Westmeath were ‘outworked’ by Down hurlers – Fortune
Westmeath senior hurling manager Joe Fortune didn’t beat around in the bush in his post-match media briefing last Sunday after his charges had surprisingly lost to Down.
“We knew that Down were going to come today with a massive physical presence and a great work ethic. Look, all credit to them, I have to be bluntly honest and say that they outworked us today.”
Reflecting on the pattern of the game, the Malahide-based teacher continued: “We shot a lot of bad wides in the first half, but you have to give massive credit to Down the way they worked hard in defence.
“We went five points up in the second half, and were playing the hurling we were trained to play. Then we went away from our own game plan and panicked a bit as well.
“Down are a very good hurling team, coached very well, and they were always going to get a bit of a purple patch, but I felt we just went into our shell a bit.
“Last week was elation after a good performance against Meath, and it’s not as if we built it up any more than that during the week. We just spoke about getting the next job done. I was very impressed by Down’s centre forward (Paul Sheehan) and their movement in and around midfield as well. They were on top at midfield.
“Days like today in sport are where you find it hard to have the answer, to tell you where it went wrong. The performance wasn’t good enough. The players themselves know that. You get claps on the back when you come off the field after winning, but days like today are tough to take,” he added.
He conceded that his attack had been disappointing, opining: “The forward line didn’t work. Mitch (Niall Mitchell) was flying last week. We’re picking lads on how they are going in training. It’s not as if there is a team that’s just set in stone.
“I know we’re going to take stick – and we deserve it – but I would love the people of Westmeath to know how hard these lads are working to really try and get better. I can’t overemphasise that. Just today was very disappointing. On the good days and bad days, the lads are proud Westmeath men.”
When asked for an update on absentees, the losing bainisteoir responded: “We felt that Davy Glennon would be right for today, but he pulled up on Tuesday night. Niall O’Brien could well be back for the Kildare game.
“Darragh Clinton came on for a couple of minutes just to get game time into him. It’s the lads who don’t come on are the lads I sometimes feel for. They are working so, so hard to make the (match-day) 26, and we have some very young players who are trying to do it.
“By the time of the Kildare match, we would hope to have everybody back. Kildare hurling is on a high. They drew today with Carlow, and Naas won the All-Ireland club (intermediate) title."
In conclusion, when he was asked if Westmeath heads can be lifted ahead of the visit to Newbridge on March 20, he curtly replied: “Yes, they can.”