Captain believes Westmeath were 'more up for it'

Meath captain Eoghan Frayne cut a very dejected figure after the Royals' devastating shock Leinster SFC quarter-final loss to Westmeath on Sunday in Tullamore.

The captain struggled to get his head around what went wrong for the Royals. The Summerhill man did give credit to the men in maroon and said they were fully deserving of the victory. He also indicated that Westmeath were “more up for it” on the day.

“We were hoping for a big performance but we never got going. We were lacking energy from the start of the game and we knew the threat that Westmeath would bring. They were more up for it really, that is the bottom line,” said Frayne.

“It is tough to reflect on what we did wrong this soon after the final whistle. We will just have to get back into training and have a good look at ourselves and get back to the hard work. That is the main thing. We will have a look at ourselves and try and look at what went wrong. Take nothing away from Westmeath though, they are a great team and fully deserved to win today.”

Frayne wasn’t afraid to shy away from the fact that Meath were not up to the pace of the contest. He praised Westmeath for the way they went about their business going forward and the homework that they did but also said that he and his teammates have to take ownership for their poor performance.

"We knew the challenge they were going to bring. We will watch it back and see what went wrong but we were not clicking as nicely as I thought we would. They have an unbelievable attacking threat and a lot of good players. It is on us and we have to take ownership of it. We didn’t show up. We didn’t move with that zip that we would have liked. They were set up well and had their homework done,” said Frayne.

“We just weren't up to the pitch of it there today. The way the game is gone, on a dry day like that, every team can kick football and kick scores and kick two-pointers. If you are not on it, you could be beaten by anyone.”

The Summerhill man said that Meath still felt that they were well in contention at half-time. Frayne praised Westmeath for the way they closed out the contest by keeping the scoreboard ticking. He also commended their defensive set-up.

“We felt we were still in the game at half-time having not played that well. We were hoping for a big bounce. The two-pointer at the start of the second-half was a blow for us and everytime we seemed to be building momentum, they would go down and get a score. We never got a long enough purple patch. They got their lead and they managed the game well. They got 50 minutes out of some lads and the lads they brought on still chipped in with scores and big plays. They just managed it well. We probably needed a goal or something in the second-half to really give us a kick up the hole,” said Frayne.

“Westmeath were well set up defensively. We got a few runners through them in the first-half but they scrambled well and they cut off the goal chances. They put enough pressure on the arc as well that we were not getting easy shots away. They worked hard in defence and it paid off for them.”

Frayne was obviously very disappointed that Meath’s highly anticipated Leinster campaign ended early and abruptly. He concluded by accepting the fact that the Royals will just have to pick themselves up and get over the loss to their neighbours.

“You have to get up and get on with it now. We will take a few days off, get back to work and give the All-Ireland series a rattle. It is a big blow. We felt that we were in a good spot and we wanted to give Leinster a good rattle obviously. That is football at the end of the day and there are no guarantees. Even when you think things are going well, all it takes is one bad day. We will regroup and reset and hopefully will get a bounce for the All-Ireland."

Six weeks is a long time for any team to dwell on a devastating loss. However, that is the faith that has been bestowed upon the Royals by their own lacklustre performance on Sunday. They have no choice now but to put the head down and await the draw for the All-Ireland SFC series.