Home  Latest News Gallagher admits that Cooley froze
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Gallagher admits that Cooley froze |
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Friday, 09 October 2009 00:00 |
A CLEARLY devastated Peadar Gallagher admitted that his team froze on the big occasion once more as Mattock Rangers' first-half blitz put paid to Cooley's hopes of ending their 19-year wait for Joe Ward glory. 'We didn't show up in the first-half and we were punished severely by Mattock,' the Kickhams boss reflected. 'That settled them down and we were chasing the game after that. There seemed to be a lot of nerves and we were in difficulty in every line of the field in the first half.'
That dreadful start gave his team a mountain to climb after the break and, in truth, it always looked beyond them.
'At half-time it was very difficult to pick them up, but to be fair to them they rallied a bit in the second-half, but Mattock always had the ability to get the odd score and it was always going to be difficult.
'I'm bitterly disappointed for the lads after all the effort and hard work they put in during the year.'
Gallagher admitted that he and his selectors felt powerless on the line in the first period as Mattock cut through their normally solid rearguard almost at will.
'We looked at it in the first half and in every line of the field we didn't turn up. 'That's not the way you plan it when you go out, but the preparation was good and fellas were looking forward to it; I thought they were nice and relaxed too.
'In the half-forward line the two Reids were very pacy. We didn't seem to be winning any clean or breaking ball and we we're on the back foot from the start. We were at sixes and sevens in the first half – we didn't seem to be organised.'
As painful as the defeat was, Gallagher knows he will have to pick his players up for next season, but he conceded that if they are to finally land the Holy Grail they will have to overcome some major psychological barriers.
'Cooley has lost three finals now in the last number of years and it seems to be the occasion gets to them. 'Maybe lads need to realise that it's just another game and not get caught up in the hype. 'We seemingly freeze on the day. I know the ability these guys have and they've shown it in all the earlier games. Who beats Mattock and Blues by 10 points in the championship? Those boys did it this year, but today was a bad day for us.
'I'm not criticising the players. They've given me more than 100% and have left no stone unturned. Maybe we need to look at our approach to finals to see what's going wrong.
'Every team wants to get to the final. Mattock lost last year and came back and won this year. That's sport - you have to keep plugging away. 'Cooley are never going to be far away, but the point is we have to make the breakthrough. You can't be losing finals all the time.
'We're down but not out. As Mickey Harte says, there are more important things in life.
'Today wasn't Cooley's day and fair play to Mattock. I wouldn't begrudge them it.'
- John SAVAGE, The Argus |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 09 October 2009 23:43 )
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Senior Championship Rd 1
  
Cooley Kickhams 1-15 v St. Marys 1-08
Date: 14th August 2010
Venue: Haggardstown
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