Kerry boss Mark Bourke has admitted the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship defeat to Galway is ‘tough.’

The championship final saw the two teams meet at Croke Park, with Galway victorious with a score of 2-07 to 0-12.

The manager discussed the controversial square ball given against his side in the closing seconds.

Referee Maggie Farrelly also harshly ended an advantage when Síofra O’Shea was in possession.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Bourke admitted it was ‘pretty gut-wrenching.’

‘A two-pointer or a goal, a point on the advantage rule and all of them not given,’ he explained.

‘It’s really tough.’

The Kerry head admitted that he felt particularly hard done by the advantage not being given.

‘The player wasn’t going backwards, the player was in a positive position moving forward,’ he stated.

‘I didn’t feel the hand was up long enough, maybe three seconds… referees usually leave that advantage go until there’s a deficit the other way or a disadvantage of the play.’

He went on to admit that he ‘wasn’t close enough’ to form an opinion on the square ball.

‘There are two umpires, there’s a referee, there’s a video ref in the box to review all this information,’ he hit out, ‘The call was made, that’s it.’

Despite his upset, Bourke was gracious towards Galway and praised the ‘great’ game between the two sides.

Galway head Daniel Moynihan detailed his fears as the game came to an end.

He said: ‘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’s the second All-Ireland senior title for the Galwegians, who boasted seven players from the five-in-a-row club champions, Kilberrin-Clonbern.

Moynihan went on to share that there were actually 11 players from the club on the panel, adding that they were a ‘huge part’ of the county team.

‘They are an absolute monster as regards club teams,’ he praised.

‘Their experience shines through on days like this.’