Waterford 3-17 Limerick 1-14:Like any thoroughbreds they stayed the pace without setting records for most of yesterday's exciting Guinness Munster hurling final in Thurles. But once they sensed their opponents were tiring, Waterford accelerated clear and in the space of a few minutes at the end, emphatically added the Munster championship to the League crown they already hold, a double the county last achieved 44 years ago.
Once again it was the team's blue-chip attack that delivered for the new champions. Four years ago John Mullane scored 3-1 in the final against Cork; yesterday it was the turn of Dan Shanahan, who finished with 3-3 to leave him with 5-4 from his two provincial championship matches.
That this was such a satisfying outcome for Justin McCarthy and his team, owed a lot to Limerick's resolute display. It wasn't until the second goal of Dan Shanahan's hat-trick in the 63rd minute that anything like a decisive gap opened, 2-14 to 1-12. But even then Ollie Moran, who against Ken McGrath wasn't able to repeat his heroics of the triple semi-final, and Brian Begley quickly pegged back two points to leave a single score between the teams and that's the way it stayed until the last few minutes when Waterford went for the line, reeling off an unanswered 1-3.
As a final score it undersold Limerick but underlined the serious intent of the new champions, who after being forced to scrap for so long showed a calm and ruthlessly clinical streak when the match needed to be dispatched.
Nonetheless they had to fight for the right to play grace notes. Limerick made it a tight and claustrophobic match for as long as they could. The intermittent rain made difficult the sort of hard running, high bouncing tempo that Waterford prefer and players on both sides struggled to keep their footing.
Limerick's challenge wasn't confined to snappy defending and making life difficult for their highly rated opponents. Twice in the opening minutes they might have had goals.
In the second minute Barry Foley should have done better when a through ball beat the cover and ran for him. A minute later Begley, who caused a great deal of difficulty for Waterford particularly in the early stages, was similarly free inside but Clinton Hennessy was quickly out of his goal to smother the chance for a 65, which gave Andrew O'Shaughnessy the first score of the match.
Begley didn't have to wait too long for his goal, however. Six years ago he scored two in the space of four minutes to effect a remarkable turnaround in the 2001 Munster semi-final and yesterday the chance also arrived per route one.
Brian Geary dropped in a free and Begley got his stick to the ball just ahead of Declan Prendergast's hand and Limerick had a 1-1 to 0-1 lead in the seventh minute.
Some of the play was scrappy and stop-start but amidst the scramble and grind there were also some excellently taken points. Waterford made sure to stay in touch when the pressure was on and wing forward Stephen Molumphy twice hit back immediately after conceding scores to prevent Limerick getting a run on the scoreboard.
The first half was just a tale of missed chances for Limerick and Brian Murray made a great save from John Mullane in the 29th minute although the Waterford corner forward appeared to shoot from a very tight angle coming in from the left.
Otherwise the Waterford goal threat was implied rather than stated and Stephen Lucey was holding firm at full back as were Mark Foley and Séamus Hickey, as McCarthy rotated his forwards to try and get some purchase in attack. At half-time a Séamus Prendergast point, sent over at the second time of asking after he had been blocked, was all that separated the teams.
The third quarter placed a strain on Waterford, as Limerick maintained the pressure. Michael Fitzgerald took two points in three minutes, the second demoralising for Waterford in that Tony Browne, who swept up with his usual efficiency, coughed up possession after taking the ball and Limerick's margin clicked to two, 1-8 to 0-9.
Matters could have become fraught. Paul Flynn had a point disallowed for over-carrying and a minute later penetrated the defence only to whip a shot marginally wide. If Waterford wanted to panic now was the time to do it.
But Flynn's emergence spelt trouble for Limerick in the long term and with a point in it, he led the drive for the score that turned the match in Waterford's direction. Again in a menacing position he crashed a shot on goal, which Murray did very well to save but the rebound fell for Dan Shanahan on the edge of the square and pounced for the goal to ensure a 1-11 to 1-9 lead.
Limerick came back but each time the margin was thinned, Mullane twice and Eoin Kelly conjured excellent points to keep the margin at two.
In the 63rd minute hard work by the increasingly influential captain Michael Walsh popped a diagonal ball in over the Limerick defence for Shanahan to finish by hitting into the ground and creating a bounce that combined with driving rain to beat Murray.
Big Dan's hat-trick could have come a couple of minutes earlier had Eoin McGrath spotted him inside when taking a 69th-minute point, another occasion on which increasingly tired and frantic opponents were leaving gaps at the back. On that occasion the attacking ball was served up from deep in his own defence by the indefatigable Mullane.
Limerick will take plenty of encouragement as they get ready for a likely quarter-final with neighbours Clare, who visited a humiliating defeat on them 12 months ago. But Waterford are now firmly on the road to whatever destiny awaits.
WATERFORD: 1. C Hennessy; 4. E Murphy, 3. D Prendergast, 2. A Kearney; 5. T Browne, 7. K McGrath (0-1, free), 15. J Kennedy; 8. M Walsh (capt), 6. K Moran; 11. D Shanahan (3-3), 14. E Kelly (0-4, two frees), 9. S Molumphy (0-2); 13. J Mullane (0-3), 10. S Prendergast (0-1), 12. P Flynn (0-2, one free). Subs: 17. J Murray for Moran (56 mins), 20. E McGrath (0-1) for Kennedy.
LIMERICK: 1. B Murray; 2. M O'Riordan, 3. S Lucey, 4. S Hickey; 5. P Lawlor, 6. B Geary, 7. M Foley; 8. D O'Grady (0-1), 9. M O'Brien (0-1); 12. M Fitzgerald (0-3), 11. O Moran (0-1), 10. N Moran; 13. A O'Shaughnessy (0-3, two frees, one 65), 14. B Begley (1-2), 15. B Foley. Subs: 29. K Tobin (0-2) for N Moran (44 mins), 30. P Tobin (0-1) for B Foley (55 mins), P O'Dwyer for O'Brien (64 mins).
Cards Yellow Waterford: E Kelly (39 mins).
Limerick: M O'Riordan (46 mins), M Fitzgerald (54 mins).
Attendance: 48,371
Referee: Séamus Roche (Tipperary).
