Hard to catch the ball with a Kilkenny man looking over your shoulder
What a match. It was much less stressful this year to be watching the All-Ireland Final from a position that, as a Waterford fan, I’m far more accustomed to – that is, from the point of view of a neutral observer. And, do you know, I’ve noticed something that I haven’t noticed in years – that this Kilkenny team is a brilliant team! Seriously; they’re very good.
All jokes aside, though, Waterford could learn a lot from today’s display as to how to face a Kilkenny team in an All-Ireland Final: You fight for everything; you sharpen your skills until you have every member of the team with skill levels to match the Kilkenny men; you frustrate and harry them without any let-up; you block and hook them to the point of confusion and failure to be able to execute the most simple of tasks; you ensure that you’re first to every ball. The one thing they failed to do, in fact, was to make their dominance count on the scoreboard.
It was an extraordinary game on so many levels, not least when it comes to picking the Man of the Match. The main contenders for the title were all Tipperary men. However, as it’s the usual custom to pick a man from the winning side, then my Man of the Match would have to be PJ Ryan (and I don’t care what anyone says, he does look like Graham Norton when viewed from the side as he lines up for the puck-out), who was the most vital Kilkenny player over a prolonged period when Tipperary were dominating every aspect of the game. His remarkable goalkeeping literally kept them in it before their rally in the last 10 minutes ensured them a five-point victory that in no way reflected how close this contest was.
The penalty that turned Tipperary’s hard-fought lead on its head six minutes from time was an incorrect decision but in fairness to the referee, he was sharp and fair-handed overall. In fact, if anything, 50/50 decisions went in favour of Tipperary. The free awarded to Lar Corbett in the 28th minute is a good example of a referee punishing a Kilkenny side more for their overly-physical reputation than for their actual play on the day.
Corbett himself was one of the best men on the field. In the first half, he and Eoin Kelly were the stars who stood out most for Tipperary and led by example.
On the Kilkenny side, some players were having an ever-so-slightly off-colour day at the office. I sighed when I saw Henry Shefflin miss a golden goal opportunity and then miss the resultant 65. Why couldn’t he have played like that against Waterford in the semi-final, I wailed to myself. Even Tennyson was a shadow of the colossus he was against us in the previous match.
It was such a free-flowing and entertainingly full-blooded encounter, you could not keep your eye off it for one second. The Tipperary defence was magnificent and were shading it compared to the performance of their opposite numbers, catching every high ball and not giving the Kilkenny forwards any time to settle. When the half-time whistle sounded, you had the feeling that the Tipperary players must have been scratching their heads and wondering how on earth they managed to be losing, albeit by just two points.
Because they were playing Kilkenny, that’s why.
Sure enough, it was the Kilkenny players who looked the more composed coming out of the dressing room after the break, but that confidence was to be tested to almost breaking point during the course of the next 25 minutes or so. Time and time again, Tipperary’s keener hunger and sharper play put them in what was looking more and more like an unassailable winning position. Conor O’Mahony snatching the ball in mid-air from under the nose of Henry Shefflin in the 41st minute of the game epitomised the Tipperary attitude and dominance. Benny Dunne’s introduction gave the Tipperary team the injection of fresh pace that you now felt could finish out the game. But the potential hero became the villain of the piece when, in an apparent rush of blood to the head, he smacked Tommy Walsh full in the face on 54 minutes and referee Diarmuid Kirwan had no choice but to produce the red card.
Even at 14 men, Tipperary still dominated and they actually increased their lead after the sending off. Then just as it was beginning to look like Brian Cody had finally shot himself in the foot by not bolstering his midfield in a Kilkenny team that seemed to be crying plaintively for “Cha”, his substitutions, aided by a rub of the green at the right time (i.e. the afore-mentioned penalty decision) paid off handsomely as the penalty goal was swiftly followed by some vintage Kilkenny goal-scoring from substitute Martin Comerford that seemed to mock the various failed opportunities of Tipperary earlier in the half, and there was no way back for Tipperary from that point.
Kilkenny were worthy champions. It was a wonderful way to cap a four-in-a-row, being challenged both in the semi-final and royally challenged in the final itself – surely one of the best in championship history.
Finally, although it is a bit of shame that the elaborate middle-of-the-pitch presentation ceremony, complete with pyrotechnics, failed to materialise due to the insistent nature of the Kilkenny fans, I was glad to see the Kilkenny triumph of the spirit win the Battle of the Pitch Invasions. Stewards’ positions were completely overrun by jubilant Noresiders much in the same manner as the Soviets did against the Nazis in the Battle of Stalingrad. The incident produced a somewhat surreal and Monty Python –esque moment as the electronic scoreboard flashed the message “PLAN B” and the cup had to be presented in the traditional manner in the stand. For fans that may not get another opportunity to witness a four-in-a-row victory, I think that a good old-fashioned pitch invasion is the least that they deserve. When Waterford achieve their four-in-a-row at some point in the future, I fully expect to be able to express my joy in the same manner.
“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009. Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.