Coach disappointed with Otago’s second loss

THERE was a sense of deja vu for the Otago team in its second Super Cup match.

The side was beaten 40 by County Armagh in Northern Ireland, going behind in almost identical style to its first loss a day earlier.

It took just four minutes for home team Armagh to make inroads, the Otago defence panicking and three players attempting to stop one attacker.

That left a man open for an easy goal, virtually the same as the one scored against the side in the opening minute a day earlier.

From there, Armagh became the more comfortable side.

Otago found much of what it would get away with at home was leaving it exposed at the much higher level.

Too many touches in the wrong areas of the pitch caused mayhem and were the source of many turnovers, allowing Armagh to counterattack.

A through ball from a counterattack in the 23rd minute provided Armagh its second goal, before the side made it 30 five minutes later.

Armagh made it four late in the game, but Otago was able to put together its best play during the final 10 minutes.

It was a performance that left coach Andy Duncan disappointed.

‘‘I can’t hide away from the fact that [assistant coach] Tim [Horner] and I are disappointed with today’s performance.

‘‘We asked for them to con sider their learnings from yesterday and we had a very clear game plan that we simply didn’t stick to.

‘‘At least three of the goals were unacceptable goals to concede and it has been a bitter pill to swallow for some of the boys.’’

However, he added the focus was on development and he hoped the players were learning from the experience and said the effort levels remained high.

The team, which is playing in the under17 grade of the competition, has its final pool game against a Serie B invitational side from Italy.