'We're more of a team this year than we were last year'

IAN O'RIORDANfound the Tipperary camp happy to accentuate the positive having achieved their first back-to-back Munster titles in 20 years

AS MUNSTER hurling finals go, they won’t be talking about this one in 125 years. Judging by his reaction at the final whistle, Liam Sheedy couldn’t care less. The Tipperary manager raised a two-finger salute in reference to the county’s first back-to-back Munster titles in 20 years, and afterwards talked only about the positives. The issue of Tipperary fading yet again, the danger that still presents, is talk for another day. Sheedy hardly entertained it at all.

“Look, we came here to win,” he declared, “and we’ve done that. It’s been a tough road, and we’re just delighted now to be back in another All-Ireland semi-final. Back in Croke Park. I guess this is where it all starts again, a new competition. But we’re down to the last four, and delighted to be there.”

Davy Fitzgerald, in contrast, rued the couple of giveaway goals which effectively ended Waterford’s chances. But the Waterford manager had nothing but good things to say about the commitment of his team.

“There was one or two aspects I was not happy with,” he admitted, “but I am not going to talk about them. We’ll just say we dealt with things better in the second half. We have to look at the two mistakes. The goal before half-time, and the one after, were bad errors, mistakes we made.

“But fair play to Tipp. Munster champions. They were in control of the game for a lot of it. Tipp have been coming a long time. And they’ll be hard beaten. Their work ethic is very good. You can’t make mistakes and expect to win.

“But hats off to our lads as well. They battled to the end. I think we missed two open goals in the first 10 or 15 minutes of the game. We could have rapped in three of four there overall.”

Goals, then, were the talk of the day – particularly Lar Corbett’s double-whammy either side of half-time.

“The goals did kill them,” added Sheedy. “But we really needed the one in the second half. It gave us that bit of breathing space because, to be fair and honest, Waterford did outhurl us for long patches in the second half, and we were just hanging on with the odd point here and there.

“But I’d be happy with the performance. I thought again some of the play from the lads was top class. We do continue to struggle for that level of consistency right though, but when you’re playing teams the calibre of Waterford you’re not going to own the field for 70 minutes. That’s the reality of it.

“We’re only thinking of the All-Ireland semi-final final now . . . And I’m just lucky to have such a good group.”

Shane McGrath also talked about the closeness of the group. It may ultimately be what takes Tipp the extra step this year: “With the young lads coming in and that, we’re more of a team this year than we were last year. We’ve trained a lot harder, a closer team, and you don’t win nothing unless you’re winning with your friends. And we’re all very good friends.

“It was a tough game, tough going. But then a few of us were getting some stick lately, saying we wouldn’t be able to do it when it counted. But a lot of lads weren’t fully right for the last couple of matches. You only have to look at Conor O’Mahony there. He’s been very sick all year, and Eoin Kelly as well, injured. And there were two of our best man there today.”

Likewise, McGrath didn’t entertain talk of Tipperary fading: “I don’t really care. We’ve the cup now in the dressingroom, so they can say what they want. I know it is still a worry for us. But we’ll sit down next week and talk about it then. We’ll enjoy this first.

“Obviously Waterford were going to come back. They’re one of the best teams in the country. We were confident enough if we held our own, we’d win. But Waterford really made us earn it.

Last word, inevitably, went to Fitzgerald. “It wasn’t just Tipp slacking. We kept going, kept driving at it, and stayed with it. I am proud of them for that.

“We have character, and I am delighted to put that to rest after last year. . . We are proud. . . We’ll fight and we’ll keep fighting. That’s what hurling is about. I think you saw that at the end.”