McCabe ‘devastated for the lads’ after another close call
Westmeath manager Dermot McCabe said he was “hugely disappointed for the lads” after a heartbreaking one-point defeat to Down confirmed relegation from Division 2 of the Allianz Football League.
“They put in a huge effort, scored 28 points; it’s very disappointing,” said McCabe at Páirc Esler on Saturday night.
It was hardly surprising that McCabe highlighted the contentious decision which saw Down’s Ryan McEvoy escape punishment for what seemed an obvious overcarrying offence in the closing moments of an enthralling contest.
The Westmeath boss felt it “definitely” should have been a free-in to Westmeath, pointing out that his players were “adamant” that the Down player had committed at least one technical foul.
“We looked at the video and it was 11 seconds. The referee was beside it, no hand up, no nothing. That led to a two-pointer and we were under pressure straight away,” said McCabe ruefully.
“Two weeks ago (against Meath) we had a free in the ‘D’ in the 68th minute and the referee gave a free out. And we should have been going two points up today with maybe 30 seconds left.”
Despite the bitter pill of a sixth successive defeat - all by tight margins apart from the Monaghan clash - there are positives in terms of the performances.
“There are a lot of positives and a lot of learning taking place, but that critical decision at the end was just hugely frustrating for the lads. It was point for point and that decision had such an impact and we end up losing the game,” said McCabe.
“I’m really devastated for the lads. It probably ends our league campaign on a disappointing note and now we look towards preparation for the championship,” he continued.
Down’s John McGeough raised the game’s only green flag during the first half, with Westmeath unable to profit from at least two goal chances in the second period.
“We had good momentum, we felt we were controlling parts of the game, and I think we had gone three or four points up at that stage,” said McCabe regarding the Down goal.
“They kicked a two-pointer to go three up with about seven minutes left, so you have to be very proud of the lads. Luke (Loughlin) and Brían (Cooney) kicked two tremendous two-pointers to put us a point up. It was a great reaction and it’s hugely disappointing that the game ended with that critical decision.”
Asked about the influence of Down duo Pat Havern and Odhran Murdock, McCabe highlighted some issues with tackling and rules interpretation. “I would wonder about the tackle to be honest. There is not much contact allowed, especially today anyway. I thought there was a push on the number of steps you can take, but I don’t know if their number 11 (Murdock) bothered soloing the ball at all at times; he seemed to carry it an awful amount,” he remarked.
From the outset of the league campaign, McCabe expressed sympathy for referees due to the demands placed upon them by the new rules. “We all make mistakes and we all have decisions to make. The number of decisions they (referees) have to make has increased so therefore the number of mistakes has increased. Unfortunately for us, in the last two games decisions have decided the game against us,” he said.
Westmeath lost St Loman’s duo Fionn O’Hara (who got “a bang on the hip”) and Jack Geoghegan to injuries on Saturday night, adding to other injury concerns in the camp. “Let’s hope they are not too severe. Jack had been doing extremely well in the first half. Hopefully they are not major injuries three or four weeks out from the championship,” said McCabe.
From Westmeath’s perspective, next Sunday’s game against their neighbours from across the Shannon, promotion-hunting Roscommon, is now a dead rubber.
“We’ll have to give more lads game time because of the injuries we have,” said McCabe in relation to the Roscommon clash. “It was a tough game tonight and a long journey. We’ll have to survey them in the morning and see how they are,” he added.