McGrath pleased to see Waterford progress

Waterford manager, Derek McGrath admitted that he was relieved to see off Laois yesterday, given how improved the O’Moores have been in the past couple of years.

McGrath was particularly concerned in light of the fact that the perception outside the camp was that his charges would enjoy a relatively easy path to the next round.

So he cut a contented figure at Walsh Park after the home team’s 2-22 to 1-15 win, hailing the performances of the excellent Kevin Moran and ‘Brick’ Walsh, as well as Colin Dunford, who negated the influence of Laois sweeper, Dwane Palmer.

“We needed it as a management team, we needed it as a team, plain and simple” said McGrath.

“We were in a pressurised environment today, playing at home and obviously playing a team that, in my opinion, genuinely have the seven-man defence down to a tee, in terms of how they play it. They have a fine manager and a fine backroom team.

“(I was) very worried going into it. Worried that the pressures of us not performing in the replay (against Cork) and the pressures of playing at home and the pressures of gossip that you’re playing Laois, a handy one there.

“If I had a euro for everybody who said to me ‘nice draw last week’… I was saying to myself that it was a very difficult draw. I’m just glad to come out the other end of it – no more than Clare were last year in Ennis against Laois.”

Laois have made massive strides since Seamus ‘Cheddar’ Plunkett took over the reins at the end of 2012 when initially part of a selection committee that failed to find someone willing to take on the role.

He oversaw the implementation of a definite game-plan while introducing a raft of minor and U21 players, and they were minutes away from defeating Galway in this year’s Leinster championship.

Apart from scoring a first minute goal via Neil Foyle, they struggled for large periods of this game however but showed their character in the final quarter.

“We were very nervous, particularly in the first half” said Plunkett. “We spilled a lot of ball that would normally be meat and drink to us, made mistakes that we haven't been making. Once those things happen you start compounding the mistakes and it's very easy for teams to get ahead of you in hurling.

“We pulled it back to six points at one stage and then gave away two frees and missed a score down below, if we had brought it back to four or three points you wouldn't know what'd happen but I don't want to hide that we were a bit off the pace tonight.

“We know where we stand. There's been times this year, when we played quality teams, that we were right on the money but we were just a shade off that.”