Justin: ‘We’ve got to perform in Croke Park’
His opening words, that two important games remained to be played, clearly demonstrate the attitude of players and management.
A second title in two years is all very well, but it won't amount to much unless they can win an All-Ireland.
Manager Justin McCarthy echoed the sentiment yesterday, acknowledging that his team has a better chance this year of winning out the championship. But, there is a big difference between having potential and actually fulfilling it. His team has to be able to grab any chance that comes their way, just as they had done at the week-end.
At the peak of his playing career when Cork were last dethroned by Waterford (in 1967), his delight with Sunday's courageous display was only matched by the pleasure he experienced from being part of such a great occasion. This is what you expect from a man who brings a missionary's zeal to spreading the hurling gospel.
"To be part of the whole occasion, the excitement, the glamour and the whole scene of things in Thurles meant so much. The biggest thrill for me, deep down, was seeing the people of Waterford enjoy the occasion after all the years of frustration they had. And, I was involved with Cork many a time when Waterford were at the receiving end," he stated.
"With all due respects, the game is bigger than any one of us. Sometimes we all think we own the game, but we don't. We love hurling, but it is for everybody. Even though Waterford have to do things the hard way and do things differently, it's because they don't have the tradition. For that reason I was so pleased for them, for the supporters, for the players. At least they got some reward."
It marked McCarthy's 15th involvement in a Munster final either as a player, coach or manager. All things considered, he described it as probably one of the greatest championship games he could remember in Thurles.
"It had everything scores, incidents, both teams playing attacking hurling, Cork going in front and we coming back. There was the whole flowing of the game up and down the field, so much so that you couldn't take your eye off the field in case you missed something."
Not overly concerned to see Cork open up an early lead, McCarthy was happy to see his team being put to the test. "I was glad in a way that Cork played their best hurling early on because I felt they mightn't sustain it. It brought me back to last year when we were six points up and I thought that if we were up at half time we'd find it very hard maybe to hold on it. The way it happened we had something to fight for in the second half.
"And I knew our fitness was good. Gerry Fitzpatrick has brought a new dimension to the fitness side of hurling and we use the hurleys in some of the fitness drills. I knew we would be good in the second half. We were three points down and I wasn't worried. Paul Flynn made a statement inside in the dressing-room, to the effect, 'open up the game and we'll win it'. When John Mullane went off, it struck me what Paul had said. We now had more space and the space was a big advantage to us."
He agreed that the first of their three goals, from Eoin Kelly, came at a vital time, when they were trying to settle. It came from what he regarded as "a brilliant strike".
"Sometimes we underestimate the strike, or the opportunism of any player that can get a score like that what it takes," he added. "We practice that a lot in training sessions where, for about 15 minutes, we go for goals all the time. Players have to think of goals, it's something I'm always relating to them. I say, 'don't be always thinking of points, go for goals.' You have to 'work' a goal, but you must also give fellows the confidence to try for goals."
The performance of Paul Flynn, especially in the second half, delighted him: "I knew he was going to have a good game. We had a chat about it about two and a half weeks ago and he made a commitment that he was going to put in an almighty effort. He actually went out on his own on several nights, and I could see it in training.
"Paul Flynn is as good a hurler as we have seen in inter-county in the last ten years and he wasn't going to leave these chances go. He was written off, but he certainly played his part."
Overall, he praised his players for the responsible way they responded to Mullane's dismissal, for 'digging deeper' than they normally would to gain success. "That comes from experience. It's what you bring with you. Form is a thing that happens on the day."
The leadership of Ken McGrath in the back line which he regarded as 'exceptional' had once again been crucial. As captain, he says he has continued to lead the team in the manner expected of him and that the players have been responding to him.
Nevertheless, McCarthy admitted: "I knew that Cork were never going to give up either. The tradition is there and the players are there. You could never say it was all over until the final whistle.
"One thing I liked in the last ten minutes was that we never took our eye off the ball. I'm a great believer that no matter you how good a player you are, the ball is all important and sometimes we ignore the simple thing of just watching it. The catching in the end and their concentration on the ball was exceptional. It brought us out of trouble at times."
Adapting to playing in Croke Park will be a new challenge.
"The team is more mature now, a bit more settled and we have more options. There is also more of a realisation that we can do things. We are after digging out a few victories and that should stand to them.
"However, any team playing Waterford will always think they can beat them, that they can rattle them. But we have shown good character. Now, we'll have to keep our feet on the ground and size up the Croke Park situation because it's a different venue, different surroundings, a different surface even. We'll have to knuckle down to it and plan for it.
"We have a better chance now, but you must be able to grab that chance too because those chances might never come again. The lads have to realise that. I realise it and the management realise we have to grasp it.
"These are days in the lifetime of a player that you can't leave behind. We can't be making excuses. We have got to perform in Croke Park."
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