McHugh proud of strong finish but seeks improved display

“The stopwatch has stopped. It’s up to God and the referee now. The referee is Kevin Faloon. God is God.”

To paraphrase the late Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, legendary GAA commentator, seems appropriate when reflecting on Westmeath's one-point victory over Sligo last Sunday. The three minutes of additional time were up, but the final kickout was permitted, after Sligo had made a substitution, and from that Westmeath worked the ball forward to create one further chance from which substitute Shane Corcoran kicked a memorable winning score.

“I'm very proud of them, the way they finished that match,” beamed Westmeath manager, Mark McHugh, after his first National Football League game as a manager.

Though pleased to get the points on the board, McHugh was quick to point out the need for a more complete performance.

“We have to look at how we're starting these halves, even against Kildare last week, we didn't start very well. That's something we're going to have to look at this week. But we put ourselves in a great position in the game at half-time (when they led by eight points). We didn't kick on; we invited Sligo into the second half and we weren't doing the things we were doing in the first half. We lacked that bit of energy,” he observed.

“Sligo got back into the game, and you could feel it, you could feel the game going away from us; we felt it going away from us. And Pat Spillane kicked that two-pointer to put them in the lead. I said to Emmett (McDonnell, assistant manager), ‘we're in bother here’. Because the whole momentum was with Sligo.

“Ray (Connellan) picked out a lovely pass to Luke (Loughlin) for a point and we found something; we found something there within our grit and within our teeth that made us come down the home stretch that bit harder. There were many times we were on the other end of close results; Sligo will be feeling sick that they lost it at the end.”

McHugh said the new rules are lending to exciting finishes across the board and it will be crucial to maintain focus and composure right to the bitter end.

“I know we built it up as the first game of the league and it’s a big game - but ultimately it’s still just two points. There are crazy results all over Ireland this weekend and football is going to be like that with the new rules. All games are going to come down to the last five or ten minutes; you’re never out of it and you’re never actually safe in a game.

“But we’re delighted with the victory. It was heart-stopping stuff. We just didn’t do enough in the second half to really be in the game, and then we found something in the last two or three minutes.”

He felt Westmeath weren’t clinical enough with their passing throughout the game and erred in terms of coughing up possession on numerous occasions.

“We knew the referee would let a lot go for both sides and that’s the way he referees games. You can’t take the ball into the tackle. Sligo pressed us high up the field and we struggled at times to get out. Different boys broke lines at different stages and we lost Wally (Ronan Wallace) at a very important stage. Ray (Connellan) - you could see he was carrying a hand injury at one stage,” observed McHugh.

“If one or two people switch off at any time, with the opposition in this division, they’re going to come at you and they’ll come at you strongly. There was a breeze also (favouring Sligo in the second half) so it was easier to kick scores with it. Even though Sligo might say they missed a lot in the second half, we were still diving on the foot, still forcing them wide and making them take tougher shots.

“I’m just delighted to get the two points on the board and now we have to get the bodies right for Clare," continued McHugh as Westmeath prepare to face the Banner men in Ennis on Sunday (2pm).

The manager admitted he would have settled for a share of the spoils when Sam McCartan equalised in the third minute of added time, but was pleased to see debutant Shane Corcoran grab the winning score in the final attack.

“To be fair to Shane Corcoran, making his debut, we stuck him in for a bit of energy and he gave it. He backed himself and tapped over a great score; fair play to him,” added McHugh.