In his second year in charge McCarthy's side made significant progress in the National League and even reached the final. A 2–14 to 0–13 defeat by Cork was their lot in that game. The provincial championship saw McCarthy's side defeat Tipperary for the first time in fifteen years and reach the Munster final for the first time in almost a decade. That game between Clare and Waterford surprisingly ended in a draw, however, a last-gasp Paul Flynn free which could have won the game went wide. Clare remained favourites to win on the second occasion; however, the replay was a tense affair. The match was played in exceedingly bad spirit as Clare's Brian Lohan and Waterford's Michael White were both shown red cards after a melee. A dirty game drew to its natural conclusion as Clare were the eventual winners. Waterford, however, still had a second chance for the All-Ireland title due to the "back-door" system. A ten-point defeat of Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-final set up an All-Ireland semi-final meeting with Kilkenny. Waterford, however, followed a great performance with a mediocre one and, in a game which was there for the taking, allowed the Cat' to win by just a single point on a score line of 1–11 to 1–10.