Goals cost us on the day as referee made two big calls
WHILE disappointment is still ringing in my ear after our defeat to Mayo on Sunday, I am sure our lads now know what it takes to compete with the big boys. And compete we certainly did.
We matched Mayo both physically and mentally and our smarts improved as the game progressed.
With five minutes remaining in the game we were one score down, which was the goal scored by Diarmuid O’Connor, just before half time, after he took up to eight steps with the ball.
We had two half- chances for goal while at that juncture with the game in the melting pot and normally we would grab at least one but on this occasion we just fell short.
Leading into the game we knew Pat Hughes wasn’t fully fit and in fairness to him, he did quite well, but he was just missing his normal acceleration to go by his man.
Kyle Cawley was in bed sick all week and it obviously took its toll as his energy levels were quite low.
Adrian McIntyre played with a broken thumb, not that anyone would know as again he turned up with another fine display at midfield.
Adrian is proving to be one of the best midfielders in the country and don’t underestimate how key he is to our set- up.
Niall Murphy made a huge impact when he came on and it was great to see him back on the pitch. We made six substitutions in total which is the maximum and to be honest we could have done with another one, just to provide a boost to the energy levels required when chasing a game of this magnitude.
If you take out the last 10 minutes of the first half, I felt we matched Mayo everywhere.
We all know that their two goals should never have been allowed. As I have mentioned already, there was a clear instance of significant over- carrying for the first one, while there was a straight pick- up before the second.
Of course the reporters asked me about this after the game and if I was to criticise the referee, I would get suspended.
The facts are that Sean Hurson got two big calls wrong which cost us. He is only human of course and very fair overall, which is all you can ask. I am only human too though, which is why I’m gutted over the two decisions that went against us and had such an impact on the game but I have no control over them. So I hope we might get those calls the next day and move on.
I was surprised, as I watched the TV coverage when I came home, that the commentators never picked up on those key mistakes however.
I laughed at Colm O’Rourke’s comment when he was asked what Sligo needed to do in the second half. “Pray” was his glib response.
Generally I find O’Rourke to be a good analyst but he doesn’t know my players.
We knew we were still in the game but we just had to be more composed on the ball and get more support off the shoulder.
We had to sacrifice a forward to make this happen and Stephen Coen was the fall- guy here.
Coener had scored two fine points in the first half, so the decision to replace him was tactical, for the benefit of the overall team performance.
We felt by putting Kevin McDonnell on, we could get more joy driving at Mayo and he certainly had a big impact as we brought the game to the team that was a kick of the ball away from winning last year’s All- Ireland.
My own analysis of the game is simple. We performed and the lads left everything on the pitch. They did exactly as they were asked.
That said, we as a group would certainly be disappointed that we didn’t take one of the half- chances for goal, and that we kicked three into the Mayo goalie, David Clarke’s hands in the first half. We also kicked five wides in that period.
There were so many positives though, in the way we competed and were able for the physical exchanges.
Individually, Brendan Egan was immense at six and I felt all the backs did their jobs very well.
Niall Murphy returning is also a big plus going forward. We certainly could have done with Cian Breheny’s pace and power driving forward.
We will get back on the horse and build on this performance. Our goal now is to make the last eight with this squad of players and this is very achievable.
IF YOU TAKE OUT THE LAST TEN MINUTES OF THE FIRST HALF, I FELT WE MATCHED MAYO EVERYWHERE.