Waterford’s wastefulness will worry Derek McGrath

Before this game, I wondered how Waterford would approach it. They had based their success over the last two seasons on a tight defence. In the Munster final, shortcomings under the high ball were exposed.

In this must-win game, manager Derek McGrath went with his tried and trusted system. A fresh breeze blew into the Town End at Thurles. I was certain that Wexford would be tempted into regularly probing for weaknesses in this area once they were favoured by the elements. They tried this tactic on a number of occasions but Waterford always had bodies back and Wexford didn’t have the quality upfront to trouble them.

Since their pummeling by Tipp, the issue of confidence was the main question hanging over the Waterford camp. They went with the same team as the Munster final - a direct challenge to the players by manager McGrath. Without hitting great heights, they saw off the Wexford challenge but their failure to create any goal chances will be a concern.