'We just ran out of steam' says O'Donnell after Cork prevail

Roscommon manager Fergal O'Donnell pointed to Cork's strength in depth as one of the key factors in his side's All-Ireland quarter-final defeat at Croke Park last Sunday. O'Donnell also felt his side turned over possession too cheaply and this was something Cork took advantage of in the second half. "I'd say we just ran out of steam. The disappointing thing is that the last twenty minutes the amount of ball we gave away was very disappointing," said the Roscommon boss. "I know people will say that near the end they could have got another two or three goals but they were handed to them. It wasn't anything major. Cork had emptied the bench at half-time and we stayed with them for ten or fifteen minutes. But I think it was a culmination of factors. We ran out of steam and we just didn't have the strength and depth that they have. It's a young team as well. I thought we could have scored a bit better ... even when we were a point up and even when we were three points down. A few decisions that maybe on another day we might have got them. It might have kept us tighter but ultimately as the game went on there was only going to be one winner. "Our use of possession was poor and if we were to go back to one thing, we could have taken better options with the ball. Even when the game was near the end we just lost our cohesion. Maybe fellas did not have the same belief. O'Donnell was pleased with his team's work-rate and he paid tribute to the large Roscommon following in Croke Park on the day. "We are proud and we are delighted for them to win a Connacht medal. We haven't won one in nine years and (it was great) to play in Croke Park with wonderful support there. We are disappointed for our supporters. They are very good and we would just have liked to make it tighter in the end. "Cork were getting the momentum just around the middle and I just thought that they were getting more possession. It wasn't coming into our forwards as much and their forwards were just that bit more clinical than us. The fellas ran out of steam and had worked themselves to a standstill. Cork are a very strong team. We are heading for Division Four and they are one of the top teams. They have a lot of players who are a lot older and stronger and they just seemed to be stronger in the end." Looking to the future for his side, O'Donnell added: "I think that people would not want to get carried away; there was a fair gulf at the end. There has been a lot of turnover of players in the last few years. If we can get a steady team and move on there is a lot of hope for the lads."