The frustration felt by Fermanagh Ladies boss, Jonny Garrity, following his side’s one-point defeat to Leitrim was clear.

Fermanagh were the better side for most of the contest and should have won the game but they were pegged back with Leitrim winning it with the last kick of the game.

Garrity could not fault his players’ application throughout the game but he did have questions about some of the decisions made by the referee on the day, which in the end cost Fermanagh the game.

“We’re disappointed. We felt we should have made the game safe and out of sight and unfortunately, we granted them a way back into it,” said Garrity.

“And even with that, it seemed as if we had stemmed the tide and we were going to see it out. Well into extra time we were a point up so it’s disappointing the way the referee gave two contentious calls against us that led to the equaliser and the winner.”

The equaliser came after it looked like Eimear Smyth had been tripped as she went for the ball with the player who fouled ending up scoring a point. The winner, Garrity claims, came after the referee gave a free for a foul she did not have a clear view of.

“I don’t want to criticise the referee because they have a difficult job to do but I feel extremely frustrated. I’ll criticise the decisions that cost us when you talk about months and months of hard work and we should be talking about a very good, hard-fought victory and unfortunately we are not and that’s down to in no small part to the referee’s interpretation of the rules.”

Bone of contention

Another bone of contention for Garrity was the eight minutes of added-on time at the end, an amount of time he does not know where it came from.

But Garrity was full of praise for his players and their efforts.

“It is shattering on them because the effort that was put into that match, the attitude shown by the girls was so impressive and if ever a team deserved something out of the game it was us. But I feel sorry for the girls they have dealt with setback after setback this year and kept coming back and showing their best.

“If you were beaten by football and football alone it would be easier to accept but a bit like the Wicklow match in the National League where there was another inexplicable decision, these refereeing calls have cost us dearly but again it loathes me to have to even speak about the referee.

“I don’t want to. I want to talk about the players. I want to talk about us controlling the things we can control. We have to take responsibility for those things and there are certain improvements we can make again but certainly not in the heart department.”

Garrity believes that the breaks will come for his side who are still seeking their first win of the season. And he knows that if they continue with the application and work-rate put on a show against Leitrim that win will come, sooner rather than later.

“We need a break and we are not getting one. But we’ll keep going regardless. The girls’ mentality is so strong that they have shown all along this season that they are not going to let external influences or distractions take them away from their mission and keep on going in the full belief we can get the wins that we need.

“It’s very difficult to take but take we must and well move on and regroup and go out with the intention of putting all that frustration out on Clare next week,” concluded the Fermanagh boss.