"The boys played their heart out", says Louth boss McArdle
Louth joint hurling manager Paddy McArdle shares his thoughts after defeat to Tyrone
Louth were beaten by five points by Tyrone in the Nickey Rackard Cup at Dowdallshill this afternoon after a strong opening, which included two early goals that put the hosts in control, but two red cards proved decisive as the game wore on.
Despite the defeat, joint manager Paddy McArdle, praised the effort his players showed throughout.
Reflecting after the game, he said, “Yeah, great start. Goal early on, we were actually working on that during the week, believe it or not.
“We got another one shortly after and got a couple of points off Tyrone. They were kind of shell-shocked at the start, but we were going well.
“Losing Conor Murphy was a huge blow. Conor's a serious athlete, a serious man in front of the goal there. He got the second one, actually.
“A massive blow for us, and then we lost Stephen (Kettle) at the end. To me, it was a free out. It shouldn't have been a red card; it should have been a free our way.
“We were chasing the game, and that sort of puts us on the back foot for Armagh now in two weeks' time. It's going to be a tough ask, two massive players. Stephen Kettle and Conor Murphy's going to be standing on the sideline watching it.”
The dismissal of Conor Murphy before the break drained the Wee County at a critical moment. A second red card late on to Stephen Kettle compounded the damage.
“You could see it actually on the field, it just sucked the wind out of us coming into half-time. Maybe we were lucky that it didn't really affect us before we got in.
“We got regrouped. We got lads moved into different positions. But when you're against a team like Tyrone, they've been playing at a higher level than us the last five, ten years.
“You can see how well they move the ball when you're a man down. It's going to be huge to try and get a result there today.”
Reaction after Sligo defeat
The response from last week’s heavy loss to Sligo was evident from the throw-in.
“Absolutely not, and we got the boys together Monday night. We went through a fair bit of video stuff. Some lads didn't like what they were seeing. But listen, there was a whole lot of home truths that had to be told, and the boys took it on the chin.
“They decided themselves Monday night that they were going to go out on Tuesday, Thursday at training and back out today. We got exactly the reaction we wanted.”
That reaction almost yielded a result.
“I think we got it back to three points there at one stage. We threw a few of the big lads up into the full forward line, trying to get a goal just at the end.
“If we had got a goal and nicked some sort of a result, we probably would have been against the second half. But here, listen, we fought right to the end, and that's all we asked for.”
Survival
The complexion of the campaign has shifted from chasing a final place to fighting for survival.
“Yeah, a huge game, and it's funny how it changes. We're coming here today thinking we can still make a Nicky Rackard final.
“Now, it's probably a shoot-out between us, Armagh, and Fermanagh, a three-way shoot-out to see who's going to stay up in this competition, but listen, we're well fit for any of them teams.
“We had a bad game against Sligo last week. All we worked on was trying to get a massive reaction from the lads in this game.
“I think you've seen out there today, we did get a huge reaction, and the boys played their heart out from start to finish.”
Squad depth
Suspensions will bite with Murphy and Kettle both sidelined, but it opens opportunities for others to step up.
“There's enough players you see there. The bench is stacked full of good lads. They'll be no bother by slipping into positions.
“I suppose they haven't got a big pile of game time all year. As you can see, we've a settled team as such, and we've stuck with a settled team all throughout the year.
“We've been introducing one, maybe two players all along. But listen, if we have to throw lads in now, it'll not make a big pile of difference to us.
“We'll just have to maybe re-jig a few lads on the field just to try and get the balance of the game. Stephen (Kettle) actually was flying there in the middle of the field today.
“He's normally our cornerback, and we just thought we'd need a wee bit of steel in around the middle. But listen, the ref's seen something we didn't see.
“The two lads were lying on the ground. It was a free-out initially. I don't know, now it sort of puts us under a wee bit of pressure for the next day.”
Nothing for granted
Two games remaining and the margin for error gone, McArdle struck a grounded tone.
“Listen, there's nobody too good. If you have an off day, take it in perspective; we had an off day against Sligo. They put 20-odd points on us.
“Tyrone beat Sligo and came to us today. We could very well have got a result out of this game today. So, there's nobody too good for anybody else. It's on the day who shows up.
“If a lad's committed and a team's committed to winning a game, it makes a lot of difference in the overall outcome of the game.”