‘I’m a happy man’ – Power hails The Downs resilience
Shay Murtagh Precast SFC final
By Paul Hughes
“I don’t know whether it’s sweat, beer, water or whatever, but I’m a happy man. It was a terrific final and a terrific win,” beamed The Downs bainisteoir Dermot Power, who emerged from the dressing room soaking wet as his charges celebrated back-to-back Westmeath SFC titles on Sunday last.
Power anticipated a gruelling encounter and felt the match lived up to its billing. “I said it to people during the week that this was going to be an epic battle. And it was,” he noted.
“Sometimes on the sideline, it’s hard to see whether the football is as good as you think it is, but I thought that there were stages when both teams played exceptional football. If [Westmeath manager] Mark McHugh was watching it, he’d have been proud of that.”
Despite a strong start from St Loman’s, The Downs clawed their way back, aided significantly by a Niall Mitchell goal before half-time. However, Power admitted his side never felt truly comfortable.
“We felt that St Loman’s had us under pressure early on in the game and there was never a time when you would say, ‘I think we might have this,’” Power explained. “You couldn’t, because they’ve got such strength in depth and some really serious key players who can turn a game quickly.
“Even when you might have been four, five or six points ahead you still wouldn’t be thinking that. We couldn’t take our foot off the gas; not a hope.”
The Downs led by three at the break, a scenario the black and ambers planned for, Power revealed. “It’s interesting that the half-time score was mentioned because before we went out on the pitch, we visualised what half time was going to look like,” he said. “We thought that it was going to be real tight.
“But we had to trust the process and trust in each other. Those last ten minutes tend to be crucial in most games.”
When the game hung in the balance late on, The Downs’ leaders stepped up.
“I’m so proud of the way the lads really got stuck in and stayed in the game. At the end, we plucked a couple of balls. Johnny Lynam, Niall Mitchell and Billy Moffatt all plucked balls out of the air at crucial times,” Power recalled. “When players really needed to stand up, they stood up, and I’m very proud of them.”
Power was emphatic when reflecting on Niall Mitchell’s display in particular. The towering dual star was the standout player, finishing the game with 1-6.
“I don’t need to be telling you how good he is,” Power said. “I spoke to him this morning on the phone and told him it was going to be his day. I said that he should believe far more in himself than he does. And I hope he did.”
The Downs manager also praised his defence for limiting St Loman’s talisman John Heslin in the second half. “John is probably one of the best players that has ever come out of Westmeath,” he acknowledged.
“If you give somebody with his ability opportunities to score two-pointers across the arc, he will punish you. So we knew that we had to be very focused on what we were doing and not giving away anything cheaply. We got over the line in the end.”
Reflecting on a year marred by early injuries – including marquee players Luke Loughlin and Kevin O’Sullivan, who picked up knocks on inter-county duty – Power highlighted the panel’s character.
“Every interview I had this year was about injuries,” he said. “We started off missing five or six, seven lads that you would think are key guys and potentially first-15 players. It probably took us two or three months to get those lads back. But we got most of them back on the pitch today and I think it showed.”
Looking ahead to the Leinster club championship and the opening tie with Longford champions Clonguish, Power concluded with a grin: “Up until yesterday, if you had mentioned Leinster in my company, I’d have killed you!
“We’re going to enjoy ourselves tonight and maybe tomorrow as well, but we’ll be getting back on the horse again really quickly.”
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