Agony of defeat still fresh for Shanahan
And it doesn’t get any easier when he looks at the champions contesting their fourth consecutive decider and thinks of what it might be like for the Waterford hurlers even to get to one final!
“It still hasn’t sunk in. It was the toughest defeat I ever had to be honest. We played well enough to get the draw, but it wasn’t our day. Any previous time we lost in Cork it was to a better team. The Tipp victory was great for us. It put us in the right frame of mind going in against Cork. But we got no luck.
“I can’t explain how I feel. I haven’t seen the video of the game. I don’t want to see it until maybe next year when we might play them again. It might motivate us.’’
In Dublin yesterday to receive the Vodafone GAA All Star hurling award for the month of July in recognition of his outstanding display against Tipperary, Shanahan felt that the difference between winning and losing their semi-final came down to not getting “the rub of the green”.
“We didn’t have it against Cork. There were one or two (refereeing) decisions we could have got but didn’t. I think we have everything else,’’ he commented.
And, while he was prepared to concede that Sean Óg Ó hÁilpín “got the better of him” in this game, he felt he might have got one or two frees himself. Most of all, he felt aggrieved that a foul on John Mullane was ignored and it led to the Cork goal at the other end of the field.
“I saw a photo on one of the papers where Ó hÁilpín had my jersey pulled. I was just disappointed with some of the decisions the ref made.
“You are always under pressure when you’re on Sean Óg. We had tussles before but I suppose he got the better of me this time.
“That’s the way it goes, but I didn’t go up there to have a poor game. I felt I didn’t do that badly, I tried hard, I worked hard. I can’t do any more than that. Sean Óg was up on my back most of the time. I think he was playing me more than the ball.’’
Interestingly, he felt that young Cork substitute Cathal Naughton had it easy when he came on the field, saying: “The first thing anyone should have done was give him a dig into the ribs or something like that. I know if I was 19 years old and brought in against Cork, the first thing I’d get would be a slap!’’
With no talk of retirements (so far), Shanahan is optimistic about the future and, if some people might feel differently, he wants Justin McCarthy to continue. “Why should he go when we were within an inch of getting to an All-Ireland final,’’ he said.
“Tony Browne came back in April and he did the right thing because he had a fantastic year. I think if one or two of us might do that this year. At the moment it’s a big commitment from January on and it’s hard to stay fresh.
“We thought this year might be our year. We came into the championship with a late run. Tipp beat us in Munster, but in a way it was maybe a good thing. We settled back down quickly and things changed in training.
“We got the momentum going against Westmeath and Galway was the big game for us. But we just couldn’t build on that the next day. It was so disappointing!’’
He tips Cork to win the final, explaining: “The way they celebrated after beating us, I think it’s their All-Ireland final. If anyone was going to beat them it was us and they caught us on the day. Kilkenny will give them a game, but no disrespect, I think Cork have the upper hand on them.
“If Cork want it, they’ll keep going for four and five. They’re all young fellows. Brian Corcoran is the oldest but he keeps himself very fresh.’’
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