O’Donnell: We ran out of steam

ROSCOMMON boss Fergal O’Donnell claimed his side lacked the staying power in the second half to make a serious bid for honours.

O’Donnell conceded that Cork’s greater experience and strength told after the interval with the likes of Nicholas Murphy and John Miskella having a huge impact when introduced at the break. But O’Donnell was disappointed at the number of handling errors made by his players and felt that they had helped Cork’s recovery with needless turnovers leading to the concession of scores that drained the life out of Roscommon’s challenge. “I’d say we just ran out of steam. The disappointing thing was the last 20 minutes of the game. The amount of ball we gave away cost us. People will say Cork could have got another two or three goals during that second half but it would have been handed to them. I think it was an accumulation of factors. They emptied the bench at half-time and we just didn’t have the strength in depth they had. It is a young team as well. A few lads came off and our replacements just weren’t as strong.

“They just gradually wore us down. They worked us to a standstill. We are heading towards division four and they are one of the top teams in the country. They have older, stronger, fitter players. When fellas see the likes of Pearse O’Neill tearing down at them maybe they panic.