Mangan hails O'Brien and has no complaints over red card

Castletown Geoghegan manager Alan Mangan was naturally pleased after his team’s facile victory over Castlepollard in the Westmeath Senior ‘A’ hurling championship last Sunday.

Mangan’s side overcame a slow start to secure a commanding victory, with Niall O’Brien delivering a standout performance, scoring 2-12.

“Two more goals in the second half were real icing on the cake - a great goal from Jack (Gallagher) and then Niall (O’Brien) topped it off again,” said Mangan afterwards.

Mangan acknowledged the challenges faced in the opening half, where his team struggled to find their rhythm. “We were happy at the end alright, but I suppose the first half was a bit patchy. We didn’t really get going, we didn’t really get into a flow of good play unfortunately. But you know what you’re going to get from Castlepollard - a never-say-die attitude. They always had that down through the years; they’re a phenomenal hurling club.”

Despite leading by just two points at half-time, Castletown Geoghegan’s fortunes changed with a goal from Niall O’Brien early in the second half. However, Mangan admitted that he didn’t have a clear view of how the ball ended up in the net for that goal.

During the break, Mangan addressed his team’s mistakes, particularly the numerous frees conceded. “It was just us making mistakes. We gave away a lot of frees. They scored 12 points and I think seven or eight of those were from frees. And frees that can be rectified, like not giving away; we just gave away too many simple frees. It’s not like us normally, but unfortunately we did today, and we need to make sure that improves over the next few weeks.”

The second half saw a significant improvement as Castletown Geoghegan’s play became more cohesive. “That’s what we’re all about, making sure the ball sticks. It didn’t stick in the first half, but it really stuck in the second half. That’s the difference in putting up a score and not putting up a score,” said Mangan, praising Gallagher and O’Brien.

“Jack was pivotal to all goals to be fair. He scored the second one, and his pass for the last one was top drawer as well. We probably should have scored two or three more. We’re just making a hero out of the goalie at times. At the end of the day, there are lots of things you go away, and it’s a stick you can beat lads with too.

“But when you have a leader like Niall O’Brien popping up with two goals and 12 points - it’s a huge score. He’s a ridiculous talent. He has been for a number of years now. He’s been on the scene since he was 16 or 17, and his standards have never failed since. They’re at the highest level for us since I became manager of Castletown. He has been unbelievable. I hope that continues for another few games.”

Looking ahead, Mangan acknowledged the challenges posed by injuries to key players like David O’Reilly and Peter Clarke. “We’re down David O’Reilly, and we all know what he can do. And Peter Clarke as well, who was man of the match the last day. One has a hand injury, and the other has a hamstring tear. It’s going to be another few weeks before we get them back. Whether they’ll be back for the next game or not, who knows. We just have to try and get the best out of them as we can and make sure that we get them back as soon as possible.”

“It’s all about the squad. The lads who don’t get game time are crucial; if they don’t push our lads on in training, we’re not going anywhere. You need 30, 35 lads training. That’s what we have all the time. The bunch of lads that we have coming behind that don’t get any game time any week with the senior team, they’re the lads that we try and win it for.”

The match also saw straight red cards for Castletown’s Aaron Glennon and Castlepollard’s Eoin English towards the end of the first half. “I’m nearly going to sound like Arsene Wenger now and say I didn’t see it, but I actually didn’t,” said Mangan, who pointed out that neither player argued about the red card. “They came off and said nothing. So I presume they both deserved it,” he added.

Mangan focused on the challenges ahead, adding: “It’s a knockout championship as far as we’re concerned. If we lose the next day against St Oliver Plunkett’s, you put yourself back into the possibility of not even getting out of the group. So we know what is in front of us, and we’ll be taking the Plunkett’s match as seriously as any other. We just have to make sure that we’re tuned in and ready for it.”