We have plenty to do for our shoot-out with Offaly on Sunday
great resolve to get what could prove a very valuable point from the game.
Sligo started the game in a very defensive mode with 14 players behind the ball but Longford still were able to pick holes and thread passes through to the inside line and looked in total control.
I felt while getting the players behind the ball we didn’t put enough pressure on their player in possession as they were doing to us.
This did however change after the first 20 minutes and we started forcing them into both forced and unforced turnovers.
The problem of playing more on the front foot is that you leave yourself vulnerable at the back and Longford capitalised with two goals,
I feel we need to be more negative at times and give away a tactical free not letting them build from the back particularly if we are out of position.
Kickouts can always be a talking point in games and it’s no different with ours,
Often Aidan Devaney can be criticised for a mistake such as one early in the game last Sunday, however I think he was very brave after that error to continue seeking out a short pass when the Longford players were putting the kickout under extreme pressure.
In addition to this he never is afraid to take on responsibility always showing for a defender to take a pass if they get in trouble and at one point went on an excursion up the field at an important stage of the game when he had no options.
I can hear some supporters giving advice from the stands to kick it long but I feel they don’t understand the importance of keeping possession in the modern game.
Unfortunately, a goalkeeper is always under the microscope and their errors can be remembered more than a player mistake out the pitch.
However, as a goal-keeper’s errors can be punished more harshly these errors always need to be kept to a minimum.
We will not be able to put a value on the point we took from Sunday’s game until all games are concluded but what that performance should give us, is a lot of confidence after some poor showings in the other games.
The reality is we still have plenty to do and now have a shoot-out with Offaly next Sunday in Tullamore where a win would guarantee us Division Three football next year, however if we were to lose we would have one more chance in what could be a winner take all game against Derry.
If we can bring the positive attributes from last weekend and defend better when not in possession we have enough to survive this test.
However Offaly are coming into this game on the back of their first win against Wexford and have shown up well in games albeit while not getting the results.