Waterford have the momentum to carry them through

Leaving Croke Park last Sunday evening I felt I'd witnessed the best ever finish to a game of hurling. I still feel that. The last 15 or 20 minutes was as good as anything I'd seen before, and will live in my mind forever.

So I wouldn't miss tomorrow's replay for anything. It would be incredible if this game can match last Sunday's, but I think it will, because both Waterford and Cork have so many great players. It's just so very difficult to separate them on paper, just like the Tipperary-Limerick saga in the Munster championship.

Regardless of that late free being the right call or not, I think a draw was the right result. Though I still feel it was the right decision, as it was in the rulebook - even if in eight of 10 cases it would go in favour of the goalkeeper. And that's no reflection on Donal Óg Cusack, who had a great game. But in the circumstances a draw was the least Waterford deserved.

The way they came back from four points down in the dying minutes was a sign of great maturity, more than anything we've seen from them before. In previous occasions I think Waterford would have caved in.

Having said all that, Cork were head and shoulders above their previous performances this year. And it was probably their best display of hurling in two years. Seán Óg Ó hAilpíwas outstanding, Kieran Murphy had a great match at full forward, and Neil Ronan, and Niall McCarthy played very well when he came on.

People nearly always eulogise games that end in a draw, but this was also played at such a high level of skill and pace, from both sides, that it was truly remarkable. The big question, though, is who gained more from the first game, and I think that would have to be Waterford.

They would have been devastated to lose that match, because they had the chances to win. They hit some horrible wides with 10 minutes to go, with Eoin Kelly and Ken McGrath missing shots. It's great to score from 100 yards, but if you have the forwards on form, like Dan Shanahan, then it's better to get the ball into them.

In a sense they got away with making mistakes last Sunday. But to win the All-Ireland they have got to be more clinical with the use of their ball. Okay, they came back in the last two minutes, but from 10 minutes out they needed to be more clinical. Their improvement, in fact, needs to start from the full back line and goalkeeper, who leaked too many scores last Sunday - especially the three goals.

They are still an outstanding team, and that's why for Cork to match them, and actually get ahead, was an outstanding achievement of its own. And Cork aren't just going to go away. Waterford will have to step it up again.

I still fancy Waterford, although it's going to be very close again. I just think they now have the momentum. But for Waterford to win they will have to play better than last Sunday, which I think they can.

They were good enough to win last Sunday, but still got themselves in a position where they were four points down. So they'll need to learn from the mistakes they made the last day, when they were in a winning position.

Cork played very well, and it's harder to see how they can improve.

With Cork and Waterford, it's the battles between the big players that will count. Waterford have big players on song, such as Dan Shanahan, John Mullane and Paul Flynn.

Sport can be cruel, though. You might deserve to win something but you still have to go out and win it. I'm sure nearly all neutrals are hoping Waterford win, only because of the effort they've made in in recent years and all they've been through. But for Waterford to win the All-Ireland there's still a lot of hurling to be played yet, and Cork are still a serious threat. To win that All-Ireland they'll have to be capable of moving on from where they were last Sunday.

All this contrasts with the first game in Croke Park tomorrow, and the rematch of Kilkenny and Wexford. Straight up I can't see a way for Wexford to win.

For their own sake they'll need to be a lot closer than the Leinster final, and it really comes down to Wexford pride, and having a real go at Kilkenny.

Without sounding like sour grapes, I thought the Wexford v Tipperary game was the poorest of all four quarter-finals. Wexford will really need to step up a lot. There's the off-chance Kilkenny may be a little complacent, and maybe Wexford can really test them. But looking through that Kilkenny team, they're just a formidable outfit. I think Kilkenny got themselves pretty fired up for Galway, and needed to be, and maybe their performance will drift back a little.

I'd still go back to the league quarter-final, where Wexford hammered Galway. I felt there was something in that Wexford team then. They needed to get the goals in the Leinster final, that Kilkenny got, and if Wexford get those goals this time it could be a little different.

But look at the players Kilkenny brought on last weekend, like John Tennyson and Richie Power, who are back to their best. Tommy Walsh was too, and I just can't see how Wexford can break down a team like that.

If and when Kilkenny beat Wexford, they can sit back and watch a lot of hurling before the All-Ireland final, which is just the way the draw worked out. And Limerick are also waiting in the wings now, and I wouldn't yet rule out them making an All-Ireland final either.