'We didn’t seem to get the rub of the green' - Mick Boland
Waterford manager Michael Boland with Tommy O'Mahoney from the management team during the game.
Waterford manager Mick Boland felt that a few decisions went against his side in Sunday’s league final loss to Galway.
“With 60 minutes on the clock, there was nothing in it. Beth Carton was going straight through and got nothing at all. Next thing, the ball goes down, and they go a point ahead.
"A small bit disappointed, but it just shows that we’re not a hundred miles away from where we want to be, so I’d be happy with the league and what we got out of it.”
The Tribeswomen got their frees that bit easier in his view.
“Bevin Bowdren got a ball and got banged in, and she gave the free to Galway. The same thing happened with Lorraine Bray and she never got the free. It was inconsistent in that way. I’m not looking for excuses with the referee, but if I’m honest with you, I just thought that, at times, Liz was a small bit inconsistent. When we were going towards their goals, we didn’t seem to get the rub of the green. When they were coming towards ours, they seemed to get that softer free that we didn’t get. Look, that’s beside the point. We’ll take it on the chin. We’ll knuckle down, go back to training and see what we can do.”
A slow start with the elements proved costly in the end. “It was a game we could have won. I do think we probably lost it in the first half. We got turned over too many times in around the middle and lost possession. In the second half, we were ahead in that area. We’d be disappointed with the start. Sometimes, when you have a breeze in a match, you think it’s going to help you. It’s not like that, you have to work hard even with it.”
He revealed that three players were struggling with injury during the week. “Abby Flynn, Eimear O’Neill and Roisin Kirwan were all carrying knocks. We were minding them but still trying to get them on the field.”
He was glowing in his praise of Mairéad O’Brien. The Modeligo menace skated through maroon and shirts all afternoon. “Mairead was outstanding, let’s be honest. MOB was injured early in the year and returned halfway through the league. She pierced a lot of holes in their defence when she ran at them.”
Boland was also blown away by the Déise support.
“They were brilliant. They follow this group of girls because this group of girls are very good to them. Just disappointed that we don’t have something to show them. In fairness, they’ll be proud of the girls because the girls put an awful lot on the line today.”
Waterford can’t dwell on this defeat as the Munster championship starts on Saturday away to newly crowned Division 1B champions Clare.
“We’ll get our recovery in and we’ll get back on the training ground. The door is open for players again; everyone will get an opportunity during the Munster championship. We’ll try and drive on and try and improve. All in all, I’d be very happy with the league.”
