Mullen says that players will learn from this setback
OWENMORE Gaels can use the pain of last Saturday’s provincial final loss in Castlebar to drive next year’s return to the Connacht Gold Intermediate Football Championship. That’s according to team manager Gary Mullen, pictured, who watched his side lose by four points to Lahardane McHales in the AIB Connacht GAA Club Junior Football Championship final. Sligo’s Junior ‘A’ champions made a game of it at a foggy Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, despite conceding two first-half goals and then going eight points down with 13 minutes of normal time left.
Mullen said: “We came back into it alright but I think it was those two early goals that killed us in the end. They were two soft enough goals.
“I think over the 60 minutes we were the better team – we just didn’t get the rub of the green. I felt that we just didn’t get going in the first-half but I knew we could stick with them in the second-half.
“We went into the county final and the Connacht semi-final as favourites – we were underdogs for this one.” He continued: “Fair dues to Lahardane [MacHales], they are a well-drilled side.”
Although the fog lifted towards the end of the secondhalf, visibility was poor for most of this decider. “Early on if you stood in the middle of the pitch you could see both goals – I think it was playable but it was hard for us [the management] to see what was happening on the far side of the pitch.”
The manager is positive about this team’s immediate future. “The majority of the panel are under-25. In the next year or two if the lads keep at it then they’ll reap the rewards and learn from days like today [Saturday].”