A ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ showing
A disappointed Johnny Magee says that the most frustrating thing for him as manager is watching his players get themselves into a very good position after 35 minutes of football only to go back out for the second half and not stick to the game plan.
The Wicklow boss was talking about the second half collapse of his charges against neighbours Carlow on Sunday afternoon in Joule Park Aughrim.
A 0-07 to 0-04 score line at the break in favour of the home side was obliterated in the second half as Carlow ran amok over a stunned Garden side to finish up 1-18 to 0-10 winners and inflict yet another defeat on this group of Wicklow footballers.
“We put ourselves in a position at half-time, we were three points up and playing ok, not playing as good as we can, but playing ok,” said Johnny Magee. “We did this against them last year as well when we went in at half-time four points up. We went in at half-time on Sunday and we said ok, let’s get composed, let’s stick to the game plan, keep going forward, keep the work rate up. We had kept them to four points for 35 minutes and then we went out and we didn’t follow the game plan. The lads went away from the game plan. It was a Jekyll and Hyde performance,” he added.
“It’s just disappointing. We had got a bit of momentum from the London game and from being in a position to beat Wexford and from pushing Westmeath but you have
to stick to the game plan and work your socks off. What’s driving me nuts is they scored 1-13 in 35 minutes of football,” he added.
A defeat like that on Sunday must have had a demoralising effect on the dressing room but Johnny Magee says that the spirit is still good in the camp, training is going well, and that everyone is pulling in the one direction.
“The lads are hugely disappointed, I’m gutted, and I’m racking my brains to figure out why it happened but it’s very hard to put your finger on it. There was one stage on the first half when they had possession for two minutes on their own 65 and they just couldn’t penetrate us. That was good. The lads are good footballers but sometimes when a team is coming at you the natural instinct is to go back to what you do for your club. If that had happened against Wexford or Westmeath it mightn’t be as bad but when it happens against your neighbours it makes it very raw,” he added.
Magee also made note of Carlow’s negative defensive tactics of bringing 13 men back into their own defence and he said that while it might seem like a great idea to pump ball into Seanie Furlong and Tommy Kelly, the reality, he says, is that the ball will come back out as quick because they were being double marked at times with a man in front of them as well.
“We kicked away some silly ball. The two lads inside had no space s we were trying to draw lads out and run off the shoulder and use the three-man weave but we kicked away some ball and when we did it came straight back out.
“It’s about being consistent and not moving from game plan and we are better than what we showed,” he said. “That 35 minutes of football is not going to define this team. It’s been an evolving panel from day one and we’re trying to get consistency,” he added.
There were reports from Joule Park Aughrim that Johnny Magee was involved in a heated exchange with some Wicklow GAA supporters during he game against Carlow but the Wicklow boss says there was no incident.
He also offered best wishes to the Wicklow hurlers ahead of the clash with Meath in the NHL Division 2B final in Parnell Park on Saturday at 5pm.