Davy Fitzgerald: 'Whatever bit of stick is coming, we all have to take it'
Davy Fitzgerald will be hoping for a big performace against Kilkenny in Walsh Park on Saturday next. Photos: Inpho.
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Reaction: Davy Fitzgerald; 'Judge us on the Munster championship' was the message from Davy Fitzgerald after Waterford suffered their third league defeat on Sunday and dropped to Division 1B for 2025.
“The main time here is six weeks today and then two weeks again after that. That’s probably what our year is going to be judged on, being honest about it. If we happen to lose two or three games in the championship, will anyone talk about the league? No. If we happen to win two or three games, will they be talking about the league? No. Whatever bit of stick is coming for the week, we all have to take it and that’s it.” This game was decided either side of the break in his view. “We should have been up about six or seven at half time, we played by far the better hurling in the first half. I thought we were flying it in a lot of different aspects, 16 points and going well. It’s just like a different team in the second half, maybe it’s just a lack of game time or different things, I’m not sure. We just totally lost our shape, that’s the thing that disappointed me in the second half.”
Waterford have lost the four third quarters in this year’s league by 2-25 to 0-9. Fitzgerald still can’t figure it out. “I am trying everything, came out earlier today, we did a different routine before we got going again. We made a change at half-time that I’d regret, I didn’t think it helped us. I was expecting an impact and I didn’t get the impact I expected to get."
"The good thing was the lads kept trying because we were gone completely out of that game. Are we going to ship a lot of flak in Waterford? We are. Are they going to be giving out? They are, and rightly so, can’t say anything about that. But we’ll fight away and I think it is important to realise that we have to get game time into the lads, whether we are good or we’re bad, we have to get them game time."
"There were a few lads and I knew they were tiring but they had to be left there because if I have to get them right for six weeks I have to leave them there.”
Jamie Barron, Peter Hogan and Shane Bennett all got their first starts of 2024.
“Jamie has zero game time, it’s going to get him. I have to leave him out there to build his base up. Kieran Bennett had to be left out for as much as possible, Peter Hogan had to be left out, Shane Bennett had to be left out. I knew they’d run out of gas after 40 or 45 minutes but I have to try and get it into them. You could see when we went a bit flat, the same energy we had in the first half wasn’t there. That’s the way it is, I accept it. It isn’t easy. I can feel it, I can feel it myself in the stand, I know they’re frustrated."
"I’ve no choice. When you’re injured, you’re injured and you’ve got to get them back as good as you can. That’s the way it is. Wexford were better than us in the second half today. You could see how much fitter they were.” Fitzgerald sensed the frustration of the home fans. “You could hear lads, ‘lump the ball up.’ Lump the ball up isn’t the answer. Did we lose our shape? At times we did. We’re very disappointed, absolutely very disappointed, but give me a good championship run and a bad league run and I’d probably take it. Judge us on the end of the championship and see how we feel.”
It’s all about April 21 for Fitzgerald and the visit of Cork to Walsh Park. “We wanted to win, we knew what was at stake. But we also knew there were six or seven of those guys with no game time and we knew there was probably going to be a bit of pain. I have to trade off, I have to get the game time in there. Am I disappointed? I want to win every game, I want the Waterford public roaring and shouting behind us but the hand I’m dealt with, I’m dealt with and that’s what I got to do.” The concession of the first half goal to Conor Hearne annoyed him.
“That shouldn’t have happened. I know what happened, that shouldn’t have happened. That was preventable. I’ve had words with someone about that already. That was preventable, trust me.” Paddy Leavey was handed the long distance frees even though he hasn’t hit them before for county, club or school. “He’s nailing them all the time at training so he is,” Fitzgerald explained. “I didn’t think he did too bad on them. He scored two out of three so there’s your answer.”
