We were beaten by a better team, admits Caulfield

ALL the shower gel and deodorant in the world can’t sweeten defeat.

The Athenry dressing room in Croke Park yesterday had its share of aftershave, new polo shirts and bright gearbags, but the Galway men were missing the crucial silverware.

Manager Billy Caulfield tried to put the defeat in context.

"We're disappointed, absolutely, but we've won this contest before, so we've seen both sides of the coin. To be fair to the lads inside in the dressing room, they're very mature about it, and we won't be running away from this defeat.

"We were beaten by a really good team. They hurled well, they defended in packs and they took their scores very well, including frees.

"Thinking about the scores we conceded from frees, that really put a big hole in the effort we were putting in, in the first half, and that gave them the foothold they needed in the game."

Athenry were chasing the game for much of the second half, but the manager took consolation from the effort.

"We tried hard all through, and they were nervous until they finally got out the gate.

"We pushed them all the way. We can take a lot of heart from that, but we have no qualms or excuses. We were beaten by a better team on the day.

"A goal might have changed things, and we had a couple of chances if Donal Moran had won possession of that half-chance it might have made a difference, but so be it.

"I felt we had to work hard for our frees, and most of them were well out the field. We could feel a little hard done by there but it made no difference to the outcome, the better team won on the day. We say 'Well done' to James Stephens, we have no problem saying that."

Caulfield felt the problems started for Athenry with the pressure James Stephens were able to exert in the middle of the field, particularly the crucial experience of McEvoy, Barry and Larkin.

"They were very good, they handled the ball very well and were in the right place at the right time, setting up attacks."

One of the men trying to stem the tide of Kilkenny attacks was veteran defender Paul Hardiman.

"We were well beaten," he acknowledged.

"We've been here and won it, so this is the other side of it. At half-time it was close but it was a funny game. There didn't seem to be much breeze on the Canal side but playing out of the Hill 16 end there was a fair wind. Still, the better team won, there's no use in saying different.

"For some of the older lads today was probably a bonus, when we lost to Birr two years ago we didn't think we'd ever get back here. It's disappointing that it ended like this but it'd be worse if it was our own fault we'd lost if we'd missed a goal chance or made a bad mistake to lose it'd be different.

"James Stephens are a very good team. Their backs were brilliant, for example, and we couldn't get the ball up to our full-forward line at all, it seemed to be just raining back in on top of us the whole time. That's just the way it goes."