What we learned from Cork hurlers' win: Restructured defence coped well in Waterford

The Cork warm-up was revealing from long before the throw-in.

First, there was the positive sign of Robert Downey pucking around without any strapping on his ankles.

He may not be risked against Clare, especially if Tipperary or Waterford get a result next weekend to stamp Cork’s ticket to the Munster final, but Downey is looking good to return for any potential provincial decider.

There were also a couple of clues for those judging team structure in Downey and Ciarán Joyce’s absence, and with Barry Walsh rested.

Tim O’Mahony was pucking around with the half-backs, Darragh Fitzgibbon with the half-forwards, and Tommy O’Connell alongside Hugh O’Connor and Brian O’Sullivan in a midfielders’ pod.

Cork captain Fitzgibbon went in for the throw-in, but by the time O’Connor was scoring his opening point in the 10th minute, he was operating alongside Tommy O’Connell with Fitzgibbon pressed up in attack.

Cork’s aggressive puck-out squeeze was a notable factor as it was seven-on-seven at times inside the Déise 45. The Rebels backed the other seven outfielders in the 100 metres of space left behind to win those long contests. O’Mahony was the enforcer at the heart of that effort alongside the standout performance of Mark Coleman.

The forwards tracked back to target the breaking ball. O’Connor was a valuable cog with his work-rate.

Waterford still produced strong returns from their puck-out. They retained 30 of Billy Nolan’s 40 restarts and translated that into 0-17. The goalkeeper was Waterford’s top provider of assists.

Cork did their damage on turnovers for 1-15 of their total. Where Nolan was granted some short puck-outs, epecially when getting the ball out without delay, Cork fiercely fought for possession from there.

Damien Cahalane took up Stephen Bennett, but when targetman Seán Walsh was switched inside, he swapped assignments. Seán O’Donoghue then moved off Kevin Mahony to mind Bennett.

The in-form Waterford star was briefly picked up by blood sub Ger Millerick before crumpling to the ground with his luckless knee injury. Niall O’Leary tracked Dessie Hutchinson throughout.

Especially with key defensive injuries, they will each be satisfied with their day’s work. Bennett didn’t score from play in the first half. Hutchinson nicked one point. Walsh had two. Mahony got the most joy for 0-3.

On the whole, a restructured Cork defence can be pleased to keep a Déise attack that had rifled seven goals in two games to no green flag.

The dominant forward on show was at the other end, where Brian Hayes collected his 0-7 tally inside 42 minutes. After nabbing three in three minutes midway through the first half, Waterford swapped Mark Fitzgerald onto the Hurler of the Year nominee and handed Aaron O’Neill a different job.

Hayes isn’t easy to contain in such form. Fitzgerald was sin-binned for tangling with him, perhaps wrongly, but the penalty was certainly the right call. Still, Seán Stack could’ve played on to allow Alan Connolly’s finish.

Even backed onto the sideline by his next opponent, Paddy Leavey, Hayes twisted away for his sixth point of the first half.

Cork would hope to widen the scoring burden the next day out. Outside of the full-forward line, O’Connor was the only player to score in the first 45 minutes. The half-forward line which proved so lethal against Tipp and Limerick totalled 0-3 here.

GOAL THREAT

Ben O’Connor referenced a desire to score more goals. Hayes and Connolly struck chances wide, while Connolly’s penalty was denied by early All-Star candidate Billy Nolan.

Patrick Collins had to be on high alert at the other end to prevent Peter Hogan from making it an uncomfortable finish by saving his equalising attempt.

That chance fell during the 20 minutes Waterford spent with 14 men on the field. They had already lost two of their starting defenders, Ian Kenny and Iarlaith Daly, to injury before Fitzgerald and Jack Fagan’s sin-bin spells. 

Yet across those 20 minutes, Cork were held 0-7 to 1-4, even including Mark Coleman’s penalty.

Those early substitutions may have hindered some of Waterford’s tactical plans. It was unusual to see Austin Gleeson and Tadhg de Búrca not getting game time off the bench.

For Cork, it was a positive to get significant championship minutes into Robbie O’Flynn, Cormac O’Brien, and Séamus Harnedy. Not to mention Diarmuid Healy and Hugh O’Connor. With Walsh to come back into the mix, it will be interesting to see the selection against Clare.

Cork face a couple of scenarios for the coming fortnight. For example, a Tipp win against the Banner would give Ben O’Connor licence to rotate or hold any players short of full fitness in that final group game.

The management must weigh up competition and freshness against continuity and momentum. Getting this result while down their All-Star defensive spine will encourage O’Connor and co that they can adapt to any setbacks along the way.