All-Ireland SHC Semi-Final Preview: Kilkenny And Waterford Face Off In Fascinating Duel
ALL-IRELAND SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW: KILKENNY V WATERFORD
By Daire Walsh
An All-Ireland semi-final in late November at Croke Park may not have been what the hurlers of Kilkenny and Waterford envisaged at the start of 2020, but that is exactly where they will find themselves on Saturday evening (throw-in 6pm).
Neighbouring counties – albeit in different provinces – the Cats and the Deise will square off for the right to face either Galway or Limerick (who meet in the same venue on Sunday) in the Liam McCarthy Cup showpiece on December 13. Although a winter time final behind closed doors at GAA HQ will be an eerie sensation for whoever emerges from the penultimate rounds this weekend, it is nevertheless where each squad of players will want to be.
While Kilkenny regained the Leinster SHC title last Saturday week after a gap of four years, Waterford are the county that have arguably taken the greatest strides in this year’s competition. Following their defeat to Galway in the 2017 All-Ireland final, the Deise’s form dipped dramatically.
Over the course of the next two championships – under a new round robin structure – they failed to a record a single win in any of the eight games they played in Munster. There was an element of misfortune attached to their draw with Tipperary in 2018, when a ‘ghost’ goal late in the contest denied them a potential victory at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.
2019 saw them falling to four consecutive reversals, however, with three of them being double digit defeats. All of this left Liam Cahill with a seemingly daunting task upon assuming the reins from Páraic Fanning, but the Tipperary native got the Waterford public on side with wins over Cork, Westmeath and Galway in Division One of the National Hurling.
There was even positive signs in narrow losses to Limerick and Waterford and three years on from their previous championship success over Cork, Waterford had the measure of the Leesiders in a Munster semi-final at Semple Stadium, Thurles on October 31.
There was no shame in losing a provincial decider to Limerick just over a fortnight later – John Kiely’s men are on an eight game winning streak in 2020 – but the real test was how they would react in an All-Ireland quarter-final against Clare.
Against a side that had real momentum behind them as a result of qualifier triumphs over Laois and Wexford, a rejuvenated Waterford came away with a superb 3-27 to 3-18 win. Though Clare talisman Tony Kelly (the standout performer in the championship to date) was restricted by an injury sustained in the early part of the game, there was no taking away from the Deise county’s performance.
Stephen Bennett has been in excellent form over the last few weeks and his 0-10 haul kept Waterford ticking over throughout. Dessie Hutchinson had a previously spell over England with Brighton & Hove Albion, but is now fully committed to hurling and came away with an outstanding tally of 2-2.
Goalscorer Jack Fagan (a native of Meath) was another to impressive and with Stephen O’Keeffe, Tadhg de Burca, Jamie Barron, Kevin Moran and Austin Gleeson starting to rediscover the form of old, they will provide a stern test of Kilkenny’s resolve.
It certainly helps that Waterford managed to end a substantial hoodoo in their last championship outing against the Cats. You had to go back to 1959 for their previous win over Kilkenny in the All-Ireland series and while extra-time was required to get the job done, they managed to do just that in a 2017 qualifier.
This was the Marble County’s poorest championship campaign to date under Brian Cody and even though they are in the midst of a dry spell by their incredibly high standards, he has kept them ferociously competitive in recent years.
A National Hurling League title was accrued in 2018, the ninth of his managerial reign. They were knocked out at the quarter-final stages of that year’s All-Ireland championship by eventual winners Limerick, before eventually dethroning the Treaty men just over 12 months later.
A disappointing All-Ireland final loss followed at the hands of Tipperary, but their recent Leinster success showed there is considerable life in this Kilkenny panel.
The unexpected return to the old format operated until 2017 could well suit Cody’s charges, who made a habit of winning All-Ireland finals in the span of four or five games. They looked devastating for large stretches of their semi-final against Dublin at the end of October, before an extraordinary Sky Blues fightback almost scuppered their prospects.
In the end, TJ Reid 1-10 haul – as well as a goal apiece for Billy Ryan and Colin Fennelly – were enough to give them a 3-20 to 2-22 victory. Having found themselves staring defeat in the face for much of their provincial date with Galway, the Kilkenny spirit of old shone through.
Reid matched his semi-final tally, but it was Richie Hogan’s 1-2 contribution that really helped them to turn the screw and ultimately claimed a 2-20 to 0-24 victory. The Danesfort club man’s 2019 championship ended with him being sent off in that All-Ireland final loss to Tipperary and he will have been pleased to make a triumphant return to Croke Park.
Liam Blanchfield also enjoyed a productive cameo, having replaced team captain Colin Fennelly in the Cats attack. Cody hasn’t hesitated to wield the axe in the past and may well feel the team that finished the Galway game can give him more energy than the one that started it.
He, of course, values the work of his defenders to the same degree as his forwards. With this in mind, he will demand big displays from central lynchpins Huw Lawlor and Cillian Buckley, as well as Conor Delaney and Padraig Walsh.
When these counties were last paired together at the All-Ireland semi-final stage in 2016, they produced two classic encounters – a draw in Croke Park and a replay victory for Kilkenny in Thurles. A repeat of either of those games will certainly keep those viewing at home (whether they be supporters of the two teams or neutrals) engrossed for the duration of the action.