Bulfin's pride in performance tempered by disappointing result

"I was very happy with our performance, it was very good. We left here a few years ago and we didn't know which way was up with the clipping we got, but it is a very different feeling now,” Meath hurling manager Seoirse Bulfin told Meath Chronicle’s Fergal Lynch.

"We played against the breeze early on and we were only a point down at half-time. We worked so hard and put in a fierce first-half. The performance was really good considering the huge turnover of players we have had. A couple of the young lads really stood up today. Ethan Devine was excellent, he completely took Fionán Mackessy out of the game, he didn't get a puck of the ball.

"We were probably playing a level above ourselves, but we were really competitive. It was tit-for-tat and they didn't get the goals until late in the game.

"You need a bit of luck and a break to go your way when you are playing above yourself, but we didn't get it with their first goal. The Kerry player was about to strike a nailed on point, but one of our lads who had tracked back brilliantly and got a superb hook in led to the mis-hit shot and that wrong-footed our lads and the ball fell kindly to the full-forward who buried it to the net.

"If we didn't get the hook in it would only have been a point and that was a huge turning point for us, it was so unlucky.

"You are never happy losing, but I'd take an awful lot of positives from that performance.

"We were short so many lads and then we lost James Toher after only a minute or two, we were effectively without him for the whole game. Seanie Martin was out with a hamstring injury he picked up in training, we were also missing a few other lads, but in fairness the lads stood up and gave a good account.

"Compared to other games two years ago there is a lot of positives to be taken, but ultimately it was 17 scores to 16 and it was the goals that killed us.

"The new players coming in have to learn the hard way and they have to learn fast, but they aren't letting anyone down.

"Another example of things not going our way is that Shane Conway missed the first two games for Kerry, but he was back for our game and he was probably the difference between the two teams. If they didn't have Conway we would probably have won the match. He was a handful throughout. We handled him fairly well, far better than we did two years ago, but he was the difference.

"We are still learning. I told the lads after the Carlow game that I would be tearing my hair out if we were back in after the Kerry game showing clips of the same errors, but we didn't make the same mistakes. We were far better defensively, I know we conceded three goals, but we were much better than the last day.

"There is loads of positives to be taken. We have Laois coming to town in two weeks time and that is going to be another huge task.”