By John Harrington 

Waterford goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe believes the conversion rate for one-on-one penalties in hurling should be around 80 per cent. That’s more than twice as high as it was in 2015, the first year the new one-on-one method was used.

Former Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy chaired the Hurling Review Committee that proposed the new rule and believes the conversion rate will be much greater this year now that penalty takers are more accustomed to the challenge. And O’Keeffe agrees with him that goalkeepers could be picking the ball out of the net more often than they stop it going it.

"I think there haven't been a lot of penalties but I know for a fact, we practice them in training and when the striker of the ball is confident eight out of 10 of those are going in the goals,” he says.

“When you stick it right in the corner there is no getting to them. It comes down to the penalty-takers on the big days holding their nerve a bit because we do them in training and as a goalkeeper you can’t read which side it is going to go. You can’t react quick enough if you stick it into the corner. The advantage is firmly with the forward.”

It’s one thing scoring eight out of ten penalties in a training session, it’s an entirely different challenge converting the one chance you get in a high-stakes All-Ireland Championship match. There’s far less pressure on goalkeepers in that situation because they are not expected to save it, and they relish the chance to pull off a spectacular save. But even though O’Keeffe acknowledges there’s more pressure on the player taking the penalty than the one trying to save it, he still believes the best forwards in the game will be able to master the skill.

"That's the difference, but you will always find one or two that will be able to block out that pressure. If they hit it clean - I remember we played Cork in the Championship last summer and Pat Horgan stepped up in the last minute and he just stuck it in the bottom corner. There is no getting to those. It comes down to then, do you guess which side it goes? You have to weigh up the percentages, is he going to stick it in the corner or put it somewhere where I have a chance of reaching it.”

That was the only penalty that O’Keeffe has faced so far in a Waterford jersey so he has yet to save one, but in general play he has been one of the best goalkeepers in the country for the past couple of years. His presence under a dropping ball, his reflex-saves, and his distribution have all been of a very high calibre and he’s one of the major contributors to Waterford’s rising fortunes. He admits himself it helps when you have the benefit of a defence as organised as this Waterford one in front of you.

“I suppose the main one is that you're left with a lot less one-on-one situations. You feel less exposed,” says O’Keeffe. “In fairness that's mainly down to the backs being absolutely touch-tight. They've been brilliant so far. We've got a lot of time to gel together even myself I think Barry Coughlan has been full-back behind me on every team I have played on. There is a huge familiarity there and everyone knows each other's games. It makes even communicating split-second decisions much easier.”

Waterford made impressive progress last year, but if they are to win the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2016 they need to complement their supreme defensive organisation with a greater cutting edge in attack. There have been signs so far this year that evolution is underway, chiefly thanks to the impact of exciting young players like Patrick Curran and Shane Bennett.

“Absolutely, he's (Curran) been huge,” says O’Keeffe. “He got a few runs last year but he's really stepped up as one of the leaders of the forwards this year. He's been excellent, he's taken over some of the frees when he's been needed as well, he's nailed nine out of ten of them. He's a huge lad, the likes of Shane Bennett stepping up as well this year, he's been a big plus, Pauric Mahony recovering from injury too. There's options there.

"In fairness to Shane he was doing his Leaving Cert last year so you tend to forget how young some of the lads are. In fairness to them they seem to take it in their stride. They're the lads who are stepping up as leaders. It's not necessarily the lads who are just older, so it's great.”

Waterford manager Derek McGrath expressed a concern at the start of the year that the extra expectation surrounding his team in 2016 might weight heavily on the youngest shoulders in the panel, but so far there has been little sign of that.

“Yeah, I don't think so,” says O’Keeffe. “In fairness our younger lads are very good at blocking out the outside expectation. It can be a very dangerous thing listening to popular opinion, outside. It can either be too negative or too positive, it's rarely on the money about what your abilities are. You just put the head down and take every game at a time.”

The Deise made their intentions very clear from the very first match of the League campaign by beating reigning All-Ireland Champions Kilkenny in Walsh Park. It was the perfect start and O’Keeffe admits avenging their 2015 All-Ireland semi-final defeat to the Cats gave everyone in the panel a serious confidence boost.

“Yeah, absolutely. To be fair it's a fair statement to say Kilkenny didn't have a huge amount of training behind them. But still to get the win down in Walsh Park gives the team massive confidence, some of the younger lads really growing up weren't seeing too many victories. Obviously it all plays in and it kicked us on for thankfully we won our next two games too. It was in no small part to that win.”

The latest test of Waterford’s credentials comes on Sunday against Limerick in the Allianz Hurling League semi-final. O’Keeffe knows the Shannonsiders will pose a stiff test, and that if they can overcome it then another win will generate further vital momentum ahead of the Championship campaign. 

“I’ve watched the league games and they look like a team with serious intent and I’m really, really looking forward to Sunday and I’m sure they’re the same,” he says. Every game you can get now closer to championship, it has a championship feel to it now. It's a massive benefit to still be in the competition.”

*** Stephen O'Keeffe was speaking at the launch of the 17th annual All-Ireland GAA Golf Challenge in Croke Park. The Challenge invites GAA members to represent their GAA clubs on the golf course with the aim of bringing home the All-Ireland title. Four-person teams from across the country, the US and the UK will compete on September 9 and 10 at Waterford Castle Golf Club for the Waterford Crystal replica of the Liam MacCarthy Cup as well as other individual and club prizes. Spaces are limited but for more information, please contact Liam Daniels at allirelandgaagolf@gmail.com or on 087-2746271. Visit www.gaagolf.com for more information.**