John Gardiner was refusing to blame some dubious first half refereeing decisions which went against Cork for their heavy defeat to Kilkenny.

"You play a different game and you get frees for some of the stuff. Some of the stuff you don't get frees for. We're not complaining. I don't want you to pick it up that way. We just have to come up to that level," the long-serving half back said.

"It suited them. We're not going to give out about it, but a couple of decisions could have gone our way the same way as it went their way in that first half. It seemed to be all flowing down their direction.

"They (Kilkenny) got a bit of a rude awakening in Pairc Ui Chaoimh and you could see it there. They weren't going to lie down. They were very, very physical,"

Cork selector Seanie McGrath felt Westmeath referee James McGrath had a good game.

"He's a good referee. We couldn't have any qualms. We have to deal with their intensity. Their tackling was just ferocious. Whether it was high tackling or what, our fellas just couldn't cope with it. They're good at it. At times we ran into the tackle instead of leaving it go a bit earlier," he said. Tweet

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