McCabe 'hugely disappointed' as focus turns to Tailteann Cup
Westmeath senior football manager Dermot McCabe described last Saturday night’s defeat to Kildare as “hugely disappointing for the lads, for everybody involved”.
Unsurprisingly, the impact of Ray Connellan’s injury was raised and how it changed the midfield battle. McCabe said: “Ray is a big player for us and, you know, we lost a lot of experienced people over the last six months in Westmeath and you need as many experienced people as possible come championship. It’s different than the league and you need seasoned performers when it comes to the championship.”
“I think in the first half between both teams, there was something like 28 kickouts and I think we won 20 of them. Perhaps we didn’t capitalise enough on that. It’s hugely disappointing for the lads, for everybody involved,” he continued.
Asked about the 11 wides his side registered, McCabe said: “I suppose when we were dominating the first half, we seemed to go up the (number) 13 channel a lot and kicked a few wides on that side. I suppose there was a little bit of a breeze in the second half in our favour and maybe the lads thought we could get two-pointers, but I wouldn’t take anything away from the players and the huge amount of work they have been doing. I’d be very proud of them. I’m just disappointed that we couldn’t get over the line.”
Naturally, McCabe was full of praise for the outstanding contribution of Luke Loughlin. “Luke was a huge outlet for us. They tried to crowd him out, but he still seemed to find space. I would have nothing but positive things to say about Luke, even on days when maybe he’s not scoring 11 points. He has been brilliant with his work ethic and his attitude to training and everything has been excellent.”
The first Kildare goal halted the momentum Westmeath had built up, while the second gave the Lilywhites a lead they never relinquished. “I think we probably would have deserved a lead of maybe four or five points, and the first goal diminished our lead. We reacted okay and got a score or two, but it meant there was only a point in it at half-time,” said McCabe, also pointing to how a point attempt that dropped short led to Kildare’s second goal.
McCabe felt Nigel Harte was “very unlucky” to receive a black card as he felt the Kildare player in possession “was on his eighth, ninth, or tenth step,” before he was fouled, adding “I can’t understand how it wasn’t free out”. He also questioned why a foul on Ronan Wallace didn’t warrant the black card sanction.
“C Mac (Conor McCormack) was excellent on some of the kickouts and there was one at the top of the arc with three people hanging out of Nigel and the free went the other way. There were a couple of very strange calls at critical times.
“We’re hugely disappointed. We had planned to be in the semi-final. We had talked about being in the semi-final; unfortunately, we’re not there,” added McCabe.
Although the Tailteann Cup is not where Westmeath aimed to be, McCabe hopes that the break before the competition begins will allow some injuries to clear up.
“There are a few injuries and they need to get tidied up. Ray (Connellan) is massive for us. I’m sure there’s lots of niggles and sore bodies (from the Kildare game),” he said.
“Injuries have come at a bad time for us. Senan (Baker) was sort of looking quite good over the last couple of weeks and unfortunately he pulled up in training last week with a little bit of tightness (in the hamstring) again. The lads have been great; they have put in a huge effort because you know there have been bits of setbacks along the way.
“I suppose with no O’Byrne Cup at the start of the year, we had a lot of lads that were making their debuts really in the National League and they all stepped up to that. They’ve probably gained huge experience,” he added.