Stephen O’Keeffe takes measured approach
Take John O’Dwyer’s flicked goal for Tipp.
Was O’Keeffe wrong-footed by O’Dwyer’s improvisation?
“Absolutely, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. His wrists are incredibly fast, and even watching it back on slow motion, it happened in less than a second.
“You don’t even get a chance to set yourself, but you live and learn, and the lesson there might be to set yourself a lot quicker the next time.”
O’Keeffe made a fine stop from Niall O’Meara late on, though.
“The angle was tight enough for him,” says O’Keeffe.
“I’d have been disappointed if I’d let that in — and so would Derek, I’d say.
“But it’s always nice to feel you contributed to a win. You can be a bit obsolete at times in goal, and for their first goal, someone belting it into the corner, there’s not a lot you can do.
“You’re like a supporter in the stand.”
It’s a measured approach, in keeping with Waterford’s season.
“I think we’ve matured a lot as the year has gone on. Drawing with Limerick gave us a lot of belief that we could come back against big teams in big games that matter.
“Even when we went down by a few — a good few — against Tipperary, we seemed to have the belief and composure. It’s a long game.
“We knew we had done the best work we could have in the build-up to the Tipp game, we just kept driving on, and slowly but surely we ate into Tipperary’s lead. And then Colin Dunford’s goal obviously turned the game on its head a bit as well.
“Going back, we put in good work in the pre-season and we were winning against Limerick for maybe 65 minutes of the game. We put in a good performance that evening.
“If we’d lost after that, there definitely would have been question marks, but we managed the draw. Clawing our way back was definitely character-building.”
So has been the competition with Ian O’Regan for the goalkeeper’s jersey: “It’s true of the whole team, subs are coming in and different lads are starting games.
“Fellas who do well in training get the jersey for games, and that’s great for training because everyone comes with the right attitude — ‘I can get in here if I perform’. it makes training sharper, and adds bite.
“Last year there were a few games when we conceded one or two and maybe we seemed to lose belief quite easily, and then the scoreline at the end could have been very unflattering.
“But this year, we’ve set out our stall very well, we’re all working very hard for each other, there’s a lot of communicating going on and it’s all very efficient and everyone knows their role lot better.”
O’Keeffe says, though, that players still have the freedom to play what’s in front of them.
Take his decision to drop puck-outs on Maurice Shanahan against Tipp.
“That was a ‘play it as you see it’ moment in a game. When you see Maurice, standing six foot plus and he’s standing isolated one-on-one, well, nine times out of 10, you’re going to give him the ball.
“Forwards aren’t as willing to leave the corner back have the ball from a short puck-out because they know he knows where to put it.
“Teams have become a lot more honest and they might give you seven or eight yards room, but even that’s a lot of space. And when you have the likes of Maurice to hit it to, you do.”
O’Keeffe stresses the freedom Waterford have, despite suggestions they play a structured game.
“That’s something that’s been drilled into us as well: you can’t go out with a set plan. Things happen on the day, and you have to be able to adjust. Maurice was meant to be in at full-forward and he came drifting out.
“You have to be able to adapt as well to what happens on the field and players have to take full responsibility for that.
“You can’t be waiting for a signal from the line when it comes to what do we do here. There’s trust being put in us that we know what we’re doing.”
I think we’ve matured a lot a as the year has gone on.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
