Colin Dunford celebrates at the final whistle. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
THE CELEBRATIONS SAID it all.
After a league semi-final played with a championship feel, and at times with championship intensity, Waterford didn’t hold back.
Dan Shanahan was a picture of pure emotion on the sidelines long before those final dramatic moments, roaring on his encouragement and pucking every ball.
His younger brother, Maurice, had rallied the Déise men on the pitch and in the stands with a magnificent score in the 46th minute that cut the deficit to the minimum.
When Barry Kelly blew the final whistle on their one-point win, one Shanahan leapt as high as the other.
In the grand scheme of things, this was relatively small fry, but it proved what Waterford have been telling themselves for many months now. With an undefeated league campaign, promotion back to Division 1A, and the scalps of Galway and now Tipperary, there’s no doubt that they can mix it with the big boys.
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The system works.
“We’re a tight unit — no more than any other intercounty team — but we try to create that spirit that Brian Cody has been talking about all these years, all those core elements,” manager Derek McGrath said afterwards.
We don’t have ego but we have absolute confidence. You don’t want a fella who’ll crawl into his shell.
Maurice Shanahan, back, led the celebrations at the final whistle. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
The afternoon ended perfectly for Waterford, but the start was anything but. Goals from Bonner Maher and Bubbles O’Dwyer had Tipp ahead by 2-2 to 0-3 inside 12 minutes and at one stage in that first half, the margin was as much as seven points.
“I thought we started poorly and we looked a bit stuck to the ground early on.
“But from the 17th minute on we seemed to get a bit of belief in ourselves, in terms of our communication and so on. Even on the line we struggled a bit dealing with the crowd and so on.
“There was a championship feel to it and we were saying we’d learn a lot from today.
“There were elements of our build-up to the day that could be better. We were trying to simulate as best we could what’ll happen on 7 June [against Cork].
We came up here for a run last Saturday week, we went to the Newpark Hotel, but I thought we were a bit giddy. Then again, you probably don’t want to quell giddiness in a young team.
McGrath: his system has transformed Waterford into Munster contenders. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
There was a touch of personal vindication for McGrath personally, too. His decision to overhaul his squad last autumn, replacing some of the older heads with an injection of up-and-coming minors, was met at best with talk of ‘transition’ and at worst, with derision.
“I get satisfied but I’d hope I’m not a bitter person,” he continued.
There were big decisions made but I’d qualify that — if we hadn’t reached the league final, those would still have been the right decisions. I’d feel they were the right things to do.
“We left lads off the panel who are very honourable fellas, and you’d have to think of them and their families now we’re in the league final. There’s a human side to it too.
“It’s been hard because we have lads between 18 and 24 and a couple of lads 31, 32, and that age profile gets you a bit of leeway with yourselves, but it only gets you so far to be a ‘team in transition’.
“We don’t have a revolutionary idea about hurling. We’re just trying to do our best.”
'We try to create that spirit that Brian Cody has been talking about all these years'
THE CELEBRATIONS SAID it all.
After a league semi-final played with a championship feel, and at times with championship intensity, Waterford didn’t hold back.
Dan Shanahan was a picture of pure emotion on the sidelines long before those final dramatic moments, roaring on his encouragement and pucking every ball.
His younger brother, Maurice, had rallied the Déise men on the pitch and in the stands with a magnificent score in the 46th minute that cut the deficit to the minimum.
When Barry Kelly blew the final whistle on their one-point win, one Shanahan leapt as high as the other.
In the grand scheme of things, this was relatively small fry, but it proved what Waterford have been telling themselves for many months now. With an undefeated league campaign, promotion back to Division 1A, and the scalps of Galway and now Tipperary, there’s no doubt that they can mix it with the big boys.
The system works.
“We’re a tight unit — no more than any other intercounty team — but we try to create that spirit that Brian Cody has been talking about all these years, all those core elements,” manager Derek McGrath said afterwards.
The afternoon ended perfectly for Waterford, but the start was anything but. Goals from Bonner Maher and Bubbles O’Dwyer had Tipp ahead by 2-2 to 0-3 inside 12 minutes and at one stage in that first half, the margin was as much as seven points.
“I thought we started poorly and we looked a bit stuck to the ground early on.
“But from the 17th minute on we seemed to get a bit of belief in ourselves, in terms of our communication and so on. Even on the line we struggled a bit dealing with the crowd and so on.
“There was a championship feel to it and we were saying we’d learn a lot from today.
“There were elements of our build-up to the day that could be better. We were trying to simulate as best we could what’ll happen on 7 June [against Cork].
There was a touch of personal vindication for McGrath personally, too. His decision to overhaul his squad last autumn, replacing some of the older heads with an injection of up-and-coming minors, was met at best with talk of ‘transition’ and at worst, with derision.
“I get satisfied but I’d hope I’m not a bitter person,” he continued.
“We left lads off the panel who are very honourable fellas, and you’d have to think of them and their families now we’re in the league final. There’s a human side to it too.
“It’s been hard because we have lads between 18 and 24 and a couple of lads 31, 32, and that age profile gets you a bit of leeway with yourselves, but it only gets you so far to be a ‘team in transition’.
“We don’t have a revolutionary idea about hurling. We’re just trying to do our best.”
– First published 19.27
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