Umpires upset Owens

WATERFORD boss John Owens believes the decisions made by referee Cormac Reilly’s umpires had a huge bearing on Saturday night’s All-Ireland qualifier.

The irate Tipperary man claimed their intervention led to the Meath official changing his mind after awarding a first-half penalty and sending off attacker Gary Hurney with ten minutes left.

“Hopefully Cormac Reilly will have a word with his umpires about their interventions,” he said.

“Those decisions did make a significant difference to the game. The numerical advantage with Gary getting sent off was huge. Whatever happened he didn’t deserve a straight red. Gary had been treated rather harshly at other times when he didn’t get the rub of the green from the umpires.

“And from where I was in the first half, it was definitely a penalty. Those two decisions had a massive bearing and left us in a massive predicament.

“I don’t want to take anything away from Limerick. They are a good team and deserve their win. But we thought there was something there for us all through the second half. We just have to take these things on the chin.”

However, Owens was proud of his charges and reckons they have made progress this year.

“They are great men to keep going and they deserve a wee bit more than that. It is a very disappointing end but the important thing is the players look after themselves and are proud to play for their county.

“And that would make you think they won’t stop anytime soon. It is very important for the development of the team that they are not stagnant and are pushing on.”