‘When the need was greatest we showed our mettle’

IT was a day when ghosts were laid to rest, a day when men stood up and were counted, and above all a day when resilience was key.

“Resilience really was the story behind our victory”, elated team Waterford manager Justin McCarthy.

The former Cork All-Ireland star could scarcely conceal his delight with his team’s superb performance that well truly turned the outcome of their June 4 Munster championship semi-final with Tipp on its head.

McCarthy admitted they had gone into the game respecting the strength of Tipperary but still ‘brimming with confidence’.

“We are a good team and most important of all we know we are a good team,” said McCarthy.

“We didn’t get rattled or over-anxious when Tipp hit us with an early goal, nor when they scored their second from an Eoin Kelly free. We are a more settled, more experienced team now and ultimately displayed great resilience and spirit to graft out a win I believe we fully deserved’.

While insisting the victory was down to a team performance, the Waterford boss acknowledged the magnificent performances of Ken McGrath, Tony Browne and, most of all, Dan Shanahan.

“Big Dan has really come into top form at the right time, reminding us of what he did two years ago in our successful Munster championship campaign”, said McCarthy.

“Tony (Browne) just gets better with age, and if there’s a better hurler around than Ken I haven’t seen him.

“There are a lot of players fighting and battling for a place in the starting 15,” said McCarthy.

Responding to a query about laying the ‘Croke Park hoodoo’, the manager said there had been too much made of it in the build-up to the game. It seemed to be forgotten that they had won an All- Ireland quarter final against Galway in 1998 at Croke Park, and it is a venue where they may have lost big games but it is also a venue where they’ve never played badly.

“We were very positive in the way we approached this game against Tipp”, he said. “There were no negative thoughts, and we have a great bunch of lads who are pushing hard for silverware. When the need was greatest we showed our mettle and that pleases me no end”.

Looking ahead to Sunday week’s showdown with Cork, McCarthy said he hadn’t ‘much minded’ who they were paired against in the semi- final. “There are no easy games at this stage of the campaign”, he said.

However, on the evidence of the four quarter-finals, Kilkenny had struck him as possibly the team to beat.

“Really, however, any one of the surviving four could go on and lift the title in September,” he said.

But can Waterford bring the Liam McCarthy Cup back to the Decies for the first time since 1959?

“It won’t be easy but, yes, of course we can”, the manager said.

“We now have a very experienced team, a very good hurling team, and a team made up of players who firmly believe in themselves”.