Kilkenny manager Ann Downey couldn't hide her disappointment after her side lost to Cork by the narrowest of margins in the 2017 All-Ireland Camogie final.
It finished 0-10 to 0-09 at Croke Park on Sunday and asked if it was difficult to take, she told Off the Ball's Oisin Langan afterwards: "It is, to be beaten by a point, but I have to say that I'm really proud of the girls the way that we preformed in the second half.
"You know, we were slow to start and we had three points coming out in the second half to try and turn that three points around but the girls stuck to the task - played well, used the ball well and I suppose we maybe had to do that in the first half, we would have been over the line. These things happen but we just have to learn from it."
Reflecting on a poor first half, she said: "Well I suppose the big occasion you know, maybe the weather, you could blame all sorts of things - these things happen.
Kilkenny players dejected at the end of the game. Image: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane
"It's a big stage for a young team and maybe their nerves or whatever but they rectified it in the second half and they died with their boots on to be quite honest.
"In the second half I think we played some super camogie - especially in the second half. We just didn't get enough scores, maybe drove one or two wide.
"They were picking off some great scores in the first half but they gelled together well in the second half as I said and just couldn't get over the line really with more scores.
Asked if Cork had closed the gap physically after Kilkenny won in 2016, Downey said: "They probably did, yeah. Maybe they have more experienced older players than we have. We still have a relatively young team but that's not taking from Cork - they were super today, to be quite honest, in every facet of the game."
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