HE WAS MINDFUL of his team’s ‘superhuman effort’ and paid tribute again to Kilkenny’s refusal to quit but the subject of the free count was an irritation for Wexford boss Davy Fitzgerald last night in Nowlan Park.
Small margins counted at the finish with Kilkenny booking a berth in the Leinster final and Wexford heading towards a meeting with one of the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists.
Reflecting on their defeat, Fitzgerald had no qualms with Kilkenny’s approach but wasn’t happy with referee James McGrath’s decisions.
“That’s not right, I think I’m wasting my time in this job. I’m not going to say why but I am wasting my time. Just go back and look at it. Fair play to Kilkenny and they fought back hard, I really admire their style.
“There’s frees given in one half and they’re not given as easy in the other half and that’s fact. I love the way Kilkenny play but we might as well waste our time if it’s not 100 per cent across the board.
“That’s being totally honest. They disallowed Paul Morris’ one. Fine. After he getting thumped himself. That’s grand. Disallowed a point after he getting thumped and reacting back.
“I’m disappointed tonight but I have to say one thing, it was a fantastic game of hurling for both sides, both sides gave 110% there, their tackling (and) their work-rate.
“Kilkenny, they won’t give up on you, they’ll keep going. That’s what you strive to be is like that and I’ll say that 110%.”
Fitzgerald heaped praise on his team as they lined out for the fourth successive weekend.
“I knew we were going to fade. For us to get what we got out of it tonight, that was a superhuman effort by them. A superhuman effort. Four weeks is tough going.
“I think if we had a week’s break, trust me, we would have finished the game a lot stronger because we are as fit as anyone in the country.
“I thought we should have been up 10 or 11 points in the first half. I thought there was only one team in it.
“I said to the boys in the second half, “the only thing that is going to catch us here, have we the energy to keep going?” I said it to the boys on the sideline.
“You have to give Kilkenny credit. When they see that there is a small chink, they went for it.”
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