Tipperary manager Liam Cahill extolled the fight in his players after they snatched a late draw in Walsh Park to keep their Munster Hurling Championship hopes alive.
Trailing by four points with a minute of injury-time played, Jake Morris' low shot was blocked by Shaun O'Brien, the ball squirting out to substitute Seán Kenneally, who forced home a goal from close range.
Moments later, they had the all important equaliser, Alan Tynan bustling through the heart of the Waterford defence and hitting the deck to invite the free, which Gearóid O'Connor converted.
The late rescue operation came at the end of a thrilling game played out in the south-east sunshine, in which a much improved Tipperary continually rallied after being rocked with a trio of sucker-punch goals at various stages.
For Cahill and his players, hit with a freight-load of criticism following their abject loss in the Gaelic Grounds six days ago, the result and the performance represented redemption of a sort.
"Disappointed we didn't get the full two points. But I celebrated after like it was a win. Because really what I was celebrating was the fight in my players. The fight in our players in Tipperary.
"It's been a tough six days - it felt like six weeks - since the Limerick game. We really had a real hard look at ourselves on the Monday night.
"Both management and players, we all assessed what needed to happen today to bring a performance.
"The travelling Tipperary supporters, we know they'll back us any day of the week once we bring a performance.
"That's what we got out there today, we never gave up and chased it right down to the death. Thankfully, we're still alive in this championship."
The Tipp manager hadn't spared his players in the immediate aftermath of the loss in Limerick, expressing bafflement at their lethargy.
Some pundits were put out by his frankness, though there was no such recrimination after this latest performance, Cahill stressing that Tipperary were, in some respects, a team in transition, with his job to usher in a new generation of players while maintaining their competitiveness in the Munster championship.
"Lots of lessons from today. But the key thing here is that these players will fight. The fight is in them. They're finding their way now.
"We must remember in Tipperary that we have a lot of younger players coming through and an older cohort in their twilight years.
"It's a tough job to blend that together and still stay competitive. And try and future-proof Tipperary hurling as well in the process.
"That's my job. That was the brief I was given when I took on Tipperary hurling.
"Nothing hurts us more than when we don't perform, both as management and players. Them players are everything to me and everything to the people involved in this set-up.
"I'm not saying we're going to have success at the end of the year. I don't know that. But one thing I do know is that every day we do go out, we'll try our best.
"Our training has been ultra-competitive. I've said that and I know the public might feel it's just lip service. It's not. Usually when you train well, it comes onto the matchday field.
"Today, it came out. And hoping now it'll stay coming consistently for the rest of the championship."
"We must remember in Tipperary that we have a lot of younger players coming through and an older cohort in their twilight years. It's a tough job to blend that together and still stay competitive.
Unsurprisingly, Cahill had some misgivings about the hosts' contentious second goal, referee James Owens apparently booking Kevin Mahony for a third-man tackle in the lead-up to Jack Prendergast's goal, but still allowing the goal to stand.
"There was a third-man tackle from what I could see, in front of me," says Cahill. "That maybe wasn't spotted. And yet the goal still stood and the player got a yellow card. Which was strange.
"We came down for two points. We were lucky to get one, I suppose, leaving. But we have it. There's still four more on offer. Five points could put us in a Munster final.
"But again, the Cork game in Thurles is massive. Don't be surprised if they turn the championship on its head next weekend with Limerick because that's what Cork do. They're a proud hurling county like ourselves and they'll be coming all guns blazing.
"That's the joy of the Munster championship. It's not good for the heart but it's great for the spectators."
Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald was in relatively jovial mood after the game despite his disappointment at letting the game slip at the death.
"No matter what happened. Once he threw himself down, they were getting a free.
"But fair play to them. They fought hard, Tipperary did, and they kept in there.
"It was a game where I felt we were slightly the better team. But that's the way it goes."
When you're four points up and it's nearly time up, you should be nearly saying 'okay, let's foul them out there.'
On Tipp's decisive goal on 71 minutes, Fitzgerald felt his players could shown more shrewdness - or cynicism in nipping the chance in the bud.
"We shouldn't have let them in from the side. You know what should have happened on the sideline? If we're a bit smarter, I'd nearly take the free. When you're four points up and it's nearly time up, you should be nearly saying 'okay, let's foul them out there.'
"But you know what - it's two games without defeat in the Munster championship. In round robin. We're improving..."
Waterford have yet to progress from the Munster round robin in four attempts but currently lie second table. However, they now face into possibly the two toughest assignments, the away trips to Ennis and Limerick.
"Four (points) was our target. Three isn't bad. We'll learn a lot about ourselves in the next two games.
"There's a lot of things can happen in this Munster championship yet.
"Our first day against Cork, we were really energetic. Not as much today but we fought hard. So we've got to figure out how to get ready the next day.
"We're meeting a Clare team who have three weeks off. It'll be an interesting one in Ennis. We'll probably be written off big time.
"Conor Prunty was a massive loss in the first half. He was dominating inside there, we need him to get back on the field."
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