“We should have got something out of that game”
Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald has word with referee Liam Gordon at final whistle in Cusack Park in Ennis on Sunday. Photo: Inpho/James Crombie.
Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald was gutted to leave Ennis empty handed on Sunday afternoon. Both Tipperary and Clare have now taken a point off his side in injury-time during this thrill a minute Munster championship.
He remonstrated angrily with Liam Gordon and his officials after the final whistle as fans started to invade the pitch. A messy scene. It all calmed down by the time the post-match interviews took place. The Sixmilebridge man claimed that they should have got one more chance after Mark Rodgers converted that late, late ‘65.
“I think it took two minutes to take the penalty, with all the toing and froing, and we were already in injury time. With the ‘65, I think there were easily two more minutes to play anyhow. If you really honestly look at it, if the play is dead for that length of time in injury-time, it definitely should have been longer. I honestly believe that should have been a wide ball. That's what I feel. But it doesn't matter. I am proud of the guys. It is just a very hard way to take a defeat like that. It is very tough lads. It doesn’t sit with me well. You have to make them decisions and you have to get them right. At the same time, I have always thought Liam Gordon is a really top-class official. And I have said that all the time. While we are disappointed at one or two decisions, that’s the way hurling goes. We just get over it.” He had a question mark over Rodgers’ goal as well. “Rodgers was right on five to six steps. We looked at it three times inside. Definitely between five and six, so we could feel aggrieved at that one.” The two first-half green flags for the Banner were self-inflicted wounds. “We gave up two goals for definite that we shouldn’t have. Jamie had a pass for the first one and Tadhg had a pass for the second one and they got two goals out of those two passes into the middle. I thought the two lads were actually outstanding. We just made a few small errors today. I think the character was unreal. We played with unbelievable character. Them boys gave me everything they had today.”
The visitors trailed by eight points approaching half-time but got back on level terms midway through the second. Every time Clare found the net, the men in white and blue bounced back off the ropes. That spirit pleased the Déise boss. “We should have got something out of that game, there is no doubt about it. I’ve played Clare in the last few years and we were well beaten. We weren’t well beaten today. It is a serious character builder. We are giving away those soft ones, if we can eliminate them it will be a big thing. The character we’re showing is incredible. That has been questioned over the last few years with this bunch but I think they showed how much they’ve come on. We’re disappointed but seriously proud of them so I am.” Fitzgerald’s charges have been involved in three high scoring affairs so far. 53 scores on day one, 52 in round two and 53 again on Sunday. They now have seven days to prepare for another Munster blockbuster with All-Ireland champions Limerick. A must-win game for both teams. “How much today will take out of us, I’m not sure. We’ll just have to regroup and go again. Limerick will have that extra week which will be a bonus to them. We’re up against it but we’ll see what happens.”
