Donal Óg Cusack says that while many see Davy Fitzgerald as ‘a bit mad at times,’ that, from his experience, there’s always ‘method to the madness.’
You could see a mixture of both on Sunday. Donal Óg worked alongside Davy as a Clare selector in 2015 and 2016 so, in terms of Davy’s hurling brain, the Cork man has a better insight than most.
That being said, his decision to play Billy Nolan out the field as a sweeper – Nolan was his keeper for the rest of the year – caught most off gaurd. But with Waterford down Austin Gleeson and Jamie Barron, Fitzgerald’s hand was forced in some ways and that’s where the idea came from.
It’s not like it was a total bolt from the blue either. Nolan plays out the field for his club Roanmore and was centre back for the SETU Waterford Fitzgibbon Cup team this year. He has also played half forward for the Waterford senior team back in the pre-season of 2017.
“The moves that Davy made, taking Billy Nolan out as a sweeper and putting Sean O’Brien in goals, worked a treat,” said Donal Óg on The Sunday Game.
“So credit where it’s due.
“On the overall picture, you could say that Waterford have regressed. But just on today, the Waterford players and Davy deserve huge credit.
“People see Davy as a bit mad at times,” continued the former Cork goalkeeper,
“But there’s always method to his madness.
“And they were under huge pressure.
“You could say that when things were going bad for Waterford last year, that they waved the white flag but they did not today. They went into Thurles to play Tipperary today, on their home patch, and they stood up,” he continued.
Meanwhile, despite Waterford’s exit from the championship, Fitzgerald took their win over Tipperary as a chance to hit back at its critics.
“We’re actually trying really hard,” he said after the game.
“Is there a few things we have to put right? There is one or two things outside of hurling that we need to put right. We started that today.
“It’s a game of hurling, there’s more things to life. I’m in the job five months, you’d swear I was there five years. There’s other managers there three or four years and have won zero and are not getting half the hassle.
“What is that about? I’m so happy for the team. We trained hard. We’re so disappointed. If we beat Limerick in the first round, what you think would have happened today?”
Elsewhere, the Munster council will decide today where Clare and Limerick’s final will be played – with Semple Stadium and Páirc Uí Chaoimh in the running – although both Clare and Limerick would prefer Semple as the venue.
Related links
- The tremendous documentary on Dublin/Manchester United hero Kevin Moran
- The GAA Hour: Enda McNulty in studio PLUS Marty Kavanagh interview
- Enda McNulty on Armagh’s emphasis on Al Pacino speech in 2002
