You’ll kill off Bobby Ewing before you get rid of this Kilkenny team.
Stephen O’Keeffe had spent the afternoon adding to the meagre number of spectators at Croke Park when Waterford led by three points in the final minute of normal time.
The Waterford keeper had enjoyed a fairly quiet existence until the Cats realised they were on the brink of elimination, so Walter Walsh and Colin Fennelly manufactured a delicious one-two and Walsh levelled the match with a goal.
Never mind neither Kilkenny forward could locate his touch for the majority of the afternoon – when needs must, the Cats find a way. They have used up their nine lives in 81 games under Brian Cody before Sunday – if Waterford were going to inflict the 10th defeat they were going to have to do it the hard way.
So they went back up the field, Kilkenny ‘keeper Eoin Murphy made a brainless clearance, a free was won and Pauric Mahony did the necessary.
One minute left. Waterford, wiser after what happened 12 months ago, were not going to let this one get away.
However this time Murphy used his brain with the puckout. He went short and the ball was worked up the right wing and was arrowed by Padraig Walsh into the hand of Conor Fogarty, the midfielder turned and nailed the equalising point.
Paul Murphy not the man to be handed that last chance. Finishes all square. @KilkennyCLG 1-21 @WaterfordGAA 0-24
Some game
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 7, 2016
Waterford, playing their most conventional formation of the season, were out Waterford-ed at the death by the “arch traditionalists” from Kilkenny. Done by a short passing move in injury-time.
Like Planxty going electric to stick it to U2.
Shell-shocked Waterford fans will stumble to the shower in the morning to find Dallas scion Ewing lathering up behind the curtain.
The old trope thrown out at this stage is that too many below-par Kilkenny players (hurler of the year TJ Reid did not score from play) have room for improvement ahead of Saturday night’s replay, while Waterford must recover from the fact that they took a shot at the king and fell short.
People were saying the same thing to Anthony Daly back in 2013 after his Dublin side drew with Kilkenny in the Leinster championship. The Dubs beat them 1-16 to 0-16 in Portlaoise in the replay.
Don’t tell these Waterford players they have missed their chance. A year ago they lost to this Kilkenny side at the same stage and saw the Cats go on to lift Liam McCarthy – that is missing your chance.
This is a job half done and you cannot honestly say that the likes of Pauric Mahony and Austin Gleeson are incapable of reproducing that level of performance at 6.45pm in Thurles on Saturday.
Don’t tell these supreme young hurlers that, after 77 minutes of hurling where Kilkenny led for a grand total of one first-half minute, they have lost their chance.
You always have a chance when you can hurl like Mahony and Gleeson. They were not alone – Brick Walsh was immense, Jake Dillon tireless, Tadhg De Burca combative – but these two boys were on another level.
Mahony scored 14 points and did not hit his first and only wide until the 64th minute.
First half: Free-play-65′-free-play-free-free-free-free.
Second half: Free-play-free-play-WIDE-free.
Whatever way you slice it that is incredible shooting. But that is not the half of it. That does not paint a picture of the nature of his scores and it was a pretty picture. One score in the 47th minute was launched from a different Eircode but split the posts with the usual accuracy.
It was only bettered by his 17th minute effort, which he nailed at full tilt running towards the sideline. Crazy, comic-book scoring. The kind of stuff that would inspire a kid to run out, pick up a hurl and pretend to be the 24-year-old from Ballygunner.
And that is before you explain to this inspired child that Mahony missed last year’s gut-wrenching defeat to Kilkenny in 2015 because he shattered his shin bone playing for his club in May.
He has come back from the brink.
Waterford fans are entitled to ask what might have been if the dead-eyed forward had been fit last year.
If Mahony has a hint of the cold, calculated and ruthless forward to him, then Gleeson is more of a maverick. He prematurely celebrates his own scores with a raised hand, like a cocky basketball three-point shooter. He fist pumps when he wins a sideline ball (presumably because he expects to point the resulting cut). And he tries things that people have no business trying on a hurling field.
The Mount Sion man turned in one of the great centre-back performances in the Munster Under-21 hurling final the week before last. In Croke Park, against Kilkenny, he ostensibly lined up at centre-forward but was effectively playing EVERYWHERE.
He opened his account with a delectable swivel and shot before the quarter hour, one minute later he was in his own defence getting in a block on Jonjo Farrell.
He was one of a squadron of Waterford players dominating the skies under puck-outs as Reid, John Power and Richie Hogan was suffocated of primary possession for long periods.
Determination! Steri strips and glue to hold Austin Gleeson's ear together for Under-21 decider https://t.co/2iVts5RQsm
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 26, 2016
Then his ear pretty much fell off, again. The 21-year-old nearly lost a chunk of his leg during the quarter-final win over Wexford and was unfortunate enough to catch a stray hurl from a team-mate again early in the second half against Kilkenny.
Having been treated for some time and mummified by a doctor with a few acres of bandages, he got up and made sure to pluck the very next puck-out from a forest of hurls and hands.
Did you hear that? The sound of sheer guts.
Then he dropped Hogan with a shoulder to the solar plexus to concede a free. Next was a delightful sidestep of Joey Holden before slapping over his fourth point. All in the space of five minutes.
It was far from perfection. He hit two of Waterford’s five late wides which cost them dearly. But that is still a huge improvement on the waywardness of his display against Wexford, when he hit five in the first half alone.
Just because these lads are operating on a different plain does not mean they cannot improve.
They know that, their manager Derek McGrath knows that and you can be sure Kilkenny know that.
Thurles, Saturday night. Bring it on.
Kilkenny v Waterford preview and Derek McGrath interview in the GAA Hour. Subscribe here on iTunes.
