Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald warned Banner fans not to read too much into the result of their Waterford Crystal Cup semi-final on Sunday.
Clare beat Waterford 3-17 to 4-9 but the Déise scored three goals in the final five minutes to put a semblance of respectability on a one-sided game. But, while the sides meet on June 10 in the Munster SHC semi-final, Fitzgerald was not reading much into the game.
"If the truth be told’’, said "Fitzgerald, "they [Waterford] showed no great interest in the game, and not for one moment would I consider it to have any relevance in relation to our Munster championship semi-final clash in June.
"Yes we played alright on the day, but that is not the quality of the Waterford that I know so well. We got a few lucky breaks that yielded us goals, but the reality is that it was little more than a challenge game and one that we aren’t taking too seriously."
However Waterford manager Michael Ryan dismissed the suggestion and said a loss like that would have a huge impact on the sides’ meeting in June.
"Of course it has to, and while it will have done Clare’s confidence no harm at all to have come to Walsh Park and beaten us as decisively as they have done, it remains to be seen what our reaction will be," he said.
"Clare put down a very serious marker for us and in the process they have shown us the many areas that we need to improve in. With our opening league game against Cork less than a fortnight away there’s an awful work to be done and a whole lot of improvement to be found too.
"We looked good enough early on when we eased into a six-point lead, but it’s what happened after the interval that most concerns me.’’
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, February 14, 2012
