Manager Ed Burke left to rue "a little bit of sloppiness"
Carlow Manager Ed Burke cuts a despondent figure at full time. Photos: INPHO/Grace Halton.
Carlow manager, Ed Burke, refused to be drawn on marginal refereeing decisions which went Antrim’s way in the closing stages of what was a fascinating contest. He even went as far as to say, Carlow dodged a bullet when they erred and committed a breach offence which wasn’t spotted by either lines officials or the referee.
“We had two (players) up. The nearest person was forty yards away and I was saying to myself if we are getting this chance our luck is with us. You have to take it. They get caught for two breaches. We could easily have got caught there. No chance and they put it over the bar. That is the way it goes,” he pointed out.
It was still fair comment when he pointed out where issues went against his side.
“I thought there was a very harsh free for them to go two up. He gave steps. There were three or four before that where we could have got steps. Marginal. I don’t think she (Anne Roche) took two steps. I thought it was a very soft free for them to go two up,” he said.
For the Carlow manager this match and an entire season was a case of swings and roundabouts. Sometimes you get the call. Sometimes you don’t. The match referee on Sunday is well known to the Carlow team.
“We have had Conor (McCarthy) refereeing our division four final. We got to win by a point that day after extra time. You take the decisions as they go. As I said, I think it was a soft overcarry to put them two points up.”
Earlier in the interview, Burke pointed out why Carlow found themselves trailing by six points at one stage in the first half.
“I don’t think you could ask for a worse start really giving away a goal after only a minute. I think after 15 minutes we kind of settled into it and started to play football. Again the start of the second half, there was a bit of yo-yo football by both teams. I think we battled hard all game. To get that goal at the end and to get another opportunity when it comes to a final they are the ones you have to take. You cannot afford to leave them as they are.”
Burke revealed he and the players, after that poor start, targeted a big second half performance. No doubt they will eventually look at the final minutes where Carlow had possession but Antrim finished strongly when the chance presented itself.
“I think we worked tremendously hard but a little bit of sloppiness isn’t what we are normally allowed. When you get the last attack with 45 seconds left you want to take the last shot. That is the key. They got the last shot. Every time they went ahead we pegged them back. Unfortunately you cannot peg them back when the clock hits zero. That is the unfortunate part."
Burke was magnanimous in defeat.
“They had loads of chances but kicked a few wides. If the game went the other way, they would be saying the exact same thing I am saying. It is on the day you take your chances. On the day we both had a chance each. They took theirs and we didn’t take ours.”
The immense performance of Lara Dahunsi was probably the difference between winning and losing. The Antrim player, who has spoken publicly in the past about the racist abuse she has experienced on the field, was immense.
She didn’t score but her ball carries and competitiveness in tight situations meant her colleagues had a platform to take on Carlow. She left the field through injury with 56 minutes gone and her absence was surely a factor as Carlow almost stole an unlikely victory.
In a short spell before the interval, Carlow keeper, Nicole Hanley, made a brilliant point-blank save to deny Antrim who then missed an easy free.
If any one of those chances are taken, then Antrim take a bigger lead into the break rather than their two point advantage. It gave Carlow more to aim at in the second half.
Were Carlow harshly penalised for an over carry towards the end which was followed shortly afterwards by a foul on an Antrim ball carrier?
Both decisions were marginal but Carlow manager, Ed Burke, opted not to go down that road at his post-match interview.
It is back to the clubs for the players now where friendships will remain but that doesn’t mean the rivalries which have been built up over the last few years will not be as intense as ever.
It is what this group would want. It is here where a possible road back to Croke Park to mark perceived wrongs will begin.
