Carroll blasts board decision

OFFALY hurler Brian Carroll has taken a shot at his own county board for the decision earlier this year to enter into a home-and-away arrangement with Wexford, which resulted in Offaly having to play their Leinster championship quarter-final in Wexford Park, a match they lost.

“Home advantage stood to Wexford at times (in that match),” he said, speaking at yesterday’s Croke Park launch of the VHI Summer Cúl Camps. “While we are not going to make excuses – they were better than us on the day – it was a big ask for us, and the county board will have to look at themselves as to why they gave away home advantage.

“Championship hurling is hard enough without having to go to someone’s back garden. I can understand from a logistics point of view in the qualifiers, maybe, but when it comes to the Leinster championship, these matches against Wexford, Kilkenny, Laois or Dublin – we might play them every third or fourth year. I don’t see where this advantage is, that ‘oh, you will get them at home the next time, whenever the next time is’.