A ‘bitterly disappointed’ Joey Williams lauds Gaels performance
By Gerry Buckley
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Lough Lene Gaels’ Ryan Williams evades Glen Malone. JOHN_MC_CAULEYImage 2 of 4
Philip Reilly of Lough Lene Gaels outruns Luke Roche. JOHN_MC_CAULEYImage 3 of 4
Lough Lene Gaels’ John Egan plays through Shelmaliers’ Glen Malone and Sean Keane Carroll. Photos John McCauley. JOHN_MC_CAULEYImage 4 of 4
Shelmaliers’ Aaron Kinsella tries to hook Daire Daly. JOHN_MC_CAULEY“We’re very disappointed to go toe-to-toe with the Wexford champions with a massive performance and we’re gutted at the end of it. We had the beating of them and we let it slip. It's hard to take.”
This opening salvo from Lough Lene Gaels’ manager Joey Williams neatly encapsulates the view of all those supporting the men in purple and gold last Sunday after Wexford champions Shelmaliers defeated the Collinstown men by a last-gasp point.
Shelmaliers wiped out the Gaels’ five-point lead in the opening few minutes of the second half, but Williams opined, “We regrouped then and we got going again. We went three or four points up again and we let it slip. It’s a massive step-up for our lads to that level of hurling, to be fair. It was a brilliant game. There was no Mickey Mouse hurling there today. We had a few good nights after the county final but we prepared well for this, and we thought we were in right good shape – and we were.
“It was the last puck of the ball that beat us. We are bitterly disappointed. We were here to do a job today and we’re disappointed that we didn’t give something back to Westmeath hurling.”
The losing bainisteoir continued: “I am so proud of the group, to keep coming back after losing three straight county finals. They never shied away from anything I asked them to do over the past four years. We gave it everything there today. Derek McNicholas was really wound up for this game. He’s a brilliant person and a brilliant leader for that group. He got a bad cut and, being the warrior that he is, he came back out. ‘Jogger’ (Tommy Doyle), sure his leg is hanging off him. There are so many men injured and they still went through that pain barrier. They put their bodies on the line for Collinstown today.”
With their 2026 campaigns at an end, Williams concluded: “The lads deserve a break now. They can relax. Hopefully, Westmeath people were proud of our display today and that Westmeath hurling can get to where it should be. As for myself, I’ll probably stay around next year if those boys in the dressing room want me. Why would you walk away from something that you really enjoy doing?”