The Waterford minor footballers finished their Munster championship campaign with a 1-16 to 0-9 loss to Limerick in the Leamybrien sunshine.
A first minute strike from Luke Walsh saw the Shannonsiders set up a showdown with Tipperary next Thursday.
Adam Murray was Waterford's top performer at midfield. Murray, Kyle Moloney and Billy Byrne all kicked two points each for the home side.
Manager Michael Flynn stepped down after the game. "No, I won't be around next year," he told WLR Sport. "Mick Murphy is chomping at the bit to get in there. He should be given the opportunity to do it and I think he'll do an excellent job."
He agreed that it was their best display of the championship. "A hundred per cent. We got off to a bad start again. 20 seconds and the ball was in the back of the net but we're really proud of the way the boys responded after that. We played these lads last October and we knew we could match them. There was 10 points in it but that probably wasn't a true reflection of where we were. Definitely a better performance tonight."
He encouraged the players to stick with the big ball game in the dressing room afterwards. "Just to keep playing football. It's fashionable to play football, to represent your county and go on to under 20 and senior. There's lads in there that will represent the county in the future. And to go back and play adult football in their clubs."
