When the final whistle sounded on Sunday, I was shaking. Watching it from the surreal surroundings of a virtual hurling desert of a bar in Sligo, I sat down and breathed a heavy sigh and took a deep sip of porter. I didn’t feel too much disappointment because for the last five minutes, there seemed to be little chance of a late rally that would involve two goals, and we were all conditioned to expect a Kilkenny victory no matter what the circumstances in the final shakedown.
There's always next year
It was only afterwards when I reflected on how close it was that the disappointment and heartbreak that is a Waterford supporter’s lot began to set in. The reflex save from the Kilkenny goalkeeper a few minutes from time that stopped what would have been the goal of the year from Eoin Kelly, the couple of lapses in concentration that became goals for Kilkenny, the many missed and eminently scoreable opportunities that went wide, the fouling of Dan the Man that might, on another day, have been a penalty.
Davy Fitzgerald deserves praise for bringing his team to a stage which allowed them to compete at the highest level. Whatever people say about him (and I, for one, have not been a fan of this man since he took over the Waterford team), he has managed to get the team playing a resistant, dogged brand of hurling that has served them well in this year’s campaign. This doggedness came into play again yesterday but it was matched with some real signs of the team opening up and letting loose their own considerable talents. Witness the first Waterford goal after four minutes. It was the kind of move and style that we have all come to associate with Waterford over the last decade – beautiful and deadly simplicity. It was also exciting because it laid down a marker to show Kilkenny that they do not know what to expect this side to do.
Looking at the previous Deise performances, it seemed to me that the skill and creativity that had been so well nurtured over the previous ten years and which had become a hallmark of the Waterford style, had been coached out of the team. There was little evidence of a team plan, apart from winning frees for Eoin Kelly to point over and passing the ball to John Mullane.
But the beautiful baby that Davy Fitz had been nurturing these past 11 months was born to the country. This may seem like over-praise to some. They did lose again to Kilkenny, after all, but if your team goes down, then it’s a really positive sign for the future if your team goes down to a narrow margin and still fighting a fine fight.
The team with the more accomplished set of skills was Kilkenny – something which made a crucial difference in the end. I don’t think there’s any need to add to the already large heap of praise that lies at the feet of Henry Shefflin. Frankly, I’m a little weary of being impressed by his calm skilful displays, but what I couldn’t help but be impressed by was the overall skill levels across the park and across the range of skills that are there. Compare the well-executed block-downs by a number of Kilkenny players to the feeble efforts of Waterford (and indeed, most other county players). Kilkenny have, over a number of years, produced a succession of teams possessing quantity and quality of skill that is near perfect. The players have confidence in possessing those skills and how to use them. Waterford come close, but fall short in this regard, in my opinion.
As for the referee, I think that Barry Kelly gave a performance that was fair. While there were a few things for Waterford to complain about, Kilkenny too can have their grievances at some of his decisions. Overall, he did not give Kilkenny carte blanche to tackle by means of sending a group of players to surround and lightly beat up their opponent and then come away with the ball – something that referees have a tendency to do.
The defeat of this Kilkenny team is not, as some commentators have said, ‘virtually inconceivable’. Waterford’s display has shown that. If some tactical improvements were made (such as playing Eoin Kelly outfield where he is every bit as effective as Mr Shefflin), the result could have been very humbling indeed for the regal men in black and amber. The emperor does have clothes all right and he’s still on his throne, but he’s not wearing a bullet-proof vest.
The Deise men can now hold their heads high again and really look forward with relish to next year’ s championship when they just might become champions. On Sunday they showed that they’re not a finished force or an ageing side or anything other than a fine hurling county that will continue to produce good teams and one of those good teams will win the All-Ireland.
“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.