Former Waterford boss Derek McGrath says that Stephen O'Keeffe is the greatest goalkeeper the county has ever produced.
The 2017 All Star called time on his inter county career last Sunday after Ballygunner completed eight county titles in a row. "He's been Waterford's best ever goalkeeper in my opinion," McGrath WLR's Lár Na Páirce show. "People will talk about Ned Power and the significance of 1959, I wasn't around to see that. You read about that man's exploits and what a gentleman he was. From my time watching Waterford, Stephen is the standout keeper. He is the quintessential modern keeper. He is a gentleman to his fingertips as well."
O'Keeffe has all the attributes of a top number one in his view. "He is a big keeper. If you watch his hands, you'll notice that he has boxer's hands, his hands nearly hang down to his knees. Massive agility, brilliantly brave, a brilliant shot stopper. He is brilliant on those balls that people take for granted, the ones under the crossbar, the ones that bounced into your hand through a crowd, the ones that come chest height. He rarely, if ever, puts a foot wrong in terms of that. Obviously, distribution, reading of a game and communication. If a young child is thinking about being a goalkeeper, just listen to the audios of the matches where Stephen is communicating to his back line and Tadhg De Burca in particular."
In the 2014 Munster championship, he rushed out from his goal to block a penalty from Cork goalkeeper Anthony Nash. McGrath had no knowledge of it beforehand. "No! It wouldn't have happened if I had known!"
O'Keeffe won back to back Harty Cups and All Ireland colleges titles in 2007 and 2008 with De La Salle College under McGrath and Dermot Dooley. McGrath remembers his routine ahead of big games. "His pre-match meal, believe it or not, for the colleges All Ireland was a bowl of chips! The rest of the lads were tucking into pasta and chicken but Stephen had a bowl of chips! He was different in terms of his preparation and he would always produce on the big day. A happy player is a good player and a player that performs on the day. There's always room for individuality in terms of preparation."
Click on the image above to listen back to the full chat with Derek McGrath from Friday’s Lár Na Páirce.
