For Kerry manager Mark Bourke, the manner of their All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final defeat to Galway left him feeling utterly deflated.The controversy around the square ball given against Kerry in the dying seconds, as well as the decision by referee Maggie Farrelly before that to end an advantage when Síofra O’Shea was in possession, dominated the post-match press conferences.“It’s pretty gut-wrenching now,” said Bourke. “A two-pointer or a goal, a point on the advantage rule and all of them not given. It’s really tough.”Of the two decisions, Bourke was most annoyed at the advantage not being allowed to continue and felt O’Shea’s point – kicked after Farrelly’s whistle had sounded to bring the play back for the free – should have stood.“Yeah, absolutely. The player wasn’t going backwards, the player was in a positive position moving forward,” he said. “I didn’t feel the hand was up long enough, maybe three seconds . . . I don’t know, referees usually leave that advantage go until there’s a deficit going the other way or a disadvantage of the play. It should have gone through and been counted as a point, yeah. That’s my opinion.”Bourke’s body language indicated a clear level of frustration, but he remained largely measured with his comments on the closing stages. “I wasn’t close enough really to make a determination,” he added on the square ball.“There are two umpires, there’s a referee, there’s a video ref up in the box to review all this information. Were they all used? I’m not sure. The call was made, that’s it. “We can’t control any of it and fair dues to Galway as well, you must take your hat off to them. I thought they had a great game, I thought we’d a great game.”Galway goalkeeper Leah O'Halloran and three Galway defenders fail to prevent a goal from Kerry's Síofra O’Shea (not pictured), which was subsequently disallowed by referee Maggie Farrelly. Photograph: Seb Daly/Sportsfile Galway manager Daniel Moynihan feared the Brendan Martin Cup was about to slip from his team’s grasp in that last play when O’Shea stood over the late two-point free. “I thought maybe it was a free as it happened. Obviously I haven’t watched it back, but then it was a case of ‘will she put this over for a two-pointer and then it’s going to go [finish] with the buzzer’,” he added.“That was the initial thought, that possibly she has the legs, because she’s such a fantastic footballer. But as that ball went into the net, I could see so many bodies in there, I felt myself it was a square ball. “I could see Maggie putting her hands up straight away as well. So, great relief is the thing for me. It’s quite a way to win a game of football, but also on the other side, to lose a game of football.“This team has been through so much, has had such bad luck over the years as well. It was nice to get a bit of the rub of the green as well.”It marks Galway’s second All-Ireland senior triumph. Sunday’s team was backboned by seven players from the all-conquering five-in-a-row All-Ireland club champions, Kilkerrin-Clonberne.“They play a huge part of this Galway group,” said Moynihan. “There are 11 (Kilkerrin-Clonberne) players on the panel. They’re an absolute monster as regards club teams. Their experience shines through on days like this. “I suppose a lot of the narrative has been, ‘how come Galway haven’t got there with Kilkerrin-Clonberne going so well over the years’. I think that’s something that would have grinded their gears a little bit but they’re delighted to get over it.“But you can’t beat that level of experience and that big-match mentality and we saw that in spades from the players out there.”Galway players (from left) Hannah Noone, Eva Noone, and Lynsey Noone lift the Brendan Martin Cup after their side's victory in Sunday's All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final against Kerry at Croke Park. Photograph: Seb Daly/Sportsfile Eva Noone displayed plenty of the big-match mentality referenced by her manager. The Kilkerrin-Clonberne forward kicked the winning point with just two minutes remaining.It was a sweet ending to a very difficult season for Noone, who in May had managed to get a six-month ban for alleged racial abuse overturned by the Disputes Resolution Authority. Noone had strongly denied the allegations arising from a Connacht club championship game.“The only thing I would say on that is some of the narrative was really disappointing,” said Moynihan.“And that’s nothing in relation to the other person involved. I felt it was, at times, quite nasty towards that individual. Eva had a tough time mentally and yet she still managed to come out on the football field and train with this hanging over her head. “And it’s not just football, it’s private life, it’s professionally [with] her trying to become a teacher. That took on a huge level of stress. At times, I don’t think the media looked at both sides of it, just chased the one side of it. You have to be a little more balanced about it. “She had such a tough year. She worked so hard. I don’t know how she did it. I really don’t, because other people would have crumbled. From that perspective, I’m really proud of her. “She’s a great individual, she’s tigerish, she works so, so hard on the football field. She’s a genuinely good person and we’re delighted that she was a part of this team today and that she got her just reward, which was an All-Ireland title.”