Manager Danny Owens refused to apportion blame on Ciaran Slevin following Kilcormac/Killoughey's Leinster club SHC final extra-time defeat to Ballyhale.

The normally deadly K/K marksman missed four frees in-a-row in the second half as the Offaly champions let the Kilkenny champions off the hook.

"To be fair to Ciaran Slevin, he has won more matches than I care to remember for us," Owens pointed out.

"It's coming in a bad week (for him). He just buried his granny yesterday. Ciaran Slevin has been our hero so many times that I've lost count. Everybody is totally supportive of him and all the fellas because everybody put their shoulder to the wheel"

Owens also rued the calf injury which forced K/K full back Ger Healion to retire at the end of full-time.

"It meant re-jigging the team and that did have an effect," the 1981 and '85 All-Ireland winner said.

"We had to reshape our team and it probably did have an adverse effect on the result alright, but we're immensely proud of the lads. They played the way we thought they would play."

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