NO TIME TO WALLOW IN ANTRIM DEFEAT AS LAOIS ARE NEXT
A clearly disappointed Niall Carew said Sligo need to focus now on this Sunday’s Allianz League game with Laois and not hang their heads following the defeat away to Antrim.
“Obviously I’m extremely disappointed. After the game it was very frustrating knowing that we could have won it.
“Particularly after we had beaten Tipperary. I think what went wrong was that we didn’t take our chances, that was a big thing,” the manager added.
He said that conditions too were a factor in a blustery, rain swept Corrigan Park in Belfast.
“In fairness to the boys the underfoot conditions were a disaster, the conditions were a part of it I suppose.
“Maybe we were a bit complacent going into it.
“In saying that, we had done a lot of work going into the game and in terms of getting previews of our opponents.
“The players themselves had also trained hard ahead of the game.”
The manager said it was a game where normal sharp- shooter Adrian Marren was not like his usual self.
“The last game he was hero and then it’s like he’s villain.
“It was very uncharacteristic of Adrian in fairness and was not like him at all.”
He said the defeat against the Saffrons, who had lost both of their previous matches, was a crushing one after the Tipperary win.
“To be honest, it feels like a Championship loss.
“I really thought the win was there for us.
“Antrim had the numbers back and they were hard for us to break down so I have to commend them for that.”
Carew explained it’s now time to regroup and prepare for Sunday’s home tie with Laois, who are currently bottom in the dogged battle that is Division 3.
“It is what it is. We have to regroup and get ready for Sunday.
“We have to try and focus on that.
“It is a quick turnaround but I think that’s best for us on dealing with the hangover after Antrim.
“Sometimes having a game come quickly is better as you can’t let defeats play on your mind too much.”
The manager admitted Laois will be a tricky enough opponent.
“They had a good result beating Armagh away from home and last weekend the scoreline didn’t really reflect their performance against Tipperary.
“Tipperary ( who won by six) got a goal near the last kick of the game to put a better scoreline on it.
“Laois are a physical side, it’s going to be a tough game and we’ll have to be at our best to beat them,” Carew added.
Throw- in to Sunday’s game with Laois is 2: 30pm in Markievicz Park as Carew’s charges aim to get their League back on track.