‘You just can’t make mistakes at this level’
WICKLOW under-20 football manager Kevin O’Brien has lamented the role that sloppy decision-making played in his side’s exit from the Leinster championship to at the hands of reigning champions Dublin, to whom they lost 1-17 to 1-7 on Saturday afternoon.
O’Brien said that his young team had the quality to stay in the game in a very windy Aughrim, but that wrong choices were made in key areas on the pitch, which contributed towards their ultimate defeat.
Despite Eoin Darcy scoring a goal for Wicklow inside the first two minutes, they spent the majority of the game playing second-fiddle to a very impressive
Dublin outfit. Wicklow did have chances to stay neck-and-neck with the Dubs, only for Johnny Keogh and Kevin Quinn to pass up opportunities for goals.
Speaking to the Wicklow People, Kevin O’Brien said that those missed chances would prove crucial, as Wicklow were made to pay for a lack of ruthlessness in advanced positions.
‘We were in it for a long time. I think that the goal we got to start was brilliant, but I’m disappointed. Them going up the other end to get the goal did not help. Dublin are a fine team. The wind was always going to play a big part, but they’re a good side all over the field.
‘Look it, we didn’t come here to make up the numbers and won’t accept second best. A few things didn’t go well for us; we made a lot of bad decisions with the wind and against the breeze, and it cost us. You just can’t make mistakes at this level.
‘That is the level and standard that we are trying to get up to. We just told the guys that they go back to their clubs now, and they have to try lift the standard of club football, no matter what grade it is. We are not happy to take second best anywhere, but sometimes, when you are beaten by the better team, you have to take it on the chin.’
Saturday’s clash would be, at times, defined by a sweeping wind that cut across the Joule Park turf, making it occasionally difficult for both sets of players when aiming for between the posts. Irrespective of the conditions – which would wreak havoc on matches up and down the country the next day due to the arrival of Storm Ciara – Kevin O’Brien refused to peg his team’s struggles on them.
While regretful of the result, O’Brien insisted that the players will only get better with time, and it was up to them to raise their game once the club season kicks-off with the league campaigns on February 21.
‘We made bad decisions out there. We have got to be patient. The wind can be harder with you than against you, sometimes. It is all about getting the right guy in the right position and making good decisions. We had some serious goal chances, but we didn’t take them.
‘We weren’t ruthless enough. Again, Dublin are a fine side. They are very efficient with the ball, and when they break, they break in numbers. They’ve a little bit more quality. We have a lot of young lads in there and a lot of them will be in there next year, or the year after, so it is not a disaster.
‘Whether we can keep going into Dublin dressing rooms and congratulating them, I don’t know. The players will be here, no matter who is here.
‘The standards have to be risen, and the lads will go back to their club championships. A lot of the minors last year lit up the championships and that needs to continue.
‘The lads gave everything in preparation; there is nothing that we can point to as being something that we did wrong. We gave it an almighty effort, it just wasn’t enough on the day.’