O’Gorman refuses to blame ref

CORK Manager Seanie O’Gorman refused to criticise an injury time refereeing decision which may have cost his side a place in the All-Ireland U-21 HC final.

With time apparently up, Shane O’Neill was harshly penalised by Westmeath official James McGrath for a challenge on Karril Wade.

The Galway man duly converted the free to send the game into extra time — and the westerners onto victory.

But O’Gorman was not complaining: “First of all Galway were not by any means three goals a better team than we were, and the score line is a bit flattering to them,” he said.

“Having said that the two main men John Lee and Ger Mahon hurled out of their skins out there. We couldn’t get similar performances from our men, and that was probably the main difference. They are a very big physical team and all credit to them, they wore us down. We didn’t have anything left in the tank for the second period of extra time.

“The late free in is a bit hard to take but that’s the luck of the draw. The referee has his job to do and I’m not going to comment any further on it.

“We had the chances to win it before the free was awarded, but took the wrong options. When you get a run in extra time it gives a team a bit of a lift which we didn’t get. Had we got the run it might have lifted us but that is the way it goes.

“We had our chances. Had Pat Horgan’s shot which came back off the upright gone in, it would have brought us right back into the game. In normal time we had chances for points which I felt we should have taken but didn’t and it was to prove extremely costly.

“All credit to Galway. They are a fine team and will be very difficult to beat in the final now.”

Selector Kevin Hennessy couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“We lost the game in normal time taking the wrong option in going for goals when points were there for the taking,” he said.

“In extra time it was down to human error which cost us the game. We gave away a bad ball for their second goal and from there on we were playing catch up.

“Maybe the free for the equalising point was a bit harsh on us. Sometimes those kind of breaks go with a team and Galway got the break on this occasion and we’ll just have to accept it.”