SEAN QUIGLEY INSISTS there was nothing controversial about his goal during Sunday’s All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Dublin at Croke Park.
The Fermanagh forward appeared to bundle Stephen Cluxton into the net as the Dublin goalkeeper collected the ball under his own crossbar.
But after consulting with his umpires, referee Padraig O’Sullivan decided the goal should stand – much to the bemusement of Cluxton and his team-mates.
“I honestly don’t know what happened,” Quigley said afterwards. “Whatever way he fell he ended up in the back of the net.
“It’s not like him to do that, but there was a bit of a divot in the goal and whatever way he tripped over he went into the net.
“I was giving him another 10 seconds and if he hadn’t lifted the flag I would have lifted it myself.”
The 63rd minute goal lifted Fermanagh and Pete McGrath’s side finished the game strongly to earn plenty of plaudits for a spirited display.
Despite the eight point defeat, Quigley said the experience will hold the squad in good stead for next year.
“We came up to play Dublin, the best team in the country and we gave it a go. We didn’t park the bus, we came up with a gameplan and we stuck with it.
“It was the same gameplan as we had against Queens in the first McKenna Cup game and we stuck to it the whole year.
“I think Dublin weren’t expecting us to go for it as much, but it was a great experience and something that we’ll learn from.
“We are just looking forward to next year now.”
