Power pleased with The Downs’ display in championship opener

By Gerry Buckley

While friends, foes and neutrals alike streaming out of TEG Cusack Park at around 8.30pm last Saturday they were unanimous in their view that The Downs were serious contenders for Westmeath senior football championship honours, the winning manager Dermot Power was more cautious in his post-match chat with the local press.

“Nothing is won yet,” the new bainisteoir stated at the outset, before adding, “you have to take this win in the context that Coralstown/Kinnegad are missing so many players. We’re very happy with the win, but we know that Kinnegad will get stronger as each round goes on.

“For us, getting a win in the first round was important, but if you thought after one win that you are there, you are delusional. Each game will bring with it its own particular issues as well. All we are concentrating on now is Tyrrellspass the next day. We are trying to deal with a few injuries, but every team will have injuries. Also, every team is still learning these new rules, both the players and the management.”

Power was keen to hone in on his troops’ hard graft. “From 1 to 15 we worked very hard. That’s the main thing that I will take from today. Scoring goals is very important. Getting a decent score up is important as well, but it was the honesty of effort that was the most important thing for me. We applied a lot of pressure to their kick-outs as well. We will get better, but Kinnegad will also get better. I thought our front six moved the ball very well and their movement off the ball was very good,” he opined.

Down the corridor, his opposite number Jack Cooney made it clear that he was “disappointed with the performance” of Coralstown/Kinnegad.

The former Westmeath manager continued: “The three goals in the first half gave them a great platform and we’re very disappointed with that. Despite us having a strong breeze in our favour, they held possession very well and they have a very potent forward line. Once they get a step up on you at all, they are very, very dangerous. We were not potent ourselves in the first half even with that breeze. It was a case of trying to come out and win the second half, but it was a real uphill battle. Overall, it’s good that this display happened in the first round because it gives us plenty of games to work on things, but we had a couple of young lads who came on the scene today and showed a real good attitude.”

Moving to the Gaelic football scene as a whole, Cooney conceded that “the intensity of the games and the demands have gone up” under the new rules.

He added, “The level of commitment at inter-county level is huge, and it’s huge too at club level now. We’ve had examples here in Westmeath of lads who picked up an injury in January and February, and then didn’t feature for the whole season because of the level of intensity that is required.”

A Croke Park employee himself, Cooney concluded with the hope that “a thorough review will be done at the end of this first year with the new rules. They are going to have so much data and information. The Games’ Intelligence Unit is set up and they are looking at GPS data and the like. The calendar is tight, but it’s very important to try and protect the club season. There are pros and cons to the split season, but at least lads can plan their holidays. The whole GAA calendar is jam-packed. I wouldn’t like to be the one to have to sort it out,” he concluded.