We’ll go down as a team, says Jovita

PLENTY of disappointed faces, but few tears in public from the Tipperary girls as they trooped off the field in Croke Park yesterday, bravely accepting defeat for the second year in a row.

Then again, there was a sense of inevitability about this Gala All-Ireland camogie final, compared to last year when victory was snatched from Tipperary at the finish.

Manager Paddy McCormack was magnanimous in defeat, readily accepting that ‘the best team’ had won, while making the point that their scoring rate was too low.

“We scored one point in the second half, that’s not good enough to win an All-Ireland,” he commented.

“Our girls tried very hard. But, Cork were the best team ... they are deserving champions.”

McCormack said Tipp were aware of Cork’s half-back line strength.

“We tried everything and made a few switches ... but they were dominant all through. [The Cork half-back-line] was the launching pad for all their scores.

“I thought our own back line was tremendous at times,” he added.

“It seems a long way away to next May, but they will be back. We’ll always have camogie players in Tipperary. Today is Cork’s day and we shouldn’t take away from it.”

Experienced goalkeeper Jovita Delaney wasn’t prepared to point the finger in any direction when asked about the team’s lack of scoring power.

“I don’t like laying the blame on anyone. We’ll go down as a team. People don’t always have good days,” she said.

“At the end of the day Cork’s backs were too strong.

“There was nothing in it at half time. We felt we had played relatively poorly by our standards, that there was a lot more in us. We felt if we went out and gave it everything we were in with a shout, but it just wasn’t our day. It didn’t happen today.

“But, you have to give credit for Cork for the way their backs covered. They are worthy champions.”

One of five current players with five All-Ireland medals, Ms Delaney said it had been all the more disappointing to fail when Tipperary had done so much to avenge their defeat in last year’s final.

“You couldn’t say the appetite wasn’t there. It was,” she added.

“At the start of the year, we lost five players which was a crucial blow. But, you have to give credit to the young players who came in and filled their places throughout the championship.

“They were more than eager to rise to the occasion. Maybe it got to some of them!”