We lost to the better team, admits Ford

CRESTFALLEN Galway manager Peter Ford faced the media and offered no excuses for his team’s defeat:

“We were beaten by a better team in the end and I congratulate Cork and wish them every success for the remainder of the championship. Go on and win the Sam Maguire Cup now, it won’t make us feel too bad.

“It’s difficult to know where it went wrong for us. We did very well in the opening half and scored well, but Cork got a couple of crucial scores in that opening half which kept them in the game.

“To be fair to our team we had six U21s on there today and it was very much a learning experience for them and hopefully they will go on to become better players as a result,” he said.

Captain Padraig Joyce said the turning point for him was conceding the first half penalty. “Up to them we were going great guns but that goal meant Cork were within striking distance at half-time and a four- point lead was a very poor return for the amount of possession we had.”

“Brendan Jer’s goal was a cracker of an effort and it gave them the momentum to go on and win.”