The conventional wisdom is that when a team comes back from the dead to force a draw, they carry a psychological advantage into the replay.

When the team that came back from the dead should have wonthe drawn match in the first place, then the advantage should be all the greater. This was the case with Waterford in their quarter final tie with Cork. The statistics show that the Déise dominated the replay even more than the first game. The fact that they only scraped through by a single goal is partly a reflection of the stiff resistance which the Rebels put up to the very end. Even more so was it a reflection of the fact that, apart from their immediate opponents, the Waterford players also had to overcome their own inner
demons, not to mention the desperate hopes of their long-suffering legion of supporters.

This was apparent in the anxiety - amounting almost to a frenzy at times - with which they played the game. While this helped them secure more than their fair share of possession and deny it to Cork, it also meant that a lot of the ball played up to the Waterford forwards was poorly conceived and executed. Immediately after the second half throw-in, for example, in quick succession both Ken McGrath and Stephen Molumphy sent head-high balls towards John Mullane, who on both occasions had Diarmuid O'Sullivan in close attention. The outcome of such contests was entirely predictable. Shortly afterwards Molumphy showed how it should be done, when his excellent low ball was snapped up by Mullane and duly dispatched over the bar.

Much of the after-match coverage focused on the second-half performance of the Waterford halfback line in denying the Cork forwards possession and acting as platform for the Waterford attacks. However, the statistics show that the Waterford halfback line didn't play the ball in general play much more in the replay than in the drawn game. By contrast, the Cork halfback line was on the ball much more often in the replay, playing the ball 43 times compared with just 27 in the drawn game. This was mainly due to John Gardiner and Ronan Curran upping their input considerably, although Seán Óg Ó hAilpín also played more ball in the replay. As a result, most of the Waterford forwards were less effective in the replay than in the first game.

The real area in which this game was won and lost (apart from Dan Shanahan's two goals) was in midfield. In the RTE coverage, Michael Duignan made several references to the great battle that was going on between the players of both teams in this area, and gave the impression that both sides were giving as good as they got. The statistics tell a different story.

Essentially, both sides had three players operating around midfield, with Ben O'Connor for Cork and Stephen Molumphy for Waterford ranging all over the territory (and even further afield). Between them, Brick Walsh, Eoin Kelly and Molumphy made a phenomenal 71 plays (an average of almost 24 each) compared with just 37 for the O'Connor twins and Tom Kenny. Both sets of players made high-visibility contributions (the Waterford trio scored six points from play and the Corkmen seven) but it was in the trenches that the Déise men won hands down.

This is most apparent from the astonishing statistics relating to the winning of puckouts. Normally, the team defending puckouts from the opposing goal has an advantage and wins the lion's share of possession in these situations. Waterford duly won the bulk of the Cork puckouts (16 out of 26, with Cork winning seven and three indecisive). In recent years, Cork have placed very heavy emphasis on winning possession from their own puckouts via Donal Óg Cusack's well-directed pucks to midfielders running into space. Their failure to do this effectively was a key ingredient in their defeat last Sunday. In the second half, Cork won just one of Cusack's 13 puckouts.

An even more important ingredient in Waterford's victory was their ability to win their own puckouts. Of a total of 23, they won no less than 16, with Cork winning just six and one indecisive. The key to all this was not the Waterford half backs and half forwards winning clean ball, but their midfielders picking up breaking balls in both areas. Both Brick Walsh and Stephen Molumphy have a phenomenal ability to secure possession when the ball hits the deck, and this ability effectively neutralised another key element in the normal Cork game plan.

Perhaps the most significant element in Waterford's victory was Eoin Kelly's performance. Since first bursting on the senior scene in 2002 (when he was awarded an All-Star at the age of 19), Kelly has consistently underperformed for Waterford. His ability to convert limited possession into scores has kept him in the team, but he has generally been marginalised from the overall play, appearing to lack concentration and focus. This was a sharp contrast from his underage days, when he was capable of dominating games from his favourite possession in midfield. Last Sunday we saw Kelly's best ever performance in a senior Waterford shirt. Apart from his three superb points, he showed a massive appetite for work, making 20 plays (apart from frees and sidelines) compared with just nine the previous day. This major contribution in the engine room was of crucial significance in pushing the advantage in Waterford's direction.

Overall, Waterford made 185 plays to Cork's 147 (in the second half the balance was 102-74 in Waterford's favour). Over 100 of these plays came from just four players - the aforementioned midfield trio and Ken McGrath. While everyone is talking about Dan Shanahan as potential player of the year, the major contributor to Waterford's run of success in 2007 has been McGrath who has consistently provided enormous leadership. For example, in the league final it was his three long-range points from frees which kept Waterford in touch at a time when their forwards were making little headway against the Kilkenny defence. And in the two quarter final games against Cork, McGrath has been magnificent in winning ball, making tackles, covering off and supporting his team mates. There has been little sign of the frustration and anxiety which have been inclined to blot his copybook in the past.

Now that Waterford have got the monkey of beating Cork in Croke Park off their backs, it remains to be seen if they can move onto the higher plane required in order to secure ultimate All-Ireland success. If they can become more calm and considered in their delivery of ball into the forwards,they could become unstoppable, given the scoring potential among the forwards in question. They need to find more effective ways of getting th ball into the hands of Dan Shanahan, Paul Flynn and John Mullane in areas of maximum opportunity on a more regular basis. And, of course, they need to avoid the potentially fatal mistake of reducing their intensity levels against a fired-up Limerick team which looks stronger than it has been all season.