"We're fed up of being finished in May" - Stephen Bennett

Stephen Bennett was mobbed by fans in front of the tunnel after he marked his 100th appearance for Waterford with a man of the match performance. He obliged every single request.

The Déise’s two-goal hero is desperate to make it out of the Munster round robin this year. “We've been so nearly there all the time. We need to just go away and get another win. Get out of the group, get to a Munster final or get to the All-Ireland series. We're fed up of being finished hurling in May. We won’t get ahead of ourselves. We've Limerick in six days' time so we'll focus on that now."

Joining the 100 club is an achievement he will reflect on at a later date. "That's something I'll look back on in a few years. I'm just delighted with the two points. I would have sat out on the bench if we could have won two points today.” The number ten admitted that he lost his footing in the act of converting that second-half penalty. "I fell over! We'll take it! It was like a John Terry moment! Look, it went in, I was happy. I actually didn't see it go in because I fell over!” 

 For his second goal, the Ballysaggart ace pounced on a Patrick Fitzgerald point attempt that dropped short. “I just thought stay in and hang in around there. In fairness to Dan Shanahan and Eoin Kelly, they tell you ‘it can hit the post’. It happened to us in the league final. In fairness, it curled back lovely. I was like ‘just don’t go out wide’. As soon as I caught it then, I just got around John Conlon and hit it low.” 

A home win is the ideal start to the provincial campaign. “It’s massive. These minutes are very enjoyable. Look, we’ve Limerick in six days’ time. Last year, we had three points out of four and we still didn’t get through. It’s brilliant, it’s good for the confidence, it’s good for everything.

“We knew we were well able for it. Probably disappointed at half time with how we played with the big wind. In the second half, everyone just upped it. There could have been a number of us taken off at half time but in fairness, we stood up in the second half and got the two points. Long way to go yet.”

What was said at half time? “Not much to be honest with you. In fairness, the backs were going well but the forwards took a little bit of time to get used to it. We were getting blocked and we weren’t moving. Started well and then dipped for a few minutes. Look, in the second half, we played well in fairness. Just work rate, just getting fellas turned over. We were working together. Everyone just did their job. A really selfless performance from everyone.”