Flynn: We have no fear

SEVEN times they have played there in the Guinness All-Ireland Hurling Championship in the last eight years, but only once had Waterford been successful up to a fortnight ago against Tipp.

And that was in the 1998 quarter-final against Galway.

Nevertheless, leading player Paul Flynn argues there’s no fear factor about playing in Croke Park — and it all relates to the quality of the opposition!

In the context of their semi-final against Cork next Sunday, the players fully realise what’s expected of them if they are to make it to the final for the first time since 1963.

More pertinently, he says that whereas Cork might have been looked on as kingpins for a long time in the past, nowadays they hold no fears for Waterford.

Meanwhile, he admits to being very much in the dark about the selectors’ plans for him. Involved at senior level for 14 years, he appreciates his fortune in not spending too much time on the substitutes bench over that period. His much-publicised problem (which requires surgery) prevented him from starting the quarter-final against Tipperary, but he made an important contribution as a second-half replacement.

“The body is fine. We have bigger issues than my injury,’’ he says. “Every player wants to play some part in the campaign, I’m no different. You would hope to be involved, I have no idea. It wasn’t that frustrating to be on the bench the last day, because we were going well. Coming in when the game was at full pelt was probably different, because it does take four or five minutes to get motoring.

It’s something you adapt to. The ball was there to be fought for. That’s the attitude you have to have coming in.’’

Flynn feels that the wrong slant was put on their quarter-final success, in the way it was reported — that it had much more to do with them beating Tipperary as opposed to breaking a Croke Park hoodoo.

“Effectively there’s no problem in Croke Park whatsoever. I know we lost three semi-finals there, but if we lost them in Thurles, would there be a Thurles hoodoo?

“We won there (Croke Park) in ‘98. None of us had even trained there, hardly seen the place before. A couple of us played a minor final there — beaten again. No sweat, no problem with the stadium. Just a problem with the opposition over the years!’’

Cork have been part of that problem, beating them in the All-Ireland quarter-final last year (by five points, after having just a point to spare over them in the Munster semi-final a few months earlier). But, the more revealing statistic is that their past six meetings have been evenly shared — the 2004 Munster final victory (also by a point) being most noteworthy from Waterford’s perspective. They won the game after having John Mullane sent off early in the second half and it marked their first win over Cork in a decider since 1949.

Their meetings in the league have invariably been close as well.

They have all been good games. “We’re certainly not overawed playing Cork. They are a good team. To beat them you have to work as hard as them — and obviously outscore them. They have strength all over the place. They are a hard unit to break down.’’

Two of the three All-Ireland semi-final defeats were against Kilkenny, the most recent two years ago. Three points separated the teams at the finish, yet Waterford conceded three goals in the first half (and two of them at an early stage). As the game neared its climax they were getting better. It might have been different, he agreed, had there not been a seven-week gap after they won the Munster final (as happened in 2002, when Clare beat them in the semi-final).

He remembers the first few weeks back training was “like a holiday camp”. It was hard to stay focused and to make matters worse, they didn’t know who they would be playing until a week beforehand. “It was tough, but that was the way and unfortunately we failed,’’ he added. “But it was a learning experience.’’

Players have also learned how to cope with pressure of a different kind, from supporters overanxious about making the breakthrough. That pressure has been there a long time (“since 1959, I suppose”) and he commended Waterford fans for sticking with the team.

“Everyone realised this year there was more to the All-Ireland than just the Munster championship.

“That was the attitude we took and here we are. We said if we could play well for 50 minutes, imagine what we could drag out of it (playing more consistently). That was the one positive.

“Our attitude was that if we play well, we could win.’’

What impresses him about Cork is their coolness under pressure, the refusal to panic, even when the opposition gets a run on them. “It’s the sign of a good team.”

Those same signs were evident in Waterford’s display against them two years ago, in one of the best Munster finals of modern times.

Sunday will be all about knuckling down like they did on that occasion. And being able to reproduce something similar.