Kilkenny remain stuck in the mud

The prodigal son returned, although he must have felt he'd just stepped off Noah's Ark such was the waterlogged state of the Walsh Park pitch yesterday. Yet, even with DJ Carey's inclusion from the start, and his ill-conceived early retirement terminated, the problems which beset Kilkenny throughout the National Hurling League campaign continued as they were comprehensively outplayed by a buoyant Waterford side.

Indeed, on a day when Waterford booked a place in the semifinals far more comfortably than their eventual five-point winning margin indicated, there was a touch of irony in the whole affair.

At the start, the eyes of the 8,000 spectators focused in on Carey; but, by the end, the crowd were devouring every move of a young man in a white jersey, Ken McGrath. Is he the heir apparent to Carey's crown as the country's best hurler? The omens certainly look favourable.

The match almost didn't take place, however. Some 90 minutes before the scheduled throw-in, the first of two cloudbursts saturated the area. Referee Sean McMahon, upon inspecting the pitch after the second flooding, decided that it wouldn't be able to take any more rain. Workmen frantically used buckets and spades and anything else that came to hand to scoop water from the goalmouths, gridlocked traffic on the approach roads caused chaos of a different kind, and the match eventually got under way 10 minutes late.

It is questionable if the pitch was playable even at that stage. But, in fairness to both sides, they adapted remarkably well and, if the splash of the water was as common as the clash of the ash, the commitment - and, in the circumstances, the skill factor - never diminished. On such days are a man's true worth discovered, and Waterford, especially, found many respondants.

McGrath, named to start at centre half forward but dispatched to a full-forward role, demonstrated magnificent skill and scored five points from play. But he wasn't alone. Fergal Hartley's star continues to rise and, again yesterday, he was inspirational and superb at centre half back, while the two men who flanked him, Stephen Frampton and Brian Greene, were also on top of their game.

The early skirmishes, though, were close, just what you'd expect from a neighbourly duel. Kilkenny's goalkeeper, Joe Dermody pulled off a splendid diving save from Dan Shanahan, flicking the sliotar around the posts, to ensure that parity existed after 15 minutes with the two teams locked at 0-4 apiece.

Then, a strange thing happened as Kilkenny, fighting to avoid a relegation play-off, sprung into a three-point lead with a string of unanswered points in a five minute period.

That spell of madness was quashed by a Shanahan goal in the 22nd minute. Billy O'Sullivan displayed enormous tenacity to retain possession in the dressing-rooms corner of the pitch and managed to supply Shanahan, who managed to slide the sliotar across the goal-line for Waterford's first goal. There was no stopping them after that.

In fact, by the time Peter Barry flung over a point in the 28th minute to end a nine-minute barren period for Kilkenny, Waterford had slipped away, albeit marginally. One point towards the half-time whistle (when Waterford led 1-8 to 0-9) indicated the new confidence that exists in the side this season. Tony Browne played a ball out of defence, Dave Bennett first-timed it overhead to McGrath and, cool as you like, the Mount Sion clubman pointed. Simple and brilliant.

The second half was barely three minutes old when Waterford reaffirmed their intent. A free from Frampton's stick out of defence was flicked on by McGrath and Paul Flynn, diving head-first into the well-watered goalmouth, deflected the ball past Dermody for his side's second goal. Kilkenny struggled to get back into the game, and Carey - who started out at right half forward, and moved into right corner forward before finally finishing the game at centre half forward - found the going as tough as anyone. The second half belonged to Waterford and all six forwards got in on the scoring act as they outplayed and outfought Kilkenny.

Indeed, an element of frustration crept into the Kilkenny side. And when you see a couple of their more experienced players' hauling hurleys from the grips of their opponents, then you wonder what the summer holds. By the 57th minute, Waterford had ensured their presence in the National League semi-finals in two weeks time, while Kilkenny sensed what word awaited them back in the dressing room - confirmation of a relegation play-off with Antrim.

With nothing to lose and Waterford's concentration lapsing, Kilkenny at least put some respectability on the final scoreline. Waterford led 2-17 to 012 with just three minutes remaining but Carey, ironically only finding some space when moved on to Hartley, the game's dominant figure, picked out Ken O'Shea who scored a goal from close range and, a couple of minutes later, PJ Delaney also fired to the net after Carey's initial shot crashed back off the crossbar.

Really, though, it was mere consolation for Kilkenny - and as Waterford enter the summer with greater hopes and aspirations than they have carried with them for many years, the opposite holds true for Kilkenny, who still have an unsettled team and, on this performance, one that is badly lacking in confidence.

Waterford: B Landers; B Flannery, S Cullinane, M O'Sullivan; S Frampton, F Hartley, B Greene; T Browne (0-1), T Feeney; D Shanahan (1-2), A Kirwan (0-1), D Bennett (0-2); B O'Sullivan (0-2), K McGrath (0-5), P Flynn (1-5, four frees). Sub: P Queally for Flannery (42 mins).

Kilkenny: J Dermody; T Hickey, L Simpson, M Kavanagh; L Keoghan, P O'Neill, W O'Connor; P Larkin (0-1), E Dwyer; DJ Carey (0-5, all frees), C Brennan (0-1), P Barry (0- 1); K O'Shea (1-1), PJ Delaney (1-2), C Car- ter (0-1). Subs: S Ryan (0-1) for Dwyer (36 mins); J Carey for Carter (41 mins).

Referee - S McMahon (Clare).