Frustration the overriding emotion following Leinster loss

LADIES LEINSTER SFC REACTION McCormack rues lack of clinical edge in opening half

With the young supporters restricted from going on the hallowed turf of Pairc Tailteann because of the heavy rain that feel Good Friday and Easter Saturday, the Meath players had to go to them to sign autographs and pose for selfies.

As the crestfallen players gave their time with a smile and patience despite the disappointing defeat to Dublin, the Meath management stayed huddled in the middle of the field.

It is not unusual for manager Shane McCormack and his selectors to spend time dissecting their side's performance immediately after the final whistle, but Saturday post-mortem seemed to go on slightly longer than usual.

The players had long since gone to the dressing room for their post-match food when the management huddle dispersed and McCormack headed under the stand.

Before togging in himself the Meath manager spoke to the local media about his disappointment with the loss the Dublin and his frustration that his side didn't make the most of the first-half wind.

"Very disappointed. With a strong wind in the first-half, going in at half-time three or four points down wasn't good," reflected the Meath manager.

"We had a good chat at half-time and in fairness to the girls they came out of the blocks straight away and we got it down to three points with 10 or 15 minutes to go.

"We only got one point from play in the whole game, so that tells a story, which isn't good enough at this level.

"We had a goal chance in the first few minutes, if it went in it might have been different. It was very unlucky not to go in.

"We found it hard to get going at the start and at this level you won't get away with that, especially coming up against a seasoned Dublin team like that.

"We will take a lot of positives out of the game. Looking at the final score, it certainly doesn't feel like a seven-point loss, but we just have to regroup and go again against Kildare in a couple of weeks."

While losing games is frustrating enough, McCormack, as well as many of the Meath supporters in the decent crowd at Pairc Tailteann, was almost at his wits end with some of the refereeing decisions.

The Meath manager felt that had the Dublin defender who fouled Vikki Wall for the Meath penalty been sin-binned for the challenge then it might have boosted his side's chances.

There were also a number of other calls from the Laois referee Eoghan O'Neill which got McCormack's blood boiling, but while he vented his frustration at times during the game, he was much more calm and composed in his reflections after the contest.

"Referees have a tough job, but there were a few dodgy decisions there for both teams. There were particularly one or two against us, even the penalty should have seen a sin-bin (for the Dublin defender)," he said.

"We are disappointed not to get those calls, which you might get on a different day. The referee didn't beat us in the end, so we need to up our performance."

While Meath's provincial ambitions are not over McCormack knows that his side will need to improve in a couple of week's time against Kildare in Newbridge.

"One of our biggest goals this year is getting to a Leinster final, so it is do or die against Kildare now in a couple of weeks," he said.

"We lost to them in the league and we were very disappointed after that because we just didn't turn up.

"We are after working very, very hard in the last couple of months and even compared to the last time we came up against Dublin when it was a trimming by 16 points, we have had a bit of an improvement on the scoreline today.

"It'll be the same with Kildare in a couple of weeks. We have a lot to improve on from the last time we played them, but it's do or die now for this Leinster campaign.

"We weren't happy defensively with the Kildare and Dublin games in the league, so we have been working a lot on that.

"Against Kerry and Armagh it was a lot better and it did work. The same today, but we have a lot to work on. The girls know that and as a management team we know that too. We just have to go again in two weeks time in Newbridge."

One of the biggest challenges facing McCormack and Meath is how to release Vikki Wall from the shackles of being double, or even treble, marked at times.

That is a conundrum for McCormack, but he admits that even if his star player is being well marshalled it should provide opportunities for others.

"Teams are always going to double up on Vikki. We could see again today there were a few harsh challenges on her, which I'm not going to go into again.

"Vikki is a super player and of course we want to get her on the ball as much as we can, but teams do double up on her.

"When they do that that should free up one or two of our players, so we need to be a little more cute and get those players on the ball more."

With the crucial game against Kildare looming and the All-Ireland SFC not far away McCormack expressed his disappointment at losing Meadhbh Byrne and Maire O'Shaughnessy from his panel, but is boosted by the return of All-Ireland winning captain Shauna Ennis.

"Meadhbh Byrne has decided to step away from the panel because she is going to America for the summer, so we wish her the best of luck with that. Maire (O'Shaughnessy) is a huge loss too from the injury she picked up against Dublin the last day. Shauna (Ennis) is working extremely hard for the last couple of months, so we are hoping to get her some game time in the next couple of weeks and it will be great to have her back," concluded the manager before finally returning to the sanctuary of the dressing room.