Conor Whelan says he was ‘shocked’ to receive a black card during last Saturday’s Leinster SHC final.

The Galway forward was sent to the sin bin by referee Michael Kennedy in the 55th minute for pulling down Dublin’s Eoghan O’Donnell just outside his own 13-metre line, despite Galway having three defenders between him and Darach Fahy’s goal. Whelan’s frustration was compounded when Donal Burke converted the resultant penalty.

“To be honest, I thought it was very harsh,” he told reporters at Croke Park.

“At the time I collided with him, he did hit the ground, but I thought there was a covering defender there. That's a refereeing decision, I was shocked, really.

“But credit to the boys, they stepped up and I think we ended up winning a free and a penalty in the next two plays, so that put a bit of breathing space and it made it a little bit easier sitting on the sideline.”

The Kinvara clubman, who scored five points from play, was delighted to see the Tribesmen end their eight-year wait for Leinster SHC honours.

“It's massive for the group. We obviously set out at the start of the year to win the Leinster championship as we've done numerous times, but there was just a feeling this year that things were different,” he continued.

“You could see early on in the League that we had a clear game plan and style of play and I think it's fairly fluid and players are able to come in and do a job. We picked up injuries today but we still had lads that were able to come in and do the job.”

 

 

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