Plenty for Leitrim to learn from Antrim defeat says Garrity

Speaking after Leitrim's four point Lidl NFL Division 4 loss to Antrim on Sunday in Dunsilly,  manager Jonny Garrity remarked “there were plenty of positives to take from it and plenty to learn to try and improve on for the next day”, writes PJ Leddy.

“Ultimately it is a disappointment not to have come out of here with something because it was a very close game,” Garrity reflected after the 3-8 to 1-10 loss, “There wasn't a whole lot in it. In the first half, we had set our stall out and it took us a while to settle down after a pretty good start to come to terms with the game.

“Once we did we looked pretty secure. I am looking forward to seeing the penalty incident again. I think it could have been a free out for us before the penalty itself. That got their noses in front but we responded fairly well.”

Garrity pointed to the phase of the game midway through the second half as the key in Leitrim’s loss: “We got a goal of our own just before half-time, we worked really well; and we were in the ascendancy at the start of the second half. But it was the middle of the second half that really cost us on the day.

“Bronagh Devlin's goal from a quickly taken 20 metre free completely deflated us for five or ten minutes after that. It was a complete defensive lapse where we only got the goal line covered and we got punished for it - the likes of that simply can't happen. We need to be much more vigilant than that. 

“As I said it deflated us and it took us a good five to ten minutes to get a foothold in the game again because we became much too cautious. We didn't commit to our transitioning or to our running game. We coughed up a lot of easy possessions. In the course of that time, Antrim tacked on some big points. When you look back at the game, that goal and the points that followed were key differences.”

Garrity was pleased, however, with how Leitrim pulled themselves back into the game with a good impact off the bench: “The girls that came off the bench for Leitrim responded really well for us and we finished the game really well. We were in the ascendancy again. We were probing; we were dangerous.We were winning the ball back and we had penned them in. It looked like we might have got something out of it.

"But Antrim got that final goal and it was the one at the end that made the final difference. We had so many chances before the end. We had several score-able free kicks near the end that we opted to go short with them looking for a goal. I think Antrim's four point win flattered them. Really there was very little in it.”