The sweet smell of success for Loughrea in qualifying for the AIB All-Ireland SHC club final turned sour with the late dismissal of midfielder Cullen Killeen during Sunday's semi-final victory over Sleacht Néill at Parnell Park.
Referee Johnny Murphy ruled that Killeen, younger brother of star attacker Tiernan, was guilty of a dangerous pull and didn't hesitate with the red card.
As a result the teenager will miss Loughrea's date with Ballygunner in the decider at Croke Park on 18 January.
Speaking after the game to RTÉ Sport, Loughrea full-back Johnny Coen felt the decision was harsh, adding that he wasn't alone in that view.
"Everyone in the whole place was disgusted with the decision," he said.
So what did Coen, a Liam MacCarthy winner with Galway in 2017, see?
"I was tracking Chrissy McKaigue and, look, the game was up; we were 13 or 14 ahead at the time," he said.
"It appeared that Brendan Rogers and him got into a bit of a scuffle, then went rolling, there seemed to be very little in it.
"Cullen put in a man of the match performance; he was outstanding and wears his heart on his sleeve.
"Yes, there was pushing and shoving and Brendan Rogers is a big guy, but for me and I'll say it again, there was very, very little in it."
As for assessing his side's 13-point victory against their Derry opponents, Coen took some satisfaction in how the defence held firm for the most part, saying: "They have marquee men all over the field, the likes of Brendan Rogers, Chrissy McKaigue and Shea Cassidy, so we knew we were going to have our hands full.
"They never let up. We were coming out with balls and they were hitting us fair and square, putting us on our backside. They were well able to take scores. Glad we kept a clean sheet and the boys up top did the business."
Of course, goals win games, with Anthony Burns and Vince Morgan finding the net at crucial points of the contest for the four-time winners of Tom Callinan Cup.
Coen, now one of the Loughrea veterans, was quick to accentuate the importance of those green flags.
"Early doors we went point for point and it took that goal from Anthony to get a bit of separation between the two teams," he added.
"Sleacht Néill did rally and got three or four points on the bounce after that and there was only two in it at the break.
"Thankfully we got in at half time, knuckled down on a few things and found our flow in the second half.
"Vince is a top guy in fairness to him. He has go so much pace, so much skill, and when he took on his man he was going straight for the black spot.
"For a young man, he showed so much courage."
