Lismore were the better team admits O’Loughlin

AT once it was a proud day and a day of crushing disappointment.

Any day you lose a final as significant as this is bound to smart and, yet, such was the performance given by Kilmoyley that any Kerry hurling man or woman would have to be proud.

“I think Lismore were probably that little bit better than us on the day,” Kilmoyley boss Fergie O’Loughlin admitted after the game.

“They created more goal chances, took their two goals that they got and the first thirty minutes I thought was a savage display by our boys. I thought they died in their boots and at half-time I was quietly confident, but look the first five minutes of the second half was really the nail in our coffin.

“It was a huge a huge mountain to climb and our cry inside the dressing room at half-time was let’s stay in the game for as long as we can. Even if it’s only eight points to seven going in with a few minutes to go we’d still be in the game, keep it nice and tight at the back, but they just got off to a start at the beginning of the second half, 1-2, and we were on the back foot. In fairness to our boys they didn’t down tools, they stuck at it, but we just met a very good Lismore team today.”

The ball just wouldn’t stick in the forward positions for Kilmoyley putting additional pressure back down the field to a midfield and a defence which spent a lot of time bailing out water.

“Our lads, all six forwards, worked savage hard, but you look and it’s Daniel [Collins] getting thirteen points and we got no contribution other than that, but look I’m not going to be critical of our other forwards,” O’Loughlin continued.

“I thought we met a very good six defenders from Lismore and were really, really good and played defensively and sat back in the pocket and didn’t allow us any space at the time.

“Our real threat all year had probably been ball-winning from our own puck-outs with Seán Maunsell and that didn’t work today and once they overturned that today we were a little bit short.”

A little bit short that’s all it was. Kilmoyley will be back, stronger no doubt for the experience of having come this close this time. They’ve done themselves proud.