The 16th Man

IT IS no understatement to describe the atmosphere at James McCartan’s post-match press conference as funereal.
Responses were muted and his eyes wandered around the room, as the manager seemed almost in a daze, momentarily bowled over by the ache of defeat. There was a distinct sense of loss emanating from the Down manager and his usual focus and enthusiasm had evaporated under the crushing weight of disappointment.
His answers remained considered but they were tinged with a very definite feeling of remorse and pain. McCartan was nevertheless able to identify where the game had been lost.
“We did feel that the midfield sector was a problem area. Obviously Ambrose wasn’t available. I felt the guys that we had in there, while they were putting their hands on the dyke, were the best men for the job,” McCartan said.
“At times it seemed that we were letting them (Cork) win the ball and then tried to take it off them, which worked for some period of time but I would just be a wee bit dissatisfied with the amount of clean catches that they got.  It’s definitely the area I felt we had problems with,” he added.
“Our options were limited in that area. We felt that those were the best men we had for the job even though they were having difficulty.”
McCartan admitted that he tried to rectify the problem while candidly admitting that he left it too late to implement the changes.
“Dan (Gordon) was there (in midfield) for the last few minutes. We didn’t want to do it but maybe it should have been done earlier.  I hold my hands up to that – we had problems there and maybe Benny McArdle should have slotted in but I just didn’t want to do that and I hold my hands up – maybe it should’ve been done earlier,” he said frankly.
McCartan though was magnanimous in defeat and praised Cork for their victory.
“Cork obviously have felt the pain that we’re feeling now and they’ve come back and reached their holy grail today. I’d like to pay tribute to those guys.
“After the match we tried to ensure that we showed the appreciation of their win and tried to lose graciously and I just want to say Cork were deserving winners on the day and we’ve no qualms about that at all,” he said.
He acknowledged their bench made a telling difference.
“There’s no doubt about, having the likes of Derek Kavanagh come off the bench, they’ve loads of experience and fresh legs – there’s quality there.  It’s always going to be difficult. You just toil and toil away as best we could,” he said.
“With 10 minutes to go it looked like Cork were going to pull away comfortably and I’m just delighted that our guys dug in and showed a wee bit of spirit and dragged it back.”
It is of course Down’s first loss in an All-Ireland final and McCartan admitted that his family connections were such that he was particularly eager to keep up Down’s proud tradition of winning finals.
“Obviously I’ve strong family ties with those teams (of the 1960s) so that was a wee personal thing that was probably in my head and was driving me but the history of being in a sixth All-Ireland final, it was irrelevant to me and the players as well I think. I don’t think it had a bearing,” before adding,
“It wasn’t so much six out of six for me, it was just trying to pay tribute to the 50 years, 1960s team.”
McCartan shifted desolately in his chair and reflected on Down’s year. Understandably in the immediate aftermath of a crushing defeat the Down manager was finding it hard to see the positives of a successful season. Did he view it as a success overall though?
“It certainly doesn’t feel like it at the minute to be honest but I suppose on reflection, yeah ok, we’ll take it.”
“We were beaten in an All-Ireland final, we’re not happy about it. I suppose the thing I would like would be that we wouldn’t be one-year wonders and we’ll try and ensure that doesn’t happen. We think we have a squad that can compete year in year out.  Now, it’s easy saying that, doing that is another thing, especially when you have to go through the Ulster championship again next year where you’ll be often in some difficult game. We all know how difficult it is to get out of Ulster,” he said.
The challenge now is for McCartan to build upon Down’ success this year.
“There’s only three teams doing it regularly, playing in All-Ireland quarter-finals and that’s Kerry, Tyrone and Cork and everybody else wants to strive to be there. Getting back to Croke Park seems a million miles away at the minute but obviously it’s the target that we’ll be setting.”
If this year has proved anything, it’s that McCartan is an expert in more than meeting the targets he sets for his side. Once the despondency subsides and McCartan and his backroom team and players reflect on the year, they will see there is plenty to look forward to in 2011.

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