"The game was lost in the first seven or eight minutes of the second half" - Poacher

Leitrim’s steep learning curve on the harsh realities of inter-county football had another chapter last Sunday as Antrim inflicted a 2-20 to 1-15 defeat on the home side in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada with Steven Poacher pinpointing his team’s slow start to the second half as a crucial factor in the loss.

“I thought our first half was close to being perfect in absolutely horrendous conditions,” Steven told the Observer, “Gale-force wind, driving rain and then we come out at the start of the second half and the sun's out and the wind is gone but that's football.  

“The game was lost in the first seven or eight minutes of the second half. We needed to get our hands on the ball  and then we had a period where we had to just defend and they had all the possession and that happens. This is a very young group and, as I said to them inside, there was a bit of naivety in how we played at times today. 

“We gave away a silly ball in the first half that we shouldn't have given away but we did. But you know what, the message doesn't change. This is a young group of lads who have come in. I think over the last couple of years we've had 14, 15 lads, their debut in a Leitrim jersey so the message doesn't change. This is a  a building process, it is not something that's going to happen overnight.”

The Leitrim boss admitted that performance will drive the analysis of the game, stressing everything will be looked at: “We can't be results-driven so if we're hoping to get a bounce and get promoted, are we ready for Division 3? That's a conversation for us to have and for us to look at and say physically are we ready? Strength, depth, are we ready? 

ENDA LYONS NAMES LEITRIM PANEL FOR DALATA HOTELS CONNACHT U20 CHAMPIONSHIP

“These are all things we have to look at. We'll keep going, we'll keep fighting, we'll have Tipperary next week and see where it takes us. Three wins in a row would take us to 10 points but we're not looking at that, we're looking at the bigger picture. 

“We're looking at getting these lads committed to a process that's going to take time, that hopefully we can sustain a really, really strong effort and get out of Division 4, stay in Division 3 and stay there -d that's the big thing.”

Poacher also stressed that Antrim’s League record is misleading: “Anybody that has any football IQ whatsoever and thought that Antrim were going to come here and be an easy task needs their heads examined because that's an Antrim team that ran Armagh to the pin in their collars last year in the Ulster Championship.

“They've lost a couple of players but people don't realise on the outside that they've actually gained a large number of players. It was described as the strongest Antrim panel on paper at the start of the year. Mark has got 75 players in at the start of the year.

“Yes, they've lost a couple of high profile players but the reality is they've got a lot of players back that they didn't have last year and they've got experience, they've got size, they've got pace, they've got power. Antrim historically have a really good record in Sevens football, St Galls and Carrigan.

“These teams have gone to Kilmacud Sevens and had a lot of success. Historically, Antrim are smart footballers - they're what I would call  townie footballers. They can play when you get space and time and  that's unfortunately what happened in the second half, it was set up beautifully for them.

“They got their lead - if we had won the toss, we would have gone with it. We would have got the lead ourselves and then it's a different game. It's unfortunate the way it worked out - one week you're flying, the next week you're in the dumps. You're in the depths of despair. We'll have to lift ourselves now for Clonmel next week.”

Poacher revealed that Barry McNulty was kept in reserve to manage his fitness, pointing out that even Kerry would struggle without the Clifford brothers: “Donal Casey is back running this week which is brilliant but  when you take the best players out of any team, it's is difficult.

“We need Barry on the field, we need Tom Prior on the field, we need everybody. You need your marquee men on the field. When you've got those men on the field, you're a completely different animal altogether. We played the whole of the National League without him last year and in four games so far, he's played 70 minutes of football.

REPORT: LEITRIM'S PROMOTION HOPES SUFFER BLOW IN ANTRIM LOSS

“But we have to manage him right too. It's very easy for me to go in today and throw Barry in from the start, I’d be selfish but we've got to think of the bigger picture here as well.”

The emphasis now is fully on a trip to Clonmel next Sunday: “It's National League football so you have a game next week, there’s no point in licking the wounds. We'll review the game on Tuesday and then we'll think of a Tipp. It's a tight league and Tipp have a lot to play but so do we. We'll go there and hopefully get the win.”