Waterford’s high skill level impresses Jimmy Barry-Murphy

Tactics will be one of the abiding memories from this Division 1 final but Jimmy Barry-Murphy preferred to dwell on Waterford’s superior exhibition of skill.

On a day when he felt Cork underachieved - comparing it to their flop performance in the 2012 league decider against Kilkenny - the manager admitted the loss will prompt “heart searching both on the line and on the team”.

He applauded Waterford but more their command of the game’s arts than their formation nous. “Derek McGrath will be very proud of the way his players played. All we can do is take our hats off and say ‘well done’ to them.