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Waterford GAA Thread - Mod note post #1
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Giveitfong wrote: »My view that Waterford were shadow-boxing in their first two league games was confirmed when the team brought an entirely new level of intensity and commitment to bear in their excellent win over Limerick last Sunday. While their performance was pock-marked by frequent errors (especially in the first half), it was still a display of some substance in terms of character, as the team stood up to Limerick’s physicality and provided regular flashes of the skill which we know they possess.
While Waterford were largely outplayed in the first quarter (not helped by frequent fumbles and cheap concessions of possession), from an early stage I detected what I thought was a new approach in this period, as they came forward from midfield with quick short-passing movements with the clear intention of creating goal chances. By the end of the game Waterford had six shots at goal to Limerick’s two, while Shane Bennett was somewhat unfortunate not to make contact with Austin Gleeson’s long ball into the Limerick goalmouth. There were also several further situations where Waterford forwards passed up easy point-scoring opportunities, opting instead to go in search of goals.
Some posters here have been critical of Waterford passing up easy point chances in this quest for goals which, for the most part, went unfulfilled. However, I am inclined to disagree. One of the things I liked about Liam Cahill was the way his Tipperary under-age teams went in pursuit of goals, which they obtained in plenty. I have always felt that there should be a lot more goals in intercounty senior hurling, especially given the skills of the players nowadays.
Cahill made his focus on goal-scoring quite plain in his after-match interview in the Irish Times:
“I’ve always said that if this team is to progress and try to win silverware, we’re going to have to be raising green flags, that’s part and parcel of the next couple of matches, to keep practising that and hopefully it’ll come right when the time comes for championship.”
Waterford would probably have won last Sunday’s game much more comfortably if they had taken the point chances that went abegging in the search for goals. However, these league games are the only chance Cahill has of putting his own stamp on the team, and I am confident that, come championship time, Waterford will have the sharpness to convert several of the kinds of goal chances they created last Sunday. I would have been happy with a good performance on the day but, as it happened, when the prospect of a victory hove into sight in the final quarter (especially after the Jack Fagan goal in the 54th minute), Waterford abandoned their quest for goals and started shooting points from all over the place. In that period they outscored Limerick by 1-8 to 0-5.
Limerick started the game very confidently, in contrast to Waterford, whose play was characterised by multiple fumbles, balls being given away and players getting caught in possession and being turned over. In addition, some Waterford players, playing in unfamiliar positions, took some time to get their bearings and figure out what the players they were supposed to be marking were up to. As the game progressed, the team settled and began to compete on more equal terms.
The extra man and wind assistance undoubtedly were a help after half-time, but Waterford were still finding it difficult to reel Limerick in, and remained two points behind going into the final quarter. However, Fagan’s goal gave them a huge confidence boost and they closed out the game with some superb scores.
I was somewhat amused to hear Mark Foley, in his half-time observations on the game on TG4, refer to the weakness of the Waterford bench and how this could be a problem for them in the later stages of the game. This was to ignore how important the contribution of second-half substitutes had been to Waterford’s success in 2020. That said, I was concerned about the absence from the bench of Darragh Lyons and Neil Montgomery, who were Waterford’s leading impact subs last year.
However, into the breach stepped Patrick Curran who, apart from his three marvellous points, also won two vital possessions in the closing stages. It is ironic that, while Limerick are widely regarded as having the strongest panel in the country, none of their six substitutes had much of an impact on the game.
For Waterford, Billy Nolan dealt comfortably with the one shot he had to save, and varied his puckouts nicely. However, some work is required on puckout strategy. All three teams that Waterford have met so far have well-worked-out and well-practised routines for working short puckouts up the field, which is not the case with Waterford. Meanwhile, Limerick won twelve of Waterford’s 20 long, contested, puckouts, which needs to be improved on.
Apart from the outstanding Conor Prunty, I thought that Iarlaith Daly had an excellent game for Waterford. Conor Gleeson spent much of the game chasing Peter Casey around the place, and while Casey is a tricky customer, Gleeson put in a good shift. Limerick seemed to leave Seamus Keating on his own a lot on the left side of defence, with other defenders finding him regularly. Although he did not use the ball particularly well, I still regard him as a very useful addition to the panel. I wonder if his injury had anything to do with his exertions the previous week against Westmeath, when he put in a very busy and full shift, and looked quite exhausted by the end.
It was great to see Calum Lyons back to his best, and his scoring ability from distance is a huge resource. The placing of Austin Gleeson at centre back was a major item of interest. Apart from his late long-distance point, Gleeson got little opportunity to show his spectacular side, mainly because Limerick rarely send ball down the middle. Nonetheless, Gleeson did a very effective job, linking with other defenders and then finding team mates out the field with excellent long passes.
Jamie Barron was my man-of-the-match, due to the driving force he brought from midfield and the creativity of his use of the ball. Despite the fact that this was his first outing of the season, he was getting stronger as the game moved into the closing stages, as reflected in his own super point and the opening he provided for Patrick Curran’s third score. Not surprisingly, he topped the Waterford possessions list with a total of 15.
I remain at a loss as to why Jake Dillon remains a member of the Waterford panel, never mind getting game time. He got his first possession of the game in the 42nd minute, and while he got two more subsequently, we can’t have a midfielder at this level who manages to get on the ball just three times in virtually an entire match. Given his all-action performance from the previous week, I was surprised that Peter Hogan was not called in as a replacement until the 70th minute.
Among the forwards, I thought Jack Fagan did quite well, Jack Prendergast showed glimpses of what he is capable of, and Stephen Bennett came into the game strongly in the second half. Kieran Bennett is much improved this year, and his striking is a joy to watch. I felt sorry for Dessie Hutchinson and Shane Bennett in the corner forward positions, as they got virtually no supply of the kind of ball they needed to show their wares. Neither Michael Kiely nor DJ Foran had any impact when introduced midway through the second half. Kiely, in fact, did better during his short temporary first-half substitution, when he was unfortunate not to score a point and also provided a good off-load to Hutchinson.
Waterford possession counts: B. Nolan (3); I. Daly (11), C. Prunty (10), C. Gleeson (11); S. Keating (6), A. Gleeson (13), C. Lyons (9); J. Barron (15), J. Dillon (3); J. Fagan (8), J. Prendergast (7), K. Bennett (8); D. Hutchinson (3), Stephen Bennett (8), Shane Bennett (3); K. Moran (2), M. Kiely (2), DJ Foran (0), P. Curran (5), B. Power (0), P. Hogan (1).
The possession counts are back hahaha
:D:D you must have got a new button for the sky box :D 0 -
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