Waterford laud Longford move on neutral venue
However, while the Waterford official is relieved that a possible boycott of the game by his players has been averted, he said the county board officers remain both angry and disappointed with the handling of the situation by the Games Administration Committee.
"We should never have been put in a situation where our players would be prepared to withdraw their services for the game after it was fixed for the Longford venue on the toss of a coin, ''Grant said.
The Longford County Board met in special session on Tuesday night to consider the Waterford request to play the game at a neutral venue. With the Longford players also expressing their willingness to switch the game to Portlaoise the county board decision was a unanimous one.
Waterford PRO John Jackson said: "We just had to take a stand to make known our anger. All credit to the way Longford reacted, but no credit whatever can go to the members of the GAC. Their original decision was breathtaking."
Longford are keeping their fingers crossed that the decision doesn't backfire on them. PRO Pat O'Toole said: "The view of the players and management was paramount to the decision. They didn't want a bloodless victory going into the next round of the qualifiers, and agreed to Waterford's request.
"Players would have a certain amount of sympathy for their Waterford counterparts. We find it a little difficult to understand why Waterford agreed to a toss for venue in the first place, and then complained about having to travel after losing the toss.
"The only disappointment will be for our supporters who were looking forward to a home match. They now face a round trip of 140 miles, and I sincerely hope we don't regret the decision we've made," O'Toole said.
The game will be played on Saturday with a 4.30 pm throw-in.
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