All-Ireland SHC Semi-final/Cork v Waterford: We're going to have to stop telling the John Allen rags-to-riches story. You know the one. Team physiotherapist one day, manager of the mightiest group of hurlers in the land the next. Another one is that his ascension to manager was more for continuity purposes than anything else.

Codswallop. It's insulting to a man of such courage to imply his arrival at this juncture has been by default. Granted, this group, like all great teams, are all about the collective: the sum of the parts. But Allen is undoubtedly the puppet master.

Twelve months ago Clare threatened to end it all in the All-Ireland semi-final. Allen looked to be lost on the sideline. Then, dramatically, he called two hurling giants ashore. Brian Corcoran and Ronan Curran were replaced by Neil Ronan and Wayne Sherlock. The game suddenly swung Cork's way.

Fast forward to yesterday and 15 minutes to go. Cork trail by two points and cannot find the required momentum. They need pace or youth or verve. Something. Anything.

Allen tells 19-year-old Cathal Naughton to remove the tracksuit. A kid just out of the minors. He takes off Neil Ronan, despite a three-point contribution from play. Within seconds Naughton bags a tasty point. Within two minutes he latches onto a Joe Deane pass and glides the ball past Clinton Hennessy - 1-13 to 1-11 and the pressure has now shifted onto Waterford shoulders.

Inspired?

"If you say so. I would say Cathal Naughton probably didn't expect to play today but we just felt there was a lot of space down that side all the second half. Cathal is a speedy player. He's a young fella. His touch was very good during the week. His form was excellent at training. It was a case of a player in form getting his chance and he took it."

Donal Óg Cusack, as far as individual contributions go, deserves to be praised alongside Cork's newest star turn. To say Cusack's batting down of Ken McGrath's late free was a risk is an understatement. It denied a replay but all it needed was one wild swing of a Waterford hurley to maybe end Cork's odyssey toward the three-in-a-row.

"He has done that many times this year in challenge games and league games where he stopped the ball going over the bar," Allen informed us. "I'm delighted he was named man of the match because he deserved it."