Ferbane manager says his team just never got going on the day
FERBANE manager Ger Rafferty was naturally very disappointed that his side didn't capture the Dowling Cup and he felt his side just never got going on the day.
“We are very disappointed, I feel we didn't perform and that is the main disappointment,” he said. “I feel we just never got going. For a lot of these guys it was their first county final and you are hoping that the occasion doesn't get to them. The conditions were terrible but it was the same for both teams. It was dogged enough and probably wasn't a great game to watch.”
“I'm very proud of our lads,” he added, who kept going to the end in search of a winning goal. “Our lads just don't give up. We should have been beaten after the first half performance with the wind but we stuck in it and got it back down to a point. We probably needed to win the next kick out but they won it and got the point.”
He expressed the hope that the experience would serve Ferbane well in the future. “Our lads are young and they will learn from that but well done to Tullamore and best of luck to them in the Leinster championship.”
But he hoped it would be something for Ferbane to build on. “We don't know what happens in the Autumn but a lot of our lads are at a good age, even the oldest of them is about 30, but they are good lads and they will be back,” he predicted.
The terrible conditions were a huge factor in the game. “In the semi-finals the conditions were totally different, it is only in the last week that the conditions really started to deteriorate and players weren't used to them and didn't hold on to the ball well.”
Cian Johnson made a difference when introduced in the second half scoring all Ferbane's three points in that period and the manager said that he was hampered by an injury.
“Cian is carrying an injury for a while and wasn't at full fitness but he played really well when he came in. He's a fair player and the points he got were a huge help to us. A fully fit Cian would do serious damage going forward,” he added.