Stradbally manager Pat Curran has taken aim at the Waterford county board after his team was forced to play two huge games in the space of 23 hours at the weekend.

The Reds defeated Ballinacourty to capture their 18th Waterford SFC title on Friday night before returning to Fraher Field the following night to face Nemo Rangers in the Munster club SFC quarter-final - a game they lost by 11 points.

"It's an absolute disgrace that Stradbally had to play here tonight," Curran told the Irish Examiner.

"The Waterford county board should be ashamed. I admire the hurling clubs in the county. They fight their corner. The football clubs have to stand up now and the county board have to get their ass in gear.

"We don't like to be beaten. It is even worse to be beaten when you don't get a fair crack of the whip. From a player welfare viewpoint, it is just so unfair to any club. We have played four games in 15 days. That is fair clipping."

Nemo Rangers manager Steven O'Brien agreed that Stradbally had got a raw deal from the fixture makers.

"I thought it was pretty poor form they had to play the following night. I'm not sure if anyone in this country would be able to do it," he said.

"I'd say the legs got them at the end, it is so difficult to go through a county final and it was a tough, hard game here last night. You are drained after a county final, we know that. It is two weeks since ours and we still have injuries so I can imagine 23 hours later is nigh on impossible."

 

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