Mohill will be back again as Brady laments first half showing

Mohill will be back again promised Danny Brady after surrendering their Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC title against Leitrim Gaels in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada, the Mohill boss lamenting a first half display that left them with a mountain to climb.

“It's never easy trying to get three in a row on the board,” said the Mohill manager of the 4-14 to 3-7 defeat, adding “those boys have being on the road for a long time, winning finals and losing finals. Today was one day we just couldn't muster it. Normally they're a good team to come back and win but we probably left too much behind us in the first half to claw it back.

“The boys died with their boots on, they've been great champions the last two years and they'll come again. They still have that nucleus and there's a lot of young lads ready to go again. Mohill will be back next year.”

The 22 point deficit at halftime left Mohill with an impossible task but Danny felt his team made too many mistakes: “Nothing went for us in the first half, I know there was a strong breeze but we just didn't get to the pitch of the game. In fairness to Leitrim Gaels, they were clinical in front of the goal but credit to our lads, they fought back well in the second half but it was just too much of a hurdle to make up in the end. 

“You have to play whatever elements are there in front of you, whether it's wind, rain, sunshine, it doesn't matter. They adapted to it in the first half and we were disappointed with the way we performed. Normally we're a good team, running hard at the ball and keeping the ball.

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“But we made a lot of mistakes that you can't comprehend - you can't make those mistakes at this level and hope to turn it around. We have ourselves to blame for the way we played the first half but that's football and that's life.

“Coming in, we thought we were right and we talked about wanting to give a really good account of ourselves. We came to win but that first half, everything that could go wrong just seemed to go wrong. You get days like this, no matter how well you prepare but it was just one of those days, just that half-hour. It hasn't happened too many times before and I don't want it to happen again too many more times either.”

The Cavan man was full of praise for the spirit his team showed in the second half: “As I said at half-time, they were still county champions and deservedly so. They weren't going to die, to just leave it at that the way they played the first half. To a man, we'll have to compliment them on the way they carried themselves in the second half. 

“They died with the boots on, that's what we asked them at halftime and in fairness, they gave a great account of themselves in the second half but it was probably just too much in the end for us, unfortunately. We can't fault the effort they put in the second half.”