Being awarded the player of the match was little consolation for Stephen Bennett, with frustration the overriding emotion as Waterford were defeated by Clare in the opening round of the Munster Hurling Championship.
Bennett ended the day with 3-12 to his name at Zimmer Biomet Páirc ChÃosóg as the Deise came out on the wrong side, with the Ballysaggart clubman lamenting what might have been.
“I’m sick, and I don’t care that we performed alright,” he told RTÉ Sport.
“There were two or three goal chances we didn’t take; Paddy Curran had a great chance, Eibhear Quilligan with a great save. We would have been level with 30 seconds to go. We had pushed up and they broke and buried it at the end.
Stephen Bennett was on the losing side today despite a hat-trick.
The player of the match feels Waterford can still qualify from Munster
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“They punished us and we made too many mistakes, too many silly wides.
“For ten or 15 minutes in the second half they got their scores easier and we had those silly wides,
“I’m gutted to be honest with you. We have to focus now on next week. We need to beat Tipp next week, that is massive for us.”