All calm about refereeing after the storm

Munster SFC Final Quotes:   There's a sort of calm silence inside dressing-room number two, and as the Kerry players filter out in single file, Jack O'Connor finds himself confronted by a battery of dictaphones.

He's calmed down just a little. Just 15 minutes earlier at the final whistle in the Munster football final O'Connor was just about holding his nerve.

"I'll let you say what you want about the referee," he starts, "that's not for me. In the end, though, we'd certainly feel hard done by over a few of those decisions."

There won't be any reckless broadside then from O'Connor, but his body language suggests the refereeing decisions in the closing moments weren't to his liking. Instead, he'll talk about the things under his control.

"Right now I feel a bit of everything. Relief, anger, whatever. I mean I'd have taken a draw at half-time. Our backs were playing poorly, and the goal kept us in it. But I think we showed a lot of character the way we came out and battled for the second half. That's one aspect of the game that can't be questioned.

"But we knew it would be a dogfight coming up here. They're a strong, physical team and they did test us. But maybe we needed that. And I don't think our preparations were great coming here. We'd county championship matches over two weekends, and deep down I think we could have been better prepared . . . "

O'Connor interrupts himself when he realises he might be making excuses: "Limerick played a lot of the better football, but at least more players came into it for us in the second half. But that's a good Limerick team, no question about it, so we're happy enough to get the second chance."

Outside dressing-room number one Liam Kearns is still shaking his head, partly in disbelief, mostly in disappointment.

"Oh yeah, this is a game we should have won," he says. "I won't blame the referee for that. It wasn't a great game of football, I know, but we put ourselves in a winning position, and we didn't take it.

"But that's life. We had some great efforts at the end from Eoin Keating, but I'm hugely disappointed. We had a plan today and we didn't stick to it today. And we handed Kerry a goal and a point, because it was our mistakes that led to them. And that cost us."

Back to Killarney next Sunday for the replay (3.30), but not a trip he'll look forward to: "It's as easy for us as it is for them. But people said we'd no chance coming into this, and I think you saw out there today that Kerry are a very beatable side. But we didn't beat them. And that's the bottom line."

As the Limerick players file past, Muiris Gavin stops for a word and echoes the sorrow of his manager. With someone standing on his boot in the first half, Gavin was unable to complete the game and his ankle injury might keep him out of the replay.

"We were quite sure we were going to win it. And we're particularly disappointed after leading the whole way. But then they might have sneaked it at the end. So I think it's just a question of who is going to recover quickest now. But I don't think Killarney will be a factor.

"Right now it does feel like an anti-climax, but that's the way it's turned out, and we'll deal with it.

"Maybe the bit of luck just wasn't with us. I don't think you can say it was stage fright. Our kicks were all on target. There were just inches in it."