All-Ireland Quarter Final

The words thriller, epic, classic and superb are among the many superlatives which have been used to describe last Sunday’s game between Cork and Waterford. It was all those surely and more. The agony and the ecstasy were side by side on the stands and terraces and on the pitch in Croke Park. When Cork were 4 points down early in the second half we’d have settled happily for a draw while at the bitter end such a result would have been greeted with delight in the Decies. After our close shaves against Tipperary and Limerick many ‘experts’ felt that Cork were gone over the top and had little more to offer. The character of the Cork team however shone through on Sunday evening. When the need was greatest the Cork hurlers responded in a terrific fashion. Since Sunday this Cork side have come in for great praise. When one considers the bedlam of the winter of 2002 and the spring of 2003, this attempt at winning 3-in-a-row of Senior Hurling All Irelands is just an amazing turnaround. When one compares the results and games played of the last 3-in-a-row team of 1976-1978 with the team of today it really shows what an outstanding bunch of men we now have wearing the red and white of Cork.
Aren’t we lucky here by the Bride to have Brian Murphy and Timmy McCarthy on this team. Brian was simply outstanding again last Sunday marking a variety of Waterford forwards. Timmy made a gigantic contribution with 3 classic points. Winning the third title in a row against Clare or Kilkenny in a month’s time will be a huge task and let’s not get carried away, both Clare and Kilkenny are formidable opponents.