Down boss Sheehan: Kerry came with a game-plan to 'upset our boys, and it worked'
FINE FORM: Shane Conway of Kerry.
Down manager Ronan Sheehan was bullish after his team's heavy twelve point defeat to Kerry in Saturday afternoon’s Joe McDonagh opener.
A mixture of frustration at his own side's malaise in front of the posts and Kerry’s tactics on the day, was where the game was lost for Sheehan.
“It’s very frustrating, we missed a few very easy chances in the first half there, both from play and from frees. We had 12 wides a couple dropped short, you can’t afford to do that.
“They came down with a game-plan to strike Daithí Sands and they struck him right at the start of the game, he gave your man a bit of a touch and he fell down.
“They came down with a game-plan to upset our boys, and they did, it worked for them. We just didn’t play to our ability. Even in the second half there we had three great chances to get goals, which we didn’t take.”
Shane Conway’s accuracy in general play and free taking was in stark contrast to Down. While Conway will have far more impactful games in this campaign, his three points in a row helped settle his side down.
With Kerry’s confidence brimming, Down’s was paling in comparison, Paul Sheehan was taken off the free’s having missed two. Eoin Ross bulged the net from close range to help Kerry take over.
The travelling party led 1-9 to 0-6 at the turn and the next eight points out of the following ten scored upon the resumption put the game to bed.
“At this level you pay the price.” Sheehan finished. It’s not often we come to Ballycran and get a double digit defeat, so we’re very disappointed with that. What can you do? Sometimes games like that happen. You have to dust yourself down and go onto the next one.”
Down could have gotten the scoreline down before Ruairí McCrickard finally beat John B O’Halloran. The two had a great duel, McCrickard slipped past him and hit the post but he was fouled by Evan Murphy. With the resultant penalty O’Halloran majestically saved low to his right around the post.
Kerry manager Stephen Molumphy rang in the changes by that stage and replacements Dan Goggin and Niall Mulcahy closed out the game with five points between them.
That bench impact really pleased Molumphy days after the squad and management came to a decision to omit Podge Boyle from the match day squad for a disciplinary breach.
“It’s great to have the competition for places,” Molumphy said.
“If we had come away and we’d lost today, it would have been far worse, but now we’re in a great position. It was the players’ call, they drive this, they made the call for that, I know of all the times, on the eve of Championship you don’t want it to happen.
“In the second half they could have had a couple more goals. To be honest, on the way up we said it, Down never go away, no matter what. They’re dogged, and at half-time we were saying that again. That’s my experience against Down, they never go away.”
P Óg McCrickard 0-7 (3f), R McCrickard 1-0, J Doran, T McGrattan 0-2 each, D Sands, F Turpin, T Prenter 0-1 each.
S Conway 0-8 (4f, 1sl), E Ross 1-3, D Goggin 0-3, F MacKessy, D Shanahan, Niall Mulcahy 0-2 each, C Trant, P Lucid, G Dooley, B Barrett, M Leane and E Leen 0-1 each.
S Keith; T Murray, J McManus, D Mallon; M Fisher, M Conlon, N McFarland; L Savage, P Óg McCrickard; R McCusker, P Sheehan, B Trainor; T Prenter, D Sands, T McGrattan.
F Turpin for McCusker (ht), R McCrickard for Sheehan (ht) J Doran for Trainor (45), O McManus for Prenter (51).
J B O’Halloran; K O’Connor, E Leen, E Murphy; C Trant, D Shanahan, F MacKessy; E Ross, P O’Connor; G Dooley, C Walsh, M Leane; S Conway, J Conway, B Barrett.
N Mulcahy for Dooley (42), D Goggin for Barrett (47), P Lucid for J Conway (56), S Weir for O’Connor (64), T Doyle for Ross (70).
Patrick Murphy (Carlow)
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