National Hurling League/Kilkenny 2-16 Waterford 0-17: Once again there was enough hurling in this one fixture to announce that the season has begun in earnest.
Kilkenny against Waterford in late February has become a sort of microcosm of their league and championship fortunes, and yesterday's glimpse of what lies in store makes you want to tear the sky down and replace it with warm sunshine.
These are early days, yet it seems certain both teams will have a say come the summer. Eleven thousand people came to Walsh Park yesterday to watch two sides hurl with unseasonable hunger and intent, at times displaying naked skill, which should be justified by a greater reward than the mere league points.
Two goals midway through the second half ultimately secured the win for Kilkenny, but Waterford won't walk away empty-handed. Manager Justin McCarthy knows he has the foundation of a great team, and holding on to the Munster title remains an honest target.
In fact, his only concern in the aftermath was the injury picked by midfielder Ken McGrath. He went shouldering into Kilkenny's Jimmy Coogan shortly before the end, and came away with a fracture to his right collarbone. McGrath now faces a 12-week lay-off.
Kilkenny's problems started before the throw-in when Henry Shefflin had to stay at home with a hamstring injury, and yet manager Brian Cody had only one thing in his mind: the new yellow card rule. He lost defenders James Ryall and JJ Delaney to typically harmless tackles on 23 minutes, and afterwards he made it clear the experiment has already lasted too long.
"The whole thing has gone bananas," said Cody. "It's not funny anymore. I've read that Croke Park are calling for the critics to back off, and give it a chance. But you can't give something stupid a chance. I had two players sitting in the dugout, watching players doing the very same thing they were sent off for, and there weren't even frees.
"I know Central Council reconvened for the football rules, so I say they should reconvene tomorrow night and canvass the county boards to see who wants this and who doesn't. And let it be blown away, and let us get back to real hurling. It's gone that serious."
For Delaney, hurler of the year in 2003, the 23rd-minute foul on John Mullane also resulted in a Waterford penalty.
Goalkeeper James McGarry managed to get a slight touch to Paul Flynn's shot and deflect it off the crossbar, but Dan Shanahan sent that rebound over the bar and so Waterford led 0-9 to 0-4.
That scoreline reflected Waterford's early dominance. McCarthy was typically unfettered by positions, and in a cluster of changes sent Fergal Hartley to full back and Dan Shanahan to centre forward. As Shanahan put the early shakes into Tommy Walsh, who started at centre back, Waterford's forwards found the greater freedom, and Eoin Kelly's trademark accuracy helped push them in front.
With McGrath and Michael Walsh also getting the early hold on midfield, Kilkenny were struggling to find scores. The free-taking of Richie Power, who has made the swiftest of graduations from the minor ranks, kept them in it, but they were lucky to be down by only four points at half time - 0-11 to 0-7.
As a contest, though, things really took off in the second half. Hartley was starting to look a little shaky at full back while the likes of John Hoyne and Willie O'Dywer showed up with greater force. On 50 minutes Kilkenny had their first goal, and unfortunately for Waterford's debutant goalkeeper, Clinton Hennessy, it was one to forget.
Hennessy should have collected Martin Comerford's searching ball, but instead allowed Hoyne to get the softest of touches and direct the ball into the net. Suddenly Kilkenny were up 1-10 to 0-11, and they wouldn't look back.
Two minutes later they had Waterford truly rattled when Jimmy Coogan played a short ball to Derek Lyng, and his 20-yard run ended with goal number two. Fellow midfielder Brian Barry was also throwing his weight around and Kilkenny had visibly reconfigured, determined to win this one.
With Lyng and Barry so totally dominant, and Walsh turning the defensive screw at corner back, Kilkenny had sent Waterford in chasing mode. Michael Walsh managed to draw them level again on 55 minutes, but Waterford wouldn't score again and Kilkenny had them beaten long before full time.
"Well we needed a hard game like that," admitted McCarthy, "even though we didn't have a whole lot of preparation. Kilkenny had more games than us coming into this, and in the last quarter they picked up the pace in a way we weren't able to match.
"So we were at our best, but just weren't as sharp as Kilkenny, whose first goal seemed to give them a real psychological boost. We were geared up for it, but that is never your ordinary league game. There is great intensity and rivalry there, and we were really testing ourselves out there."
Two years ago Kilkenny won this fixture by 11 points and went onto their league/championship double. Last year they fell unceremoniously on home turf, and now come away a five-point win. You have been warned.
KILKENNY: J McGarry; J Tennyson, N Hickey, J Ryall; M Kavanagh, T Walsh, JJ Delaney; D Lyng (1-1), B Barry (0-2, one free); J Fitzpatrick, M Comerford (0-2), E Brennan (0-1); R Power (0-6, five frees), J Hoyne (1-1), W O'Dwyer (0-2). Subs: C Phelan for Fitzpatrick (16 mins, injured); B Hogan for Ryall (yellow card, 23 mins), S Dowling for Delaney (23 mins, yellow card), J Maher for Brennan (45 mins), J Coogan (0-1) for Phelan (51 mins).
WATERFORD: C Hennessy; T Feeney, F Hartley, E Murphy; B Phelan, J Murray, T Browne; K McGrath (0-4, two 65s, two frees), M Walsh (0-1); E Kelly (0-8, three frees), D Shanahan (0-1), P Flynn (0-1); J Mullane (0-1), S Prendergast (0-1), J Kennedy. Subs: P O'Brien for Flynn (50 mins), E McGrath for Kennedy (57 mins), B Wall for K McGrath (64 mins, injured), D Bennett for Browne (65 mins).
Yellow cards: Kilkenny - J Ryall (23 mins, replaced by B Hogan); JJ Delaney (23 mins, replaced by S Dowling); Waterford - None.
Referee: S Roche (Tipperary)
