jamie Barron and Peter Hogan for the first time this league. Dessie Hutchinson was making his first return this year. On the treatment table? Iarlaith Daly, Stephen Bennett, Conor Prunty,Tadgh de Búrca and Ian Kenny.
Then, there’s Austin Gleeson, Shane McNulty and Conor Gleeson also not involved for one reason or another.
All that paints a picture that leaves you seeking some balance.
Former Wexford hurler Tom Dempsey was on the Our Game podcast on Monday at lunchtime and he recounted with a scratch of the head how Waterford began the game at the first throw-in.
Four forwards had come over close to the stand side. If the intention was to empty out a wing for a sharp delivery or a clear run at goal, then fair enough. But really?
The same thing that cost them against Wexford was there in the previous games; the inability to stay with their opponents in the third quarter, or ‘Championship quarter’ as it’s called by the Australian sports fraternity.
Stephen Long, the Connacht Rugby communications manager and keen Waterford hurling supporter, tweeted some incredible statistics in the wake of the game about Waterford’s record in that period, as follows;
Offaly 0-6 Waterford 0-2.
Clare 0-6 Waterford 0-2.
Cork 1-7 Waterford 0-1.
Wexford 1-9 Waterford 0-4.
After the Clare match, Fitzgerald had the trend identified.
“The first 15 minutes after half-time was the game for us,” he said.
“It killed us. That was the only time we let them run the ball a bit. Once we got to grips with that, we were fine. We finished the strongest.”
After the Cork defeat, he was hopping.
“It’s the same f**king thing — that 15 minutes after half-time. The exact same as the last two games. I think Cork are one of the best teams out there. I’d be very straight, I think they are. But we f**king made them look exceptionally good with the way we let them run at us for the first 15 minutes.”
They experimented on Sunday, even sent the team out early to make sure they got the heart rates up. It only preceded their heaviest concession of scores in that period yet in this league.
It all adds up to the vista of Waterford playing Division 1B hurling next year.
What does it do to revenue? Lots.
It’s one of the unspoken truths of the GAA that county board figures spend a lot of nervous energy fretting over promotion and relegation.
In football, a certain county as Armagh for example. with a large fan base can always count on decent support as long as they are in Division 1 or 2.
Hurling’s eco-system is more delicate than that. Loss of gate receipts is a pain.
Instead of playing Kilkenny, Clare and Wexford, all of a sudden you are wondering if the likes of Westmeath, Laois or Antrim are going to bring much of a crowd.
But hang on a minute. What is the point worrying about attendances, really?
Just 3,571 attended the game on Sunday. That’s a game between two neighbouring counties in hurling’s top flight with a conveniently located stadium.
One of Dempsey’s other observations was that the Waterford support around him appeared pissed off. It’s clear that the second coming of Davy has not had the same ‘falling for each other hard’ feeling of that summer of not stopping believin’.
It’s not unfair to say that Davy Fitzgerald is moving into a period of his management career when he is in The José Mourinho Zone.
The initial flutter of excitement always came with a healthy side of morbid fascination when they move to a new team.
Some might say he is doing as well as he can with what he has. And given Waterford’s wretched underage record, maybe that’s also true. A brief reminder of that most ugly of statistics; since 2016, Waterford’s sole win in Munster U20 championship hurling came in a round-robin game against Kerry in 2022.
The balance has shifted. Fascination takes the Lion’s Share and the excitement is limited enough. All the fighting talk will remain. All that performative self-reflection and the non-blame-blame-games.
But the results have dried up. The methods puzzle and frustrate.
There’s always the Munster championship of course. But does anyone expect a different outcome than last year?
