“Waterford should be very proud of them”
Waterford manager Jerry Wallace during Sunday's All-Ireland Quarter-Final defeat to Galway in Croke Park. Photo: Inpho.
Déise manager Jerry Wallace felt that injuries caught up with his team in Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-final.
“Very upset. Heartbroken. We love the girls, they love us. The spirit in the camp is fabulous. Waterford should be very proud of them, they died with their boots on. We had injuries out there and girls stayed on the field with injuries. I couldn't ask them to do any more for us.”
Beth Carton needed treatment after just three minutes. “Right at the start of the game, there was a tweak high up in her hamstring. She felt that it wasn't a hamstring but I'm long enough around to know that it would hinder her performance. Beth Carton is a generational player, she is one of those iconic players. It's just a pity that it happened today.”
Lorraine Bray carried a knock into the game. “I hid Lorraine away since the Kilkenny game. She fractured her hand. After that, we took a decision not to tell anyone and hide away. So Lorraine was coming in without game time, even on the training ground. It was all fitness work. We ran out of time with Vikki Falconer. We had a fitness test with Mairéad O'Brien this morning. We took a gamble not to start her and threw her in with the hope that something would happen.” Wallace was disappointed with the first half display. “We didn’t settle early on, the residues of last year were in the team in the opening 30 minutes. I thought we were a bit standoffish; we didn’t attack the second ball enough. We contributed to three of the Galway scores. We didn’t have a bit composure coming out but that's all learning. That’s about being back in an environment like Croke Park on a big day.” He is backing Brianna O’Regan to collect her first All Star. “I think Brianna deserves that accolade. She’s a wonderful girl. She’s a legend in the goals. Today, she made a fierce save at the Hill 16 End in the second half. Look, she’d be my number one anyway!”
The Cork man still believes that Waterford can climb the steps. “There’s been huge improvements this year. We were very competitive at a higher division of the National Camogie League, we had a fabulous Munster championship. Then, we had a very good All Ireland series. To go forward, we need to target winning something either the National League in 2025 or the Munster championship or even the All-Ireland. Look at Tipperary, they won the National League and they are now drawn with Galway. They’re searching for the All-Ireland. We need to find something next year. I can tell you that Waterford camogie carried in 38 players today. We brought in Katelyn Gardner so she could get the experience of being in Croke Park on a big match day. Waterford camogie is in a very healthy state going forward.”
