By Jonathan Brown
Downpatrick manager Mark Holland gave his thoughts to the Mourne Observer following a disappointing 4-0 defeat in Friday’s festive cup final. Downpatrick were aiming to lift a first-ever Bobby Dalzell trophy, but it wasn’t to be as three Castlewellan Forest goals in ten second-half minutes caused irreparable damage to their chances.
Holland believes it could have been a different game had Downpatrick opened the scoring through a brilliant opportunity which fell to Anthony Carson on the stroke of half-time. “We had a really good chance right at the end of the first half, if we had taken that chance, it might have been a different game, going in 1-0 up at half-time,” Holland said.
Instead, it was Forest who opened the scoring through Sean Fitzsimmons, with Holland admitting his team didn’t perform well in the second half and were impacted badly by the game’s second goal, scored by Ryan Morgan just five minutes after Fitzsimmons netted.
“To be honest, we really didn’t come out in the second half – Castlewellan scored first, then scored again, and we just seemed drained after that, there was nothing left in us – the team looked down.”
“We still had chances in the second half, but sometimes you just know when it’s not going to be your day. Fair play to Castlewellan, they had the fire in their bellies in the second half, but we just didn’t perform. At the end of the day, the better team won, you can’t take it away from them.”
But Holland is already looking forward, as he aims to lift his young team for the resumption of the Newcastle League Premier Division campaign on Saturday. “Now we have to re-group, try and lift our heads and go again. Yes, it’s disappointing, but it’s part and parcel of football, we just have to get on with it.”
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