Dalton delighted with performance
PADDY DALTON knew his side were going very well in the lead up to this Leinster championship meeting with Longford but he was still a very happy man after witnessing his charges put on a fine show to secure a clash with Offaly in the next round albeit with improvements to be made ahead of that game.
‘Very happy. Happy for them to get the first win under their belts. Delighted to be playing, because we weren’t sure, we were watching the phone all week wondering, but delighted that the lads get a game. Especially at this age, it’s a rite of passage. I said it to the Longford lads as well, no matter what happens, at least you’ve put on the Minor jersey, you’ve friends for life. Myself and Tony (Hannon) are battling away together since Minor and we’ve been mates ever since. It’s a bit more than winning, but obviously we’re delighted to get the win.
‘We knew coming into it that we were going really well, moving really well in training, a few good practice games under our belts which stood to us a lot. But, again, we’ve things to work on, we didn’t finish that well, lads dropped off the pace after the last water break when we had got a couple of goals ahead. We’ll have to address that. But no harm either.
‘You could see it with some of the lads, the attitude, some of them didn’t chase back enough at the end. We tried to bring in a few lads to see lads in different positions to have a few different options. It’s not their fault, it was more the whole team dropped off. And then, in fairness, when they
got that goal the lads came back up and they finished with a couple of pints which is what you want to see,’ said the Coolkenno stalwart.
It’s a keen competition for places that may well be the driving force in the excellent showing for three-quarters of this game before Wicklow seemed to ease up off the gas to allow Longford rally before
impressively stamping that out at the death.
‘We’ve such competition for places all over the pitch; Joe Mills, Mikey O’Toole, so many options, Danny Silk (Fetherson) came in and he’s pushing really hard to get in, another really good player, huge pace, but Eoin (Doyle) was super there today, his kicking was unbelievable. JP (Nolan) was running around and he took a few nice scores, and Tom Keogh was brilliant today, he linked a lot of play up in the full-forward line. Finn Treacy was super, the amount of work, the physicality, the amount of tackling he got through. Cathal Baker was excellent, the two lads at midfield were excellent as well. Really, really good play, we just need to tighten up on a few things, giving away soft goals, your man, 14 (Micheal Hynes), caused a bit of damage. He was good. In fairness to them, they fought back well and came back into it in the end. But overall, we couldn’t be happier, great to get a win in championship,’ said Paddy.
It’s a spin to Portlaoise tonight week (Wednesday, October 28) for their next game, which is against Offaly. Paddy says that this team are familiar with the Faithful County after meeting them over the years and that they’re a good side.
‘Offaly next in Portlaoise under lights. A big game. They’re a good side. We’ve played them coming up over the years. We’ve had good tussles with them along the way. We’ll have to have a look at them now. I suppose it’s nice to have a championship game under our belts going into a game. It’s harder on teams waiting to play because they can’t have practice games so it’s all in-house stuff for Minors. We’ll see. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the next week or so with restrictions. But these guys are in a very much regulated environment. As you can see there are masks on all the time. Ballinakill is great because there’s so much space up there. It’s great for these lads because they have nothing else to do,’ he added.
There’s a growing sense of disdain on social media and across various platforms in relation to the GAA going ahead with their inter-county games. Paddy Dalton says that his players and his mentors are in a very regulated environment and that the GAA is an important element of people’s lives, more so than ever now in these strange times.
‘If these guys weren’t in with us, they could be off with their friends or somewhere else. In here, when they come in, they’re wearing masks, they separate in the dressing rooms, they’re there for no more than five or 10 minutes, more or less boots on and out, it’s just somewhere to leave the gear, especially if it’s raining. It’s just making sure that they’re doing the right things, and they are. They know. They’re doing the right things because they want to keep playing. And they’re trying to be careful in school. They can’t avoid. It’s just hoping that you’re not going to get a phone call to say they’re a close contact.
‘There’s a great atmosphere up there (in Ballinakill). I was watching the Seniors the other night, and there are 35 lads on training on both pitches. What else would they be doing? Sitting at home? I think it’s very important. I think we need to strike a balance on it. Obviously, you have to have all the restrictions but I think it was very well managed here today. Once you can do that and you have venues and places who can do that, especially at inter-county, and you have the facilities to do that, I don’t see why there’s a problem with that. Everybody’s outside, and I think it’s important for people. And it’s something for us all to talk about,’ he said.