McCarthy wants more from Decies despite 17-point win

DESPITE a whopping 17-point winning margin over Kerry in the first round of the Guinness Munster SHC, Waterford boss Justin McCarthy is not a satisfied man.

Indeed, he is demanding a significant improvement from the champions as they prepare for a semi-final meeting with Limerick at Semple Stadium on June 1, the next obstacle in their bid to retain the provincial title.

“Overall I was reasonably well pleased with our display against the Kingdom, but I am in no doubt that much more will be needed if we are to advance to the Munster final,” the Cork native admitted yesterday. “We scored two goals but, in truth, could have had at least three or four more. That we failed to score them is an aspect of the game that will have to be worked on between now and the semi-final”.

However he conceded that he was “hugely impressed” with the creation and execution of their 26 points: “Against any opposition that’s a fair return. We have a lot of hard work put in over the last few months, but we really won’t begin to think seriously about the Limerick challenge for another week or so. Believe me, this Munster championship is wide open with all five counties still in contention capable of lifting the title”.

The Waterford manager also praised Kerry, who will be in action against Westmeath in the loser’s group this weekend, for their brave and battling performance, even when the game was obviously beyond them: “They had many championship debutants, we had the experience, they didn’t, and inevitably it showed in the end. They have several really good hurlers and they will come on by leaps and bounds”.

Waterford skipper Tony Browne said that Sunday’s opening championship defence at Walsh Park, was somewhat of a no-win situation: “If we won in a canter people were going to say ‘so what, it’s only Kerry’, but if we just scraped a win, or worse, we would have been wide open to criticism.”

There was an interesting and possibly unique sight in the Waterford dressing room in the aftermath of last Sunday’s game with two former Tipperary All-Ireland winners representing the opposing management teams.

Colm Bonnar has been part of the Waterford management set up for the past few years, while his brother Cormac, who is a teacher in Killarney, came on board with Kerry at the start of the NHL campaign. The latter believes that Waterford can successfully defend their Munster crown, and create history in the process: “It is something no Waterford team has achieved to date, but I believe this one has the ability to do it this year.”