Waterford get a real scare

The Disappointment of losing last week's National Hurling League final would have been rendered a minor irritant in comparison with a sensational defeat that Waterford courted for 55 minutes of yesterday's Munster senior hurling championship clash at Austin Stack Park in Tralee.

The margin of victory belies a nervous error-ridden period just after the restart in which Waterford found themselves staggering under the physical intensity of a Kerry challenge, a team that displayed a tremendous appetite and determination to humble their mighty visitors.

Trailing by five points at the interval and with the prospect of playing into a strong breeze did not augur well for Kerry and one assumed that Waterford would ease to a comprehensive win, during which they would enjoy some shooting practice and the opportunity to hone team skills. It was a belief to which the visitors whole-heartedly subscribed, content to sit back in expectation.

Waterford coach Gerald McCarthy acknowledged as much afterwards in a candid and honest appraisal of his team's performance. "We were in total control at halftime, five points up and with the benefit of the wind to come. We were expecting things to happen, waiting for them rather than actually playing the hurling needed to secure that victory.

"They had us really worried, not so much by the fact that they drew level but by the quality of hurling they were producing at the time. Our goalkeeper had to make two superb saves as we looked like conceding goals on a couple of occasions. We were pushed to the limits."

Kerry produced a tour de force for 20 minutes after the interval, firing 1-5 to their opponents' three points and also offering substance to the suggestion that Waterford appeared in real trouble. The catalyst for the Kingdom's transformation was two half-time substitutions, Tom O'Connell and John Mike Dooley, being introduced to the full forward line.

Offering a greater physical presence, the two combined for Dooley's goal and generally provided Tom Feeney, Sean Cullinane and Brian Flannery with multiple headaches. During this purple period, captain Brendan O'Sullivan was a colossus at midfield.

But just as Kerry's enthusiasm for the battle peaked so Peter Queally and Dan Shanahan stepped into the breach.

Shanahan, the game's outstanding player and a major contributor to his side's tally with six points from play, produced the score of the match in the 59th minute to restore a two-point advantage, leaping high to secure possession one-handed, pivoting and nonchalantly dispatching the sliotar between the posts.

His exhortations to his teammates drew the desired response as Waterford finished the match with a greater authority and accuracy, reflected in the eight points without reply from the 58th to the 70th minutes. Shanahan, Queally and quicksilver corner forward Paul Flynn were the major contributors while centre half back Fergal Hartley worked hard to rectify the mistakes of others. Ken McGrath, who started the game at full forward, began as if he was going to take on Kerry single-handed, scoring three fine points but flattered to deceive.