Longford manager Paddy Christie optimistic that things will get better

“It’s a very strange feeling because we went in at half-time having played reasonably well, and we were unfortunate not to be more ahead, as those six points in-a-row put us four points up.

“We looked in control of the game but then they got that flurry of scores very late on, to only trail by a point at half-time. We were scoring quite freely and we looked comfortable defensively as well, but the first ten minutes of the second half saw a complete implosion.

“When you are trying to recover from that, and then end up losing players to yellow/black cards that doesn’t help. They were not serious foul play as they were not straight red cards, but they were a result of sloppiness and they were probably the correct decisions.

“The lads never gave up, but that first ten minutes of the second half when Westmeath went on that scoring spree, meant that it was going to be very hard to recover from that. 

“The disappointing thing about conceding those scores was that the majority of them were self-inflicted errors. 

“The same happened to us in the first half against Fermanagh, when they got a run on us, and when you are chasing games like that and pushing forward, you leave yourself exposed at the back.”

Paddy went on to acknowledge that Longford lost a lot of kick-outs and that was a crucial factor in the defeat.

“We struggled with the kick-outs, but there was a period in the first half where we got to grips with that and we got into quite a comfortable position, but then they squeezed us on the kick-outs.

 “Of course, when you are down men as well, it’s easier for the opposition to squeeze the kick-out as well. So, they got a score and then immediately won the kick-out which we were already struggling with, so it was a double whammy.

“The goals really killed us, and we were against the breeze in the second half.  If we just conceded one goal, a few points in reply would have got us back in the game, but conceding a few goals, we were never going to come back from that.’

Longford are bottom of the table in a very competitive Division 3 in the National League and next up are high-flying Cavan in Kingspan Breffni Park in a couple of weeks time.

Cavan have won both of their matches, beating Tipperary by twelve points, and also earning that impressive three-point victory away to Westmeath. 

When asked about the difficult challenge of picking up the players morale ahead of the crucial game against Cavan, the Longford manager said that there are plenty of matches left for the team to retain their Division 3 status.

‘We have two weeks to the next game and although it is hard to be positive when things go wrong like they did today, the funny thing is, if the game was called off due to bad weather at half-time, we would have gone home very happy with that first half display and would have looked forward to playing it again. 

“You can’t lose the run of yourself and say that everything is bad. Everything was not brilliant in the O’Byrne Cup, and everything wasn’t bad out there today. The second half was very poor and when you are playing against the calibre of  Heslin and O’Toole up front, you are going to be punished when you make mistakes.

“The Cavan game will be a difficult test,  especially as they have won their opening two games, but I said to the lads in the dressing room that when I was involved with Tipperary last year, and when things went badly in the league in the early stages, there was talk of us finishing last in Division 4.

 “But  then we rallied, winning several games in-a-row and we ended up in the Division 4 Final against Cavan in Croke Park, and got promoted.

 “Sometimes, you just need a ball breaking right for you that leads to a crucial score and push on from there, the little things going your way can completely change a game and your season.

“It’s another local derby coming up against Cavan and a bit of edge to things for sure. A lot of the North Longford lads would know some of the Cavan players very well. We can’t dwell on today’s defeat, we have to move on as no one game will make you or break you. 

“The first half against Westmeath was our best half of the four halves against them and Fermanagh, it was way ahead of the other three halves, and if we can replicate that against Cavan, then we have every chance of getting our first win of the league campaign.”

Allianz National Football League Division 3 

Round 3 Fixtures

Saturday February 18

FBD Semple Stadium, Thurles: Tipperary v Antrim, 6pm 

Sunday February 19

Kingspan Breffni Park: Longford v Cavan, 2pm 

Brewster Park, Enniskillen: Fermanagh v Down, 1pm 

TEG Cusack Park, Mullingar: Westmeath v Offaly, 2pm