WATERFORD proved that absolutely nothing can be taken for granted in sport by demolishing Galway by 2-23 to 2-13 before an attendance of 33,535 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final at Thurles on Sunday.
Earlier at the same venue the Dublin hurlers had booked their place in their first All-Ireland semi-final since 1948 by accounting for Limerick by 3-13 to 0-18. That quarterfinal was a tightly fought affair with the final outcome in doubt until the closing stages.
When Galway and Waterford took the field all the talk was about how much the Connacht team had improved to trounce Clare and Cork in their two qualifying games. Waterford, in total contrast, had slumped to an embarrassing 7-19 to 0-19 defeat to Tipperary in the Munster final.
Straightforward enough then, Galway to move through to a semi-final meeting with Kilkenny. How wrong can you be?
This was an altogether different Waterford team than they one which went down so dismally to Tipp. Quite simply, manager Davy Fitzgerald had driven home the message that you don't become a bad team overnight.
The pride, skill, confidence and defensive organization were back. They couldn't wait to get on to the Semple Stadium arena to prove their critics wrong.
Galway, by comparison, seemed to buy into the idea that their troubles were far behind them after scoring a combined total of 6-48 in those victories over Clare and Cork. Quite a few observers felt that they were the one team that could trouble either Tipperary or Kilkenny.
In the event, they couldn't trouble Waterford. Well, approaching half-time they were still in the game at 1-7 apiece but Waterford then added two quick points before taking complete control in the second half.
By the finish, they had won pulling up by 10 clear points. Davy Fitzgerald summed things up perfectly by commenting: "The lads could have done two things after the Tipperary defeat - think the year was over or buckle down, work through the hurt and come back."
"That's what they did. They gave some performance today after what happened in the Munster final."
No arguments there. Neither could there be any arguments with Galway manager John McIntyre's assessement of his team's performance.
"I would like to apologize on behalf of myself, the team management and the players to the Galway supporters." he said. "That's not a true reflection of the team.
"No excuses. We were beaten by a better team. We lost all over the field. There was an edge to Waterford we couldn't match."
McIntyre is now left to ponder his future. Losing was bad enough; what hurt most for Galway fans was the way they lost.
Galway didn't have to wait long to get the message that Waterford were right up for the occasion. Fitzgerald deserves a lot of credit, not only for lifting the team, but also for some of his tactical switches.
For instance, be switched Kevin Moran to midfield. Moran responded with a wonderful performance, commanding his area throughout and contributing three points.
There were many other fine Waterford performances, Michael "Brick" Walsh was another to make a big impact. Teenager Pauric Moran did a top class job, finishing with 0-7 from frees, while Shane Walsh finished with 1-4.
It was Walsh who set the standard in the opening minutes to score a goal. Galway duly hit back to lead by 1-5 to 1-4 with a penalty by Joe Canning but his effort could not hide the problems within the Galway team.
They simply got worse as the game progressed while Waterford got better. Amazingly, Damien Hayes failed to register a score, as Waterford went 1-19 to 1-7 ahead at the interval and then coasted through the second half.
Moran, Stephen Molumphy and John Mullane finshed with three points each, while substitute Tomas Ryan drove home the Munster team's second goal a minute from the end.
Next up Waterford must face Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final on August 6, with the second semi-final between Tipperary and Dublin taking place at Croke Park a week later.
Everyone expects a Kilkenny-Tipperary final but neither one, I suspect, will take their opponents lightly. For once, Dublin discovered just how to score goals in big games when they edged out Limerick.
All three goals came from former Tipperary player Ryan O'Dwyer. It was just as well that he was in such brilliant form as this was a game that Dublin could very easily have lost.
Limerick had an outstanding performance of their own from Declan Hannon (0-11). Ultimately though, it was the brilliance of O'Dwyer that decided this game.
After a run of injuries, the latest of which saw Conal Keaney ruled out because of a motor bike accident on Friday, Dublin needed some inspiration. Manager Anthony Daly's decision to move O'Dwyer into the attack proved a master stroke.
He responded by scoring three superbly taken goals. The first two displayed finishing of the highest order and, for the last, he was on hand to scope the ball over the line after David O'Callaghan saw his shot saved.
His efforts enabled the Dubs go 3-6 to 0-6 up but inevitably Limerick hit back. So much so, that they were right there in with a chance, trailing by just two points going into the closing stages.
But, once again, O'Dwyer came good, scoring a wonderfully taken point, before leaving the field on a stretcher with a head injury. Fortunately, however, the injury will not stop him turning out against his native county in the All-Ireland semi-final.
"You were all telling us that we couldn't get goals, but we had a Tipp man in there." joked Daly.
Overall, considering the bad injury situation, Daly was both relieved and well pleased. Fittingly, he also paid tribute to the unlucky Keaney.
Donal O'Grady, the Limerick manager, had reason to feel disappointed after coming so close.But he has seen his young team make dramatic strides since the problems of the last few years.
He said: "Unfortunately, we fell at the hurdle today. But I think anyone looking at the match would have seen there wasn't much difference between the sides."
Champions Cork impress vs. Down
But, by that stage, Cork were 2-15 to 0-12 clear. Clarke, who is now due to resume his Australian Rules Football career, found it difficult to get into the game managing just three points, two of which were from frees.
The reward for Cork is a quarterfinal pairing with Mayo, a game on this performance, they should win. But the worrying aspect is all those injuries, remember that Colm O'Neill and Ciaran Sheehan are also currently sidelined.
Elsewhere, Kildare, Tyrone and Limerick also won their qualifying matches. Kildare and Tyrone both recorded impressive victories.
Each had six points to spare, Kildare beating Derry by 0-19 to 0-13, and Tyrone seeing off Armagh by 2-13 to 0-13 in an all Ulster clash. The latter was a round three qualifying match with Tyrone going through to face Roscommon in round four and the winner facing Dublin in the quarter-finals.
On the evidence of their victory over Armagh, Tyrone must be fancied to make it through to meet the Dubs. Mickey Harte's team appear to be getting better with every qualifying match.
Joe McMahon and Tommy McGuigan scored the goals which ended Armagh's campaign. Kildare had too much skill and running power for Derry at Croke Park. James Kavanagh was the star man, finishing with 0-4 from play, but John Doyle was again excellent contributing 0-8 from frees.
Manager Kieran McGeeney was pleased, stressing: "We got some good scores, nice ones from play. James Kavanagh really pushed on and got the points."
Derry, again badly missing the Bradley brothers, had no complaints. Manager John Brennan paid tribute to Kildare, arguing that they were their hungrier side.
Kildare have been drawn against another Ulster side, the recently crowned champions Donegal in an intriguing quarter-final. The remaining quarter-final will see Kerry renew their rivalry with Limerick.
Limerick are probably still wondering how they managed to make it. With their fourth round qualifying game against Wexford moving into injury time at O'Moore Park, they trailed by three points.
But substitute Eoghan O'Connor then scored a goal to level matters. And, with extra-time looking certain, Limerick won a free.
Ian Ryan's effort went high and was waved wide by one umpire, while the other put his flag up. After referee Derek Fahy consulted with both, he awarded the score.
That meant that Limerick had secured the most unlikely of victories by 1-18 to 1-17. Needless to say, Wexford were furious describing the decision as "a disgrace."
Limerick manager Maurice Horan, by contrast, was elated. He said: "The referee gave it, so I presume it was a point. The lads are absolute heroes, they never threw in the towel."
