"I thought we were f**king flying it in a lot of different aspects; 16 points, going well. It's just like a different team in the second half. Maybe it's a lack of game time or different things, I'm not sure, but that's the way it goes. We just totally lost our shape - that's the thing that disappointed me in the second half - we lost our shape in what we were doing. They fought a bit harder in the second half than we did for definite, and they deserved their win." - Waterford senior hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald.
Waterford will play their league hurling in Division 1B in 2025 following defeat to Wexford at Walsh Park in their penultimate group game.
The final game against Kilkenny will see the team playing for pride and minutes in the legs, but any hopes of a league semi-final were squashed by the Yellowbellies in the third quarter. The post-half-time return has proved to be the most galling aspect of Waterford's performances in the league, and for the fourth game running, were turned over by their opponents.
In games with Offaly, Clare, Cork and Wexford, Waterford have conceded 2.28 in those third quarters, scoring just nine points.
Asked why it keeps happening, manager Davy Fitzgerald was unable to say for definite.
"Listen, I'm trying everything. Came out earlier today [from the halftime break] and did a different routine before we got going again. We made a change at halftime that I'd regret, that if I could do it again, I didn't think it helped us. Was that a thing? I'm not sure. Maybe done something a bit different on that side. I was expecting an impact and I didn't get the impact I expected to get."
The short version of the long story is that as a consequence of their loss, Waterford will be playing the likes of Antrim, Carlow, Laois and Offaly next year instead of Clare, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Tipperary or Cork.
Fitzgerald has been without the services of several first-choice players for this campaign, with Tadhg De Burca, Connor Prunty, Ian Kenny and Iarlaith Daly still on the missing list.
Prunty was missed in the defence, while De Burca's absence is still felt in the team, likewise with Stephen Bennett who was sorely missed on the frees with placed ball responsibilities rotated around four different players on Sunday.
Missed chances that could have changed the result in the hosts' favour will leave a sour taste in the mouth; 13 wides were costly.
The game had begun in a more positive manner with Waterford tearing into a five-point to no-score lead in the early stanzas, with the guests carding six wides inside the first 15 minutes. A Conor Ryan goal followed Seamus Casey's opening score to spark life into the South-East cousins, however approaching the break, Waterford led by six, only to be reeled in to a three-point gap at the interval.
The resumption played out as the previous three games had with Wexford taking control of the game to outscore their hosts 1.09 to 0.4 in fifteen minutes.
"I thought we were f**king flying it in a lot of different aspects," Fitzgerald lamented.
"16 points, going well. It's just like a different team in the second half. Maybe it's a lack of game time or different things, I'm not sure, but that's the way it goes. We just totally lost our shape - that's the thing that disappointed me in the second half - we lost our shape in what we were doing. They fought a bit harder in the second half than we did for definite, and they deserved their win."
Waterford looked the more tired side in that second half, with Wexford looking stronger as the minutes ticked past.
"That's what you have to realise," Fitzgerald explained as to why some players were left on the field when reinforcements could have been called on to make the difference.
"Jamie has zero game time, it's going to get him, but then I have to leave him out in order to build his base up. Kieran Bennett has to be left out, Peter Hogan had to be left out for as much as possible, Shane Bennett had to be left out for as much as possible. I knew they'd run out of gas after 40 or 45 minutes, but I have to try and get it into them."
The mood around the campaign is not great with just 3571 in attendance for the South-East derby. The lack of excitement is not lost on Fitzgerald who said he could feel the negative energy from the stand. "That's the way it is and I accept that it isn't easy," he said. "You can feel it. I can feel it myself in the stand. I know they're frustrated."
The high point of the second half from a Waterford vantage point was substitute Padraig Fitzgerald bursting off the bench to score a goal in his first involvement, however, it was too little too late and their problems were compounded by three wides for the hosts on the home straight.
"Are we going to ship a lot of flak in Waterford?" Fitzgerald mused at the full-time whistle, "We are. Are they going to be giving out? They are and rightly so. We can't say anything about that."
While the league has very much not gone to plan, Fitzgerald was nonetheless hopeful that they can turn it around come Championship.
"If we happen to win two or three games [in the Championship] will they be talking about the league? No...judge us on the end of Championship and see how we feel."
