Henry Shefflin felt referee Thomas Walsh's decision to penalise Conor Cooney for taking too long to take a free late in Galway's draw with Wexford on Saturday evening was "harsh".
Galway held a two-point lead as Cooney stood over a free in the 75th minute. After Walsh decided the throw-in the sliotar, Wexford won possession, and Lee Chin hit a superb score to bring his side to within a point.
Chin came off the bench to hit five points including the equaliser from a long-range free in the 77th minute as the sides drew 1-19 each.
"You talk about home advantage in the competition, the minute Conor got the free, I could sense the crowd were on his back," Galway manager Shefflin told RTÉ Radio 1 after the game.
"[The referee] made his decision which I thought was harsh. Overall in the second half, I don’t know what the free count was, but it definitely seemed to go against us."
'Galway played the better hurling in the first half'
🟣🟡Wexford's late late show stuns Galway! 😲 pic.twitter.com/QFCE3XjL66
— Sky Sports GAA (@SkySportsGAA) April 17, 2022
Galway looked to be heading for the win at half-time as they held a six-point lead.
"I'm sure Wexford think the opposite, but for me, yes it is," said Shefflin when asked if it was a missed opportunity to put a victory on the board.
"The match was in our grasp. 72 minutes in we were two points up. Are we disappointed in the dressing room? Yes, and it should hurt. That's the way we feel in the dressing room.
"We looked threatening in the first half. Brian and Conor were looking dangerous inside. I thought we played the better hurling.
16 April 2022; Referee Thomas Walsh during the Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 1 match between Wexford and Galway at Chadwicks Wexford Park in Wexford. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
"We said at half-time that we wanted that to continue. For some reason, that didn't transpire. We probably could have won the game. Those late frees cost us dearly.
"I thought Wexford played a lot better [in the second half]. Their bench came on, and we knew they were going to have an impact. Conor McDonald was causing some trouble inside.
"The goal gave them a big lift. Up to that point, we were tacking on [points]. We had an opportunity ourselves [for a goal], Joe Cooney went though, and probably should have thrown the ball off, and if he'd done that, who knows, we might have got the goal."
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