McEntee says that Wicklow fixture is a ‘must-win’ game
AFL DIVISION FOUR
Carlow 2-10, Wicklow 2-10; Wexford 1-9, London 1-9; Leitrim 3-18, Waterford 0-11; Sligo 0-11, Laois 2-11
Wicklow v Sligo (Sunday, February 4); Waterford v Carlow; London v Leitrim; Laois v Wexford
SLIGO manager Tony McEntee endured one of the worst defeats of his tenure last Sunday when his charges were beaten by Laois, 2-11 to 0-11, at Markievicz Park in their Allianz Football League opener for 2023.
That’s saying something, given that Sligo’s 10 losses under McEntee’s watch prior to last weekend included a 20-point home reversal against Mayo in a Connacht GAA Senior Football Championship fixture as well a 10-point away trouncing at the hands of Louth in the Allianz Football League. Armagh native McEntee was flabbergasted afterwards. “I’m bitterly disappointed – that was a game that we had targeted to win, as we do all our home games.
“It was a very poor performance – we had trained well and expected a lot from this game. I really thought that we would put up a good display and we simply didn’t.
“We got hammered around midfield for most of the match, in terms of clean catches and breaking ball, so that was a huge platform that Laois had.
“We knew that midfield was an area that Laois were strong in and that we would have to work on that area.
“We also made a lot of basic errors which was incredible and maybe 14 or 15 turnovers in the first-half alone. A lot of these were relatively simple mistakes.”
His blunt summary continued. “Along with a performance that was error-prone, it was one that had a lack of energy.
“But, to be fair, Laois did a good job minding the likes of Paddy [O’Connor], Niall [Murphy] and Sean [Carrabine]. They didn’t let [Pat] Spillane into it either.”
Laois got men behind the ball and made life tremendously difficult for Sligo’s forwards. McEntee said that this is part and parcel of the modern game.
“This is a learning experience for us. We need to be able to manage situations like that and in this game we simply didn’t do it. “I think we were lucky to be going in five points down at half-time. We got back to within two points of them but I don’t think we had a lot of opportunities after that to get on level terms. “At that stage we would have expected to create those kind of opportunities.
“That is the most disappointing thing – that we didn’t create chances to come back. Laois always looked like they could come up the field and get a score.
Next up for Sligo is Sunday’s away fixture against Wicklow, who are guided by McEntee’s former teammate at club and county level, Oisin McConville.
“We are in Wicklow this Sunday and it is must-win game,” stated McEntee.
“If we don’t win this game then the campaign is effectively over and it becomes an exercise in preparing for the championship. We have a clear target this year – that is to get promoted.”
“Wicklow and Oisin [McConville] will be upset that they didn’t beat Carlow – so the reality is that both ourselves and Wicklow will be looking to win.
“The easiest way to rectify a lot of our problems is to get a win and points on the board this weekend.”