Manager 'bitterly disappointed' but delighted with performance
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Tuesday February 23 2010
'DISAPPOINTED, naturally, bitterly disappointed, we deserved something out of that' rued Carlow manager Kevin Ryan in a Carlow dressing room, the eerie silence of which spoke volumes for the pain everyone in the camp was feeling.
'I was very pleased, though, with the work-rate, their attitude, the lads went for it, especially in the second half' enthused the manager who admitted to concern that for the second week running Carlow had gifted Antrim a big early lead.
On Carlow's missed chances the Waterford man declared. 'We have been working on our shooting, working on the players being more composed when the scoring opportunity arises and that will come with time, we will continue to work on that aspect of our game'.
The manager remarked that it was a problem inherent in Carlow club hurling, many games low scoring. 'At this level you have to take your chances, the teams in this division will pick off a fair share of points from play, we have to work on that composure in front of the posts'.
Carlow captain Eddie Coady was of a similar mind when we tendered our commiseration of 'hard luck'
'Yeah, hard luck I suppose is one way of putting it. You could say bad luck or no luck also. We threw everything at them, especially in the second half but it wasn't enough on the day' lamented the long serving Ranger.
'Hard work on its own is not enough, all be it's a very important attribute. We need to sharpen our hurling and our accuracy in front of the posts.
'Ok, it's still February and there is a lot of hurling to be done between now and May. Still two points from the league would have been a great start but it wasn't to be.
Next week now is even more important. For every one you lose, you must win the next one',
With the focus already that Westmeath game in Dr Cullen Park next Sunday, the general consensus leaving Belfast was that Carlow need to add a little bit of finesse to their commendable fighting qualities.
