‘We’re gutted’ – Naomh Conaill boss

BY RYAN FERRY
MARTIN Regan felt his side didn’t get to the pace of Sunday’s match with Scotstown and were beaten by a ruthless team
Slow starts have been a recurring theme for Naomh Conaill and it haunted them in Clones as cheap turnovers hurt them on the counter-attack.
“We weren’t at the pitch of the game in the first half.
“We coughed up too much possession with our attacks and they punished us every time.
“They were ruthless, and were at the pace of the game more than we were today definitely.”
Naomh Conaill could have had a goal early on but when Scotstown got a run on them, they were in real trouble.
“I thought we started well. We got the first score and we had a goal chance.
“We could have went four up at that stage, and we dropped a few efforts short and missed a few shots.
“But after that, it was one-way traffic for a half-an-hour. They were streets ahead of us today.”
Max Maguire hit Scotstown’s first five points of Act Two down the right wing, and Naomh Conaill weren’t able to tie him down.
“It was probably a pattern we would have noticed.
“They kind of tilt the pitch a lot on their attacks. They load the left-hand side and switch it fast to the right.
“We were just slow getting across.
“It mightn’t have been Max on other days, but he seemed to be the one on the end of those switches today.”
Naomh Conaill would love to get their hands on the Ulster Club title but it wasn’t to be this year.
Scotstown are a serious side and had four members of their backroom team in the press box, including former Corofin boss Kevin O’Brien.
“I say it every year, but it’s disappointing no matter what stage you lose at,” Regan commented.
“Whether it’s in the county championship, the first round of Ulster, or the Ulster Final.
“Unless you win an All-Ireland Club, you’re going to be disappointed at some stage.
“We’re gutted in there. We came here with serious ambitions of having a tilt, and getting a result, and getting into the semi-final but it wasn’t to be.
“There are days when you are just beat by a better team and there are no doubts that we were today.”