By Peter McGrath Jnr
At the end of Down’s defeat to Galway, Conor Laverty was clearly experiencing a kaleidoscope of emotions.
There was pride that his team had performed so bravely, been so competitive, and fought back so well. There was frustration that some of the Galway scores could have been prevented or avoided, and that several chances went begging at the other end. And there was real, tangible disappointment. The Down manager was clearly a man who had expected his team not just to perform, but to win.
He reflected that Down had, “put a lot of work in this week and knew that taking any team in the country to Newry, we felt we had an opportunity to win it. And we definitely didn’t think that today was going to be our last day in the championship.
“We had massive belief in the talent that we had and the work that we have done. And in the second half there, whenever we were in our stride, I thought we were causing them serious problems.”
The manager felt that parts of that second period were brilliant but was left to rue some missed chances.
The Down manager continued, “I think that whenever we had our tails up and the wind was in our sails and the crowd was behind us, we probably were moving really, really well. I think we were pressing them and we were winning our kickouts. And the momentum was fully with us, and maybe we just didn’t utilise our scoring opportunities.”
Down captain Pierce Laverty echoed those sentiments. “I suppose we maybe left a few moments behind us there, especially at the start of the second half so, yeah, we’re hugely disappointed. We definitely felt we were good enough to dine at the top table and get to the quarter-finals and beyond. A win like that would have really spurred us on but it gives us confidence going into next year.”
In the full article Conor adds his thoughts on how they will approach next year.
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