Connaughton: ‘We have to get our house in order’

Westmeath manager Pádraic Connaughton spoke of his disappointment after his charges lost out to Meath in the opening round of the All-Ireland intermediate camogie championship series last Saturday.

“We have to get our house in order,” the Raharney clubman said of the forthcoming second-round clash with Antrim, a home tie on June 14.

The Lake County were always chasing a slick Meath outfit, putting in a poor first-half display and although a revival briefly looked on the cards in the midway through the second half, but Meath eventually coasted to a ten-point win.

“It was very disappointing,” Connaughton told the Westmeath Examiner. “We probably lost it in the first half. Looking at the stats at half time, I think we lost 93% of our own possession. We handed a lot of ball to Meath – we got the ball in our hand, dropped it, and hit it directly to them.

“When you do that for 30 minutes, you’re looking for trouble. I think we got enough ball in the first half that would win a lot of games.

“Going into the second half, we weren’t worried about the breeze, and we threatened Meath throughout the half. We got into the square. We got two goals but still, around the pitch, we were dropping the ball everywhere, which was disappointing.

“We’ve done six weeks of basically hurling under pressure. The loss of possession and the amount of dispossession is… well, we’re going to have to figure it out.”

Connaughton moved one of Westmeath’s brightest performers, Raharney’s Hannah Core, further outfield during the second half and the switch paid dividends, with Core playing a key role in the Maroons’ second goal. Westmeath, trailing by only four, suddenly had a pep in their step but a devastating third Meath goal followed moments later.

“It was a real suckerpunch,” he said, paying tribute to Westmeath goalkeeper Aoife Corcoran, who was unlucky in the lead-up to the goal. “Aoife obviously had a brilliant game right up until that moment, but that happens. If it happens in any other area of the field, no one sees it but when it happens to a goalie, it’s tough.

“You could say that goal was a game-changer but, again, we were losing battles all around the pitch, and losing too many battles.”

Westmeath have Antrim at home on Saturday June 14 before the short away trip to Offaly, who lost to Antrim in their Group 1 opener last Saturday.

“We know plenty about Antrim. We had a decent battle with them in the league in Ballycastle,” said the former Raharney hurler. “They beat Offaly today, just about.

“Look, we’re at a inflection point. We have to get our house in order and be ready for them. They’ll be here in two weeks, and we’ll be battling for our lives.”