Ephie Fitzgerald: hopefully we can apply ourselves and learn from the experience

CORK manager Ephie Fitzgerald failed to hide his disappointment in the aftermath of a negative outcome to Galway. In their first outing since an All Ireland SFC Final defeat by Dublin, a disjointed performance clearly frustrated the Cork boss.

“We weren’t at the same pitch, Galway much hungrier, that was the disappointing aspect. On the flip side, we had five new girls starting, its a learning curve and hopefully, they can build on the experience”, he said.

Likewise Galway fielded a number of newcomers, Fitzgerald not too surprised by a performance that may see Galway figure strongly later in this campaign.

“Galway are one of the top teams in the country, we didn’t create too much, defensively at times, we were lax. There is an amount of work to undertake, to obtain just five points on the scoreboard is poor”, he said.

“Facing into a blanket defence, we were the architects of our own downfall, we misdirected 16 kick passes on turnovers. That’s ridiculous, its something that we have to get used to, alot of teams are now playing blanket systems though it was the first time, we encountered it against Galway, pretty effective for they broke with pace and gathered scores”, said Fitzgerald.

“We had far more possession, it probally suited Galway, it shows that we’ve to be much more patient. Maybe, we were over anxious in our kicking, delivering ball into passages where they were sweepers, a learning curve, this league is giving us an opportunity to find some new players and strengthen the panel”.

Next up for Cork is an away assignment to Westmeath this weekend, Fitzgerald expecting another tight battle.

“To defeat Westmeath in the championship last season doesn’t mean a thing here. Again, they will be behind the ball, that requires us to break down the system, hopefully we can apply ourselves and learn from the Galway experience”, he said.