CLARE BOSS DAVY Fitzgerald has distanced himself from the comments made by his former manager Ger Loughnane, who last week described the Galway hurlers as having ‘no guts’.
After Clare’s All-Ireland qualifier win over Limerick last night, they advance to the quarter-final stage on 24 July where the Banner could face Galway.
And Fitzgerald last night insisted in Thurles that he disagrees with Loughnane’s views on the Galway hurlers in the wake of their Leinster final loss to Kilkenny last week.
“We’ll look at the quarter-final the next day and we know if we’re playing Galway, that they’ll be baying for blood after what Ger Loughnane said to them.
“Let this be very straight – we don’t agree with that. Galway have been in two All-Ireland finals in four years, won a Leinster.
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“It shows the calibre of the team they have so if it’s them, we know we’re in for a battle and we respect them.
“Same for their manager, he’s won an All-Ireland club and I’d have massive respect for him too. Great guy, Micheál Donoghue. If it’s them, it’s a battle. If it’s Tipp, it’s a battle.
“It doesn’t matter who it is, we know we’re going in for it.”
Galway hurling boss Micheal Donoghue Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
Fitzgerald revealed his pride at his team progressing.
“It’s great to be there and hurling away. I’m very proud of those guys, no matter what happens.
“To have gone 16 or 17 games and only one defeat in a year, it’s fantastic. We’re getting back to where we need to but we still have a small bit of work to do.
Davy Fitzgerald consoles Limerick hurler Diarmuid Byrnes Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“They were pushing us, once you get a bit of momentum it’s actually hard to stop them but we dug deep. You should’ve seen some of the tackles that were put in around the middle they were absolutely brilliant.
“I’m happy we got over the line. Hats off to Limerick they hung in right until the death, you saw that against Tipperary so they’re a hard team to fight against so fair play to them.”
Davy Fitzgerald - 'If we’re playing Galway, they’ll be baying for blood after what Ger Loughnane said'
CLARE BOSS DAVY Fitzgerald has distanced himself from the comments made by his former manager Ger Loughnane, who last week described the Galway hurlers as having ‘no guts’.
After Clare’s All-Ireland qualifier win over Limerick last night, they advance to the quarter-final stage on 24 July where the Banner could face Galway.
And Fitzgerald last night insisted in Thurles that he disagrees with Loughnane’s views on the Galway hurlers in the wake of their Leinster final loss to Kilkenny last week.
‘No guts’, ‘not being honest’, ‘have to stand up’ – criticism pours in for Galway hurlers
“We’ll look at the quarter-final the next day and we know if we’re playing Galway, that they’ll be baying for blood after what Ger Loughnane said to them.
“Let this be very straight – we don’t agree with that. Galway have been in two All-Ireland finals in four years, won a Leinster.
“It shows the calibre of the team they have so if it’s them, we know we’re in for a battle and we respect them.
‘When Ger Loughnane was over Galway, a 10-point loss to Kilkenny was probably the highlight’
“Same for their manager, he’s won an All-Ireland club and I’d have massive respect for him too. Great guy, Micheál Donoghue. If it’s them, it’s a battle. If it’s Tipp, it’s a battle.
“It doesn’t matter who it is, we know we’re going in for it.”
Fitzgerald revealed his pride at his team progressing.
“It’s great to be there and hurling away. I’m very proud of those guys, no matter what happens.
“To have gone 16 or 17 games and only one defeat in a year, it’s fantastic. We’re getting back to where we need to but we still have a small bit of work to do.
“They were pushing us, once you get a bit of momentum it’s actually hard to stop them but we dug deep. You should’ve seen some of the tackles that were put in around the middle they were absolutely brilliant.
“I’m happy we got over the line. Hats off to Limerick they hung in right until the death, you saw that against Tipperary so they’re a hard team to fight against so fair play to them.”
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Banner Davy Fitzgerald Clare Galway Time To Disagree