Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald issued a passionate defence of his team after claiming victory over Cork in the Munster Hurling Championship this afternoon as he said the importance of the result cannot be understated.
The Déise came into the game after a poor league campaign and a fruitless provincial season last year, which ended in elimination in the round-robin series.
With the victory over the Rebels already on the board, Fitzgerald's side have a realistic chance of progression this season.
In the run-up to the game many had questioned if Waterford would have enough quality to begin their campaign in this manner in such a pivotal fixture.
He said: "Maybe they know what they’re doing and it’s all going to come right, it’s just very hard for us to see it."
However they did find the right formula today as Dessie Hutchinson, Stephen Bennett and Jamie Barron came to the fore in a three-point success.
"People are saying we haven't done great. We've two in a row done, which isn't bad for us in two Munster Championship games, and we've got to try and build on that and keep going.
"If I'm being totally honest, I think we totally deserved that win today, that's being honest. We know how good Cork are and we had a lot of time to prepare and get ready for it and we did that today.
"There was a lot of stuff being said, we just kept the heads down and worked really hard and I think you see how hard they played today, but we know one swallow never made a summer, we know what the story is and we know we have to even improve a few things on today."
League woes were a big factor in the concerns about Waterford, with just a single victory over Offaly in their five matches.
However the manager thinks that the points total did not tell the entire story.
He explained: "In the league, if you really, really looked at it, we were missing seven to eight players of what play every single [Munster Championship] day.
"We were within a score and we could have won two or three of those games and yet people were throwing toys out of their pram.
"We weren't far away. We weren’t 100% right. We knew from the league that we weren't that bad. We had certain things we had to work on and we had hard words with ourselves [as management], players had hard words with themselves. We both had it, but we put the heads on, we worked really hard."
The Déise were playing against 13-men yet still shipped a late goal and could not finish off the Rebels.
It gives food for thought ahead of a clash with Tipperary in two weeks’ time.
"Yeah, we probably made it tough for ourselves. In first 10 minutes again after half-time we just let them back into it and they got back level.
"We shouldn't have let that happen, but that's going to happen in the games.
But the Munster Championship is truly well on at this stage I can tell you, so it's going to be an interesting one
"We actually had another goal opportunity or two, like we created a few chances there and we need to take them.
"There was aspects of our play that we'd worked on worked really well and it was good, there is still a few bits to improve.
"But the Munster Championship is truly well on at this stage I can tell you, so it's going to be an interesting one.
"Getting the win today actually takes a lot more than you think out of you, but I'm around long enough to know that today is great, but next day is the one, again, we've got to be ready for that. This Munster Championship, it’s like an All-Ireland every weekend, so we know that.
"I think you can see; you'd be pretty shattered, pretty tired, after a game like that. I just need a day or two myself now and I know the lads are saying we just need to unwind for a day or two. I think it's important to enjoy the feeling as well.
"We've had enough of the other feeling, you know, and we’ll enjoy it for today, but it's back to business then Tuesday again so it is."
Cork manager Pat Ryan rued the red and black cards and concession of a penalty as a turning point in the game.
He said: "In fairness Waterford were probably coming in great guns in regards to being written off. We knew they had a very, very good team and they brought huge intensity to the game.
"I'm proud of our fellas, a lot things went against us in the second half. Down to 13 men, we never gave up, we kept fighting, and that's something we'll cling to."
The Rebels now face a potentially make-or-break match with Clare at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh in seven days.
"We have a huge game against Clare next week with both of us after losing today, so that is going to be a huge.
"In fairness to Waterford today, they worked their socks off and put us under huge pressure, but we got to the grips with the game, got back level after half time, showed great character to come back into it and then the penalty and the sending off took a bit of momentum out of us, you know.
"It’s disappointing for us, but look, the great opportunity that we have now is to move on to next week against Clare. We can't be sulking or anything, you just need to move on."
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