Seamus Harnedy says Cork 'bottled up' the hurt from previous losses

15 May 2022; Jack Prendergast of Waterford in action against Shane Kingston of Cork during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 4 match between Waterford and Cork at Walsh Park in Waterford. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Seamus Harnedy said Cork bottled up the hurt from the losses to Limerick and Clare and used it to fuel the performance against Waterford.

Harnedy put in a superb performance for the Rebels, scoring five points from play and providing huge leadership.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Damien O’Reilly after being named Man of the Match, Harnedy said Cork still had belief in themselves going into today’s encounter.

“Every day you step over the line in intercounty you have to believe in the team that goes out. After two bad performances against Clare and Limerick we were eager to rectify it. We were waiting patiently, waiting for this game for a long time. I wish it was last weekend to be honest. It was another week of hurt.

“We just bottled that up. We brought it today and thank god we put in a good performance in a hard place to come.” 

Harnedy praised the Cork support for driving the team on. Waterford manager Liam Cahill had asked for the Waterford fans to come out and support the team in the build-up to the game.

“Fair play to the supporters as well. When Waterford got on top of us there, I think it was 1-9 to 1-6 they rallied us as week. Fair play to them coming up in their droves.” 

Cork now face into next week’s clash with Tipperary knowing another win will likely be needed if they are to keep their championship hopes alive.

“We will reflect, take the learnings from this performance, bring it into next week. It’s only two points from this so a long way to go.”