Waterford hurlers pulled off a great victory last Sunday. Wexford nearly forced a draw towards the end, but Waterford dug deep and held on.
When the Waterford team was knocked out of the Munster Championship, there seemed to be a lost season ahead.
While the change of management was not in the best circumstances, the outcome in terms of Justin McCarthy’s replacement has been satisfactory given the short time that Davy Fitzgerald has had at the helm.
The forward line has performed superbly but the back line still has some nervous moments.
Given the gloomy talk on the economy, the All-Ireland quarter-final win has really turned pessimism into something positive and long may it continue.
We have three weeks now in the run up to the semi-final, which will take place during the Olympics. The Chinese may have Olympic fever, but here it is all about hurling and there was excellent support last Sunday.
Even greater support will be needed against Tipperary, who are highly favoured this year and are unbeaten Munster and National League Champions, just like Waterford achieved the year before.
Waterford will be the underdogs in this clash and a sharper display will be required next time around.
Tipperary would certainly have dealt with the Waterford threat on their current form, but given an improvement in the Deise and Dan Shanahan back in goal scoring mood, the odds of an upset will increase.