Cahill feared 'the dam had busted' once Tipperary relinquished lead

Tipperary manager Liam Cahill. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Liam Cahill feared “the dam had busted” when his team fell behind by two points in the 66th minute but maintains his team’s graph is moving in the right direction.

“Loads of quality, plenty of mistakes as well, and loads of excitement. But that is Munster Championship, that's what we expect from this competition now.

“And, look, we go away from today and get our head around the few areas we need to improve on, but hats off to Waterford, and great credit to our guys as well.

“Went two down there, looked like the dam had busted and everything was gone, and came back and went three out again. Really good character from our guys.

“A couple of big matches coming again, but we have a couple of weeks now to get our heads around the Clare game, which will be a vital game as well.” 

Asked about the excitement of the game towards the end, Cahill revealed with a smile that he had his cardio health checked before the game. 

“It’s mad, it’s mad. It's not for the faint-hearted anyway. I got an angiogram during the week to test my heart. Everything is okay. I said I’ll get it done before I come down here.

“It is fairly hectic, but it's hugely enjoyable as well. I know the intensity and the scrutiny of it is incredible. It's just so exciting, isn't it, for supporters. 

"Good weather coming, great surface out here. Really good, exciting hurling and it keeps everyone energised, I suppose. I'm looking forward to the rest of the championship. We're all in with a shout. Let's see what happens in four weeks' time.” 

Cahill pointed out Tipperary had the same return of one point from two games in last year’s competition and qualified. 

The team’s backing was in full voice throughout and he was happy to provide a performance after the disappointment of losing to Cork at home last weekend.

“They've been superb. We haven't always given them everything to shout about, but they've always been there for us. And they'll continue to be there.

“I think they'll take a lot of pride out of the way Tipp fought today as well when we went two points down. It looked like, as I said, the game was over and turned it back into hitting for home.

“I think we'll improve again from today. We improved last Sunday. I think we'll improve a lot again and we'll need to for three weeks' time.” 

Clare have a 100% record in the group structure against Tipperary in Thurles. Cahill accepts Tipperary have to do better on their own patch.

“Our home record maybe isn't where we'd like it to be. But having said that, we'll come ready for Clare no more than they will for us It'll be a really exciting encounter. Both teams will have to win it obviously.

“Cork won today as well so they're sitting pretty. Limerick will have to do the business next weekend as well. This championship can take a lot of twisting turns yet before the competition is out.”