Our composure let us down says Kildare manager
Kildare manager Brian Flanagan spoke to the media after his side's 2-12 to 0-16 loss to Clare in the Allianz Football League Division 3
Kildare manager, Brian Flanagan, was understandably very disappointed after Kildare lost to Clare by two points with a goal in time added on.
“It is disappointing to lose the game, it is not what we planned to do but fully credit to Clare they were deserving winners, they brought a real fight, a real tenacity and they hit the ground running where we were very flat in the first half left us with a hill to climb but I felt our lads did everything in their power to wrestle it back on a day when we did not ever get into our flow, never a sense we had a rhythm, it always seemed a bit of an arm wrestling from start to finish but” added the manager “it was a game we should have won, a couple of minutes from the final whistle, you have that advantage and really should be seeing it out.”
The manager added that maybe it is part of the development; part of learning but days like today are part of that but it is tough and we will just have to take stock and prepare for the next game in two weeks time.
There was a breeze and stronger out around the middle of the field, as the manager said, adding “it was probably worth three or four points to had it, Clare were six up at half-time and we had to chip away at that and I felt we would and then it was a case if we could see it out but the lads brought great energy, great want in that second half but we had something like 39 shots in the game, enough to win three lessons but it was not to be today.”
Asked about the creation of six or seven goal chances Flanagan said if we had got one of those “it would have been a great energy surge for the crowd, good for everyone but we never got it; we were kicking into bodies; we were fumbling at the chance, in the first half we had a few chances but our execution was not good, loads of chances and probably that composure let us down.”
The manager agreed that the division is now wide open but “we have to accept that and get ready for two weeks time, we are a young squad and days like today are inevitable an you have to go through them, we all would have loved to hold on and take the points but that just didn't happen.”
Asked about the half-time substitution, taking off a midfielder and brining in a defender despite trailing by six points, the manager said “Cathal Hagney took a bang just before half-time, we felt Brian McNamara was causing us problems in midfield, we pushed Hylo (David Hyland) up, he is well able to play midfield and we got Harry (O'Neill) into the game who has been biting at the bit to get back in, we had already used a forward sub (Brian McLoughlin for Darragh Swords) we knew we had two or more to come in, Jimmy (Hyland) entered the fray after ten minutes or so.”