“Any day you lose is a disappointing one” | Football boss Mark Fitzgerald on need to improve after Wicklow defeat

The Shannonsiders had already confirmed their place in the quarter finals of the Tailteann Cup, but would have been hoping to maintain their good form.

Limerick football boss Mark Fitzgerald spoke of his disappointment following his side’s loss to Wicklow over the weekend. The Shannonsiders had already confirmed their place in the quarter finals of the Tailteann Cup, but had been hoping to keep up their good form.

Wicklow had been without a win in the opening rounds of the competition, but managed to beat Limerick 2-14 to 1-10 to register their first win with their elimination confirmed prior to throw in. Fitzgerald had made a number of changes to his side, having already qualified for the quarter finals, but was still dissapointed with the performance.

“Any day you lose is a disappointing one, we came up here with the best intentions of keeping the momentum going, for whatever reason we just were a bit off it. The fact that we’re already in the quarter final might have had something to do with it. The beauty of the next round is that it’s knockout, if we produce a performance like that again we won’t go much further.”

Despite the defeat, the Kerry native stressed that there was positives to take from the game. The rotation in his side allowed certain players an opportunity to gain experience, and this will be crucial in the long-run, when trying to build a competitive squad with depth across the board.

“We had some good performances, if you’re trying to build a squad or a future you have to give them some exposure. We did a few good things but just not enough, we just weren’t at the races in terms of where we were over the last couple of weeks.”

Limerick had already qualified for the quarter finals, and Fitzgerald knows his side will have to improve if they are to have any hope of progressing further. Thankfully, the players and management have a chance to reset and put things right in training before they play again as they await one of the winners from this weekend’s preliminary quarter-finals.

“If you play like that again you won’t be getting to any semi final, we know that, we’ve had enough harsh lessons this year to know that. All you can do is move on from it, we know it wasn’t good enough.”

Limerick will have home advantage for that quarter final on Saturday June 10 when they prepare for a first knockout game of the Taliteann Cup.

GAA coverage on Sporting Limerick is brought to you in association with Noels Menswear, shop online here or visit in Dooradoyle, Limerick City or Newcastle West.