'I couldn’t be prouder of the girls' - Lorraine Bray
Waterford captain Lorraine Bray at the final whistle.
Despite the heartbreaking result and the bitter cold, Lorraine Bray obliged young Déise fans with photographs and autographs long after the trophy presentation on Sunday afternoon. Girls from the newly formed Stradbally camogie club were excited to see her out on the field.
This defeat was tough to take for the long-serving skipper. “Disappointed, hurt. It’s hard to be beaten by such a fine margin. Look, I couldn’t be prouder of the girls out there today. Unbelievable work rate to the bitter end. Just a few balls here and there let us down in the end. Really disappointed but super proud of the girls.”
The Waterford number nine had a shout for a penalty in the second half when she was through on goal. “I’d have given it! Look, Liz has to be fair to both sides, and she can only call what she sees on the day. I won’t hold it against her anyway!”
The red marks on her arms showed how tough it was out there. “You know what you’re going to get against Galway. The physicality was second to none out there. I think we gave as good as we got as well. That’s the level you have to be at. The physicality was something else, and we’ll feel it tomorrow and the day after!”
A never-say-die display against the best team in the country gives her hope for the rest of the season. “It’s massive. That’s what we were looking for coming out here: a performance and I think we put in a massive performance. You need to be competing through the league and through the Munster championship until you get to the All-Ireland series. We’re delighted that we did come out with that performance, and we didn’t let ourselves down.”
Waterford didn’t get out of the blocks in the first quarter with the wind. Bray puts it down to inexperience. “I definitely think it was nerves. We haven’t been reaching 1A finals; we didn’t get a chance at a Munster final last year. All those games add up. For younger players to experience it and for ourselves to experience it, who have been around the block a long time. It’s still new to us getting to the big days. It’s all experience, and we’ll have that in our back pocket going forward.”
It was like a home game for Bray and company with all the white and blue flags in the stand. “It was brilliant. In the last ten minutes, you could really hear the crowd behind you. It’s lovely in Nowlan Park because you nearly feel like they’re on the pitch with you! A huge thanks to everyone who travelled today. We know the times we’re in at the moment, so we really do appreciate the support, and hopefully we’ll have that for the rest of the year as well.”
