Cookstown boss demands better ahead of Drumragh tie

JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL

COOKSTOWN manager Jason Quinn has warned that their double dreams will be erased by Drumragh if there is a repeat of their spluttering second half showing from last time out.

The Fr Rocks led Augher 2-9 to 0-5 at the break in the quarter-final at Healy Park and appeared on course for another routine triumph as they maintained their pursuit of both League and Championship honours.

But it was an altogether different story after the break as the St Macartans roared back into contention to reduce the deficit to the bare minimum with ten minutes remaining. In the end a goal from All-Ireland U20 champion Conall Sheehy helped steady frayed Fr Rocks’ nerves and they finished with something of a flourish in the end up.

Reflecting on the outcome Jason Quinn admitted that there was a lot of clear lessons to absorb.

“ Fair play to Augher, towards the end of the first half and much of the second they were well in the game. They got in a real position to trouble us but in fairness we managed to work our way out of it.

“ We had missed a few goal chances and the black card had a big bearing on things to. At the start of the second half we made a lot of individual errors and lads started to play as individuals and not for the team.

“ When you haven’t done enough to stay in control and a team builds some momentum it’s tough to pick it up again. Overall we were pleased with the win but disappointed with our decision making at times. We should have handled the situation much better. If we don’t improve many aspects of our game we will be exiting the Championship next time out.”

Cookstown clearly missed the services of captain Matthew McNeill when he went off at the interval. He had been lording the skies around the centre of the pitch before his departure, but Quinn stated that it has been a matter of monitoring his fitness

“ Matthew went off at half-time. He just had the thirty minutes in him because he got injured in the league and we are just nursing him back. He was a loss when he went off because he is a big leader for us.”

On the back of their Division 3A title triumph, Cookstown had then breezed past Killyman in the opening round of the Championship. Quinn hopes that the sterner test Augher posed for them will sharpen their edge, both mentally and physically, for Drumragh this Saturday.

“ In the last few minutes we were able to kick on and win the game in decent enough fashion. But playing well in the first ten minutes and the last eight minutes alone won’t be enough to win many Championship games.

“That was a real battle and you would hope it stands to us because we haven’t been road tested so to speak at times in other matches.

“ Psychologically going forward it could be a good thing that we got that sort of test but a repeat performance won’t worry any of the other semi-finalists.”