THE Ballyfin dressing room was a lonely place to be after the defeat on Sunday last.

The panel were as heartbroken as the die hard fans that made the long journey up to Louth Village. The players felt they left the game behind them. Jason Horan looked a disconsolate figure, his hands covering his head for some time. Horan was in fact the last player to board the bus as he was trying to come to terms with the defeat. Another man who was deeply disappointed was the manager Aidan Fogarty.

“We are very disappointed with the defeat today because we came up expecting to win,� he told the Laois Nationalist. Ballyfin struggled for periods during the game particularly in the opening half when they regis-tered their first score after 20 minutes. The second half was the same as they let Knockbridge back into the game. “We struggled in the both halves. It wasn’t just the first one where we struggled. It took us a long time to settle and maybe had we a extra week to prepare we could have done better. I am not making any excuses because we came up here today well prepared for the game.

This season had been a mixed one for Ballyfin. Earlier in the summer the death of the talented Jason Gilligan robbed them of a prized hurler and friend. They then had something special to celebrate two weeks ago when they were crowned inter-mediate hurling champions. Not every team can come back from such a traumatic couple of days and land some valuable silverware. The goal this season for Ballyfin was to land the championship and anything else was a bonus.

“Our main objective was to win the championship we did that and whatever else followed we aimed to try do our best. I thought we were fully ready for this but obviously it just came way too soon for us,� Fogerty concluded. The season has now ended for Ballyfin as they will look back on it with a mixture of sadness and happiness. One thing for sure all the members of the club have done themselves proud in what has been a very difficult year. The senior championship beckons next year for the side.

If players like Seán Lowry and JJ McHugh stay injury free, this side could cause shockwaves next year.

Filed under: Laois Hurling, Laois Clubs