A relieved Pat Ryan said Cork's crunch victory against Waterford was "all about winning" and insisted his side would be "big underdogs" when they face Limerick again in the Munster final in two weeks' time.
Last year's All-Ireland runners-up needed to avoid defeat at home to the Déise on Sunday to advance to the knockout stages and did so with a six-point victory that wasn't quite as comfortable as the final scoreline of 2-25 to 1-22 suggests.
"We did enough to get over the line today and that's what it was about," the Rebels manager told RTÉ Sport. "We were down a few bodies and fellas played well. They were working really hard.
"We left an awful lot of scores behind us. Eight or nine out of 22 shots there in the second half. That's the way it is. Knockout championship is nervy and we were in old-school Munster hurling.
"That Waterford team is a very good team. They had a fantastic win against Clare and two really good performances against Tipperary and Limerick.
"We knew they were going to bring a huge battle here today. Even when we went eight points up they came back at it. We're delighted to get over it."
"There was an emotion kind of element as well after really letting down our fans and ourselves last week against what is a super Limerick team and we just weren't at it.
"It gets us into the All-Ireland series. That was the key. It gets us into the Munster final in two weeks' time, but we'll celebrate the victory today because that was hard enough."
Cork's All-Ireland credentials have weakened somewhat since their all-conquering display in the league. A draw with now-eliminated Clare, thrashing of 14-man Tipperary and 16-point annihilation at the hands of Limerick had left them facing what would have been an unthinkable early exit.
"I think that's what Munster Championship is," reflected Ryan. "Anyone can beat anyone and results go up and down. It's dog eat dog.
"Getting five or six points to get out Munster was our key and we managed to get five points.
"We'll enjoy our win tonight and we’ll think about Limerick, which is an onerous task, on Monday."
"Well, I would disagree it was erratic - I think that's what Munster Championship is"
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 25, 2025
Cork manager Pat Ryan on a hard-fought win over Waterford for his side and a tough final to come
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Cork were such a distant second best to Limerick last week that some even wondered whether they had deliberately had one eye on later meetings, a suggestion Ryan laughed off while insisting he was confident his team could again compete, having won the two previous championship meetings.
"As regards doing extra training or anything that wasn't on the cards at all," he insisted.
"We were recovering from a couple of injuries… but we recovered as well as we could for Limerick last week.
"They didn't let us hurl last week and we didn't work hard enough and they were the keys to it us for this week.
"Limerick blew us away last week and we'll be going up there as huge underdogs.
"But at the same time, we know that we can compete against Limerick. You just need to be at it, 100%."
"It's not easy, we're bitterly disappointed"
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 25, 2025
Waterford manager Peter Queally reflects on his side's defeat to Cork and the end of their Munster SHC campaign
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Waterford manager Peter Queally said he and his players were "bitterly disappointed."
"We really had set out our stall this year to come out of Munster.
"It's something that we've been striving to do the last number of years. We got off to a good start, beating Clare, but unfortunately, it came up short.
"We've trained hard for the last eight months in a lot of unkind weather. Just when the weather is getting good, now we're putting our hurleys away. It's very frustrating.
"I was very proud of the way they played today, hung in there and battled right to the very end.
"Everyone was on about Cork's credentials coming into this game. I'd like to think we really tested them today.
"One or two things didn't go our away. We might have hit the butt of the post there when there were three points in it, one or two little breaks might have led to goals for them.
"We had a couple of sucker punches there at various times and lads kept coming back and coming back."
Despite having fallen narrowly short for the second year in a row - Queally was a selector under Davy Fitzgerald last year - he felt they had got the Déise supporters on board and targeted player retention and increased scores as factors that could get them that elusive qualification from Munster.
"One thing we wanted to do this year more than anything was get the Waterford supporters behind us," he said.
"They were totally outnumbered today but they made great noise because we gave them something to cheer and kept going to the bitter end.
"Probably not getting enough scores. Our totals in the three games that we lost were around 22, 23 points. We need to be getting up nearer to 30 points.
"The challenge for us now is to make it attractive to hurl for Waterford. I still think it is, and I think those guys believe it is.
"Once the dust settles and they're finished with their club, I think they will all look forward to coming back again next year and maybe get one or two more back as well. We have a few fellas travelling.
"So maybe we will be in a stronger position next year."
