"We are in an All-Ireland semi-final and we need to rectify what went on last year. That's not acceptable what happened last year against Waterford and you know we will be emphasising that to the players."

John Meyler hopes Cork can deliver another big performance when their team bus pulls into Croke Park.

"We're unbeaten in Munster but now we're in the All-Ireland series. Munster will mean nothing above in Croke Park in four weeks time."

Rebel County netminder Anthony Nash echoed his manager's sentiments.

"We're very disappointed. We performed really well in the first half but let them back into it in the five minutes before half-time with that goal. They came out at the start of the second half, that was the key part of the game, that 15 minutes after half-time. We missed a few frees, they got a few scores and that was the turning point."

Clare joint-manager Donal Moloney was left to rue a disappointing second-half display.

"That sort of 40 minutes wouldn't beat Wexford, but if we could play like we did for 34 or 35 minutes, we'd rattle a lot of teams. That consistency hasn't been there is quite a while."

A lack of consistency is the Banner County's Achilles' heel, according to two-time All-Ireland winning captain Anthony Daly.

"I think people write them off and think they're gone away and that's not true like. That's evident in their performances. We knew they weren't going to come here and lie down today. They worked as hard as we expected them to and I've no doubt it'll be the same next week."

Galway manager Micheal Donoghue wasn't surprised by the intensity that Kilkenny brought to yesterday's Leinster SHC final stalemate.

"There's 70 minutes there on the clock for a reason. It is a great sign of a team that we do staying going until the final second and that's what it came down to today. To make it worthwhile we need to push on the next day and make sure we get the job done."

Cats captain Cillian Buckley and his team-mates dug deep to send the Bob O'Keeffe Cup decider to a replay.

"Coming into the game we were not given a very good chance, understandably so playing the All-Ireland champions, and nothing changes for the next day, they would still be expected to win the game. But it's great experience, we had a lot of inexperience out there."

Brian Cody was, understandably, proud of his team's effort.

"It's a huge test for us (against Limerick). They'll be looking to push us aside very quickly, but we're fighting for respect and we need to be able to stand up to that. It will be in Netwatch Cullen Park and you can never write off this team."

After guiding his team to success in the inaugural Joe McDonagh Cup competition, Carlow manager Colm Bonnar switched his focus to the Treaty County.

"I guarantee you that, if Antrim had been beaten today, they'd be playing Joe McDonagh Cup next year… they're pumping too much money into Belfast. And Antrim should be playing that level. I have no problem with relegation. Relegate the bottom team and promote the top team."

Kildare boss Joe Quaid repeated his criticism of the GAA's powers-that-be following their 12-point defeat to Antrim.

"First and foremost, Kildare should have been promoted. Let's get it back to six teams and bring Kildare up."

Antrim joint-manager Dominic McKinley has sympathy for the plight of the Christy Ring Cup winners.

 

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