Cork and Waterford remain optimistic ahead of next battle

WATERFORD will face into next weekend’s replay with the same confidence with which they approached Sunday’s All-Ireland SHC quarter-final, according to selector Seamie Hannon.

Hannon agrees that they have every reason to be optimistic, because of the team’s battling qualities, which have been in evidence in all of their big wins this season.

“You’d have to take pride from the way the lads play on. It has given this team a new lease of life. It wasn’t in Waterford teams until Justin (McCarthy) came,’’ he said. “They really play out the 70-minutes plus. They proved it in Croke Park on Sunday. They weren’t gone nearing the end, even though we looked dead and buried. With two minutes left and we were four points down you would have felt we’d be pushing our luck to get a draw. You would have been inclined to think that the match was going to swing in Cork’s favour, that it was their game. We had that chance at the end where we could have stolen it. Donal Óg Cusack made a brilliant save. I don’t know how he stopped it. But we were still able to grind out a result.”