John Horgan on hurling: Cork have momentum and confidence but it's still a long road to Croker
Cork's Brian Hayes in action against Waterford's Paddy Leavy. Picture: INPHO
For the most part, nothing comes easy in the stifling heat of the Munster hurling championship.
You have to earn what you acquire.
And that's exactly what Cork had to do in Walsh Park last Saturday night, put their shoulders to the pump, dig deep to see off a Waterford team that refused to yield until the 70-plus minutes had expired.
Not too many might have given the nod to Waterford in the pre-match conversation but not for the first time on their own patch, a visiting team had to exhibit plenty of composure and grit in abundance.
The Gods did not smile a great deal on Waterford, losing a couple of key defenders in the opening half, having to play with 14 players for 20 minutes of the game as a result of two black cards and losing their best forward and free-taker in Stephen Bennett.
But through all that adversity, they ploughed on and took the proceedings almost right to the wire.
As a result, however, it's a near certainty that their championship campaign won't be extended beyond their final provincial outing against Limerick.
But it's onwards and upwards for Cork, three from three and on home soil next Sunday week, they will be seeking to bag the maximum return in the Round-Robin segment of the provincial championship.
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They have loads of breathing space now. A return to a Munster final is all but assured. They have answered many questions over the past number of weeks.
It was a tough championship encounter in Waterford. It was very much a case of finding a way to get over the line and when push came to shove in the sequences that mattered, Cork did just that.
As a unit, little fault could be found with the performance against a Waterford side who showed that they were no slouches with commendable returns against Clare and Tipperary.
The point gained against the All-Ireland champions gave them a fresh lease of life and the Cork management were fully aware that a searching test of their credentials awaited last Saturday night.
We lost count of the number of times the sides were deadlocked over the course of the game, particularly in the opening half when it was a case of score for score. Waterford had the slightest of advantages at the interval and Cork were very reliant on the outstanding Brian Hayes to secure the points that mattered.
The Barrs man had put five on the board in the opening 20 minutes, two more being added thereafter and, quite rightly, was a deserved winner of the man of the match accolade.
The three full-forwards were on the board inside the opening five minutes and newcomer Hugh O'Connor rifled over a fine score as well and ended up with a brace before being replaced in the 50th minute, a very decent first start for the Newmarket man.
One of the highlights of the opening 35 minutes was a terrific stop by Patrick Collins from Dessie Hutchinson and he followed that up with an equally sublime save from Waterford sub Peter Hogan at a critical juncture in the game.
The Cork half-forward sector was not as prominent as the inside trio in the opening half but when Darragh Fitzgibbon was operating there he more than made his presence felt with a couple of fine points.
One of Cork's best performers on the night was Mark Coleman, defending resolutely, exhibiting his awareness with a very timely intervention on Sean Walsh when a Waterford goal might have made the narrative more interesting. The Blarney man hammered home a big penalty too in the second half after Alan Connolly had been earlier denied by Billy Nolan in the Waterford goal.
Damien Cahalane filled the number three jersey with his valiant attitude and was an adequate replacement for Ciarán Joyce. Niall O'Leary and Tim O'Mahony defended too with plenty of self-assuredness and restricting Hutchinson to just a point from open play told O'Leary's story.
The three starting Cork full-forwards contributed 19 points between them and that's damn good going on a Saturday or a Sunday of any major championship game.
There is no doubt that the injuries and the black cards did not enhance Waterford's cause and despite their stubbornness throughout, they must be wondering is there some sort of a curse on them in their effors to emerge from the province into the All-Ireland series.
Despite their credible effort in trying to retain the national league title any questions about this Cork squad of players would not be answered until the arrival of the championship, the Munster championship which tests a team fully in all aspects of a game.
The cruel injuries to Joyce and Rob Downey and how coping without them and their stellar qualities in defence was a major talking point in advance but the squad depth was revealed for this game anyway.
A Munster final is all but secured and from a Cork perspective, all that might matter against Clare is to maintain this unbeaten run.
If that's the case, Ben O'Connor and his selectors might be tempted to utilise the squad a bit more but there will be no resting on their laurels and the Cork boss made it very clear from the outset of his tenure that the priority at all times would be on getting the victory.
A mention too of Seamie Harney. He didn't feature at all from the bench against Limerick and only came on going into injury time against Tipperary.
He got the best part of a quarter of an hour on Saturday and he rifled over a quite fabulous point in that time which was received with great appreciation from the Cork supporters. Make no mistake about it, he will feature again going forward.
There would be sympathy for Waterford in some quarters. They have performed admirably in all three games and despite almost certainly being out of the equation, they won't lie down against Limerick in their final game.
They registered 25 points against Cork, some fine efforts from Jamie Barron, Calum Lyons and Sean Walsh, among others, but getting the desired result in this championship is a very onerous task.
The championship has worked out very well thus far, a fortnight break between the Limerick and Waterford encounters and another fortnight now before the Banner County roll into town.
The big takeaway right now where Cork are concerned would have to be the battle-hardness in the players, being taken the full distance by the opposition and coming out on the right side.
And the tougher it is in Munster, the more resilient you become for the knockout games that follow.
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