Don’t rubbish league scene
FITZ DISMISSES DALY’S €2 COIN
BY
WATERFORD boss Davy Fitzgerald believes a League medal is still a precious commodity.
His Deise side dug out a dramatic draw with Dublin yesterday before a capacity crowd of 3,800 in Dungarvan despite playing with 13 men for the last 16 minutes.
He dismissed Anthony Daly’s comment that “our second most important inter-county medal now seems to contain as much value as a loose €2 coin.”
“I think you could see with myself and Micheál Donoghue today — and we’ve both won All-irelands as managers — I don’t think we were treating that lightly outside there,” said Fitzgerald.
“I don’t think any of the managers I saw over the weekend, be it John Kiely last night or Pat Ryan, were treating it lightly.
“We’re trying hard. Are we going to expose more players than we would in Championship? Yeah. But the games are competitive.
“I’ve yet to see teams going out saying ‘Ah we’ll just try out 20 players.’ We wanted to win that. They wanted to win that.
“You win a National League... I didn’t win one, I’d love to have won one. It’s not the same as an All-ireland, it’s not the same as a Munster. Probably coming after that, it isn’t bad.”
A 77thminute free from Dónal Burke gave
Dublin a share of the spoils.
The visitors trailed by eight points after 12 minutes but two Cian O’sullivan goals got them back level by the break.
Déise defender Jack Fagan was dismissed with 17 minutes left.
Stephen Bennett scored 2-7 from dead balls, including two penalties, before he was dismissed on 61 minutes for striking out at Paddy
Doyle in front of the Dublin dugout.
Fitzgerald expressed his frustration to linesman
Colm Lyons. “The Stephen one, they were saying there was an altercation.
“Your man did whatever and Stephen pushed back and caught him high.
“The thing I can’t figure out is why wasn’t the first thing punished where their player came into it as well.” Despite their numerical disadvantage, Waterford went two points up two minutes into injury time.
Sub Austin Gleeson, Jamie Barron and Jack Prendergast were on target before Eoghan O’donnell and Burke pegged them back.