Davy Fitzgerald nodded when told that Derek McGrath had said that Clare-Waterford had just become a trilogy.

Before this match, the benefits of meeting in a league final so close to the dog days of championship were debated. That hardly matters now. There is no point in pretending these teams won’t know each other inside out by the time they match up in early June.

“I agree with him 110 percent. I can’t wait for the next two. I just can’t wait to go again. That is what hurling is all about. You want a man’s game; you want it toe to toe and we are delighted. Fair play to Waterford; they were the same thing. We had to stand up at the end of normal time and Conor McGrath had to put over a free that was incredible. And I am so proud of him because everything was on the line for us. He did it.

"And fair play to Maurice Shanahan. He did it when he had to do it. That just shows you what hurlers are about. Even from a hurling man, I feel it was just a savage game of men to men, toe to toe."

New test

Fitzgerald’s happiness lay in the fact that his team had survived a new test. He had conceded before this final that

Clare

were facing into the unknown and he wasn’t sure how his team would respond to the unique challenge that Waterford pose. Leave it to others to decide on the aesthetics.

He was over the moon with how his players had coped with the demands and stresses which Waterford place on all other teams.

“One of the most tactical games I was involved with. But we really enjoyed it in Clare. We would have enjoyed it more if we had been on the right side. But I think it would have been unfair on any side to lose that. They both deserve another crack at it. We thought it would take a few more weeks to come to grips with it. I thought we did okay.”

Fitzgerald didn’t look surprised when he heard that the teams produced close on 40 wides between them. Players on both sides were trying pot-shots when they caught a glimpse of the posts.

“That tells its own story. But that would come from it being congested in the middle. It will be that way because it is so tight. That 45 to 45 was a war zone and that is why there were so many wides. I am sure Waterford had more wides than us in the first half and the reason for that is that we were trying to make them shoot from as far out as we could.”

On rare occasions, the stylists got space enough to shine. Conor McGrath landed a sublime second-half point and Shane Bennett replied with a gorgeous strike off his left after feinting inside as he carried the ball. Patrick Curran and Brian O’Halloran both landed outrageous points for Waterford.

“It got a bit more open towards the end,” Fitzgerald acknowledged but his mind was still on the overall theme of the day.

“You could see....I am so proud of how my lads handled it. Waterford weren’t throwing around as many passes today. I think we did a fairly unbelievable job. The bookies may have it evens the next day.

“I don’t know how ye felt about it up in the stand but on the sideline it was pretty nerve wracking. You know what? That is what you love about the GAA. If you don’t like that ebbing and flowing and a point in it, you are at nothing. And as Derek McGrath said, there is another two weeks to come. Bring it on. We can’t wait.”

The chances are neither team will depart radically from this script. It will be just as tight, just as cagey. Space will be at a premium.

“Win, lose or draw we will accept whatever comes,” said Fitzgerald.

“I am just absolutely mad about the courage and determination my team showed. We looked out of it.

“We went down three points playing with the breeze in extra time. We went a point up against it in the second half. I thought we were there. But in hindsight it was the right result.”