Devane relieved to survive

By Liam Hogan

A relieved John Devane was still in shock as he watched his Tipperary under 20 team come from near defeat to produce a whirlwind performance in the second half of extra time to overcome a game Waterford side.

“We thought it was ours and it was lost and in fairness the lads showed great character in coming back and digging it out at the end,” he said.

“That’s two games in the space of six months when we have been involved in two crazy under 20 matches with Waterford and we just got over the line in both of them. We scored 1-7 of the 1-8 (scored in the last twelve minutes) and it was savage.

“People were saying we were raging hot favourites and I think it was hugely disrespectful to Waterford. They were a serious team last year and carried on a lot of them (eleven players) again this year.

“They beat this Tipp team when they were minors so we knew what was coming and we got exactly that and more.”

Devane complimented the impact of his bench with Jack Leamy and Devon Ryan in particular helping Tipp get over the line.

“The bench had a big impact and some fellows came off and went back on and did well,” he said.

“In such a long game, as much as fellows had worked themselves since January, they were out on their feet and having six or seven weeks to prepare lent itself to players cramping up an awful lot.

“We now have get the bodies right as the All-Ireland champions are coming to town,” Devane added as Tipp face Cork in the semi-final next Tuesday evening.