Costello admits Meath footballers need to play with more control
Meath Footballer Mathew Costello in attendance at Croke Park in Dublin, as PwC announce an extension of their title sponsorship of PwC GAA/GPA All-Stars and Camogie All-Stars for a further three years. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
Mathew Costello still isn’t quite sure how Meath ended up losing a match against Mayo on Saturday they looked like winning for most of the contest.
Comfortably the better team for the first three quarters, they collapsed in the final quarter as the combination of a stiff breeze, playing with 14 men from the 51st minute on, and a Mayo team that suddenly caught fire saw them ultimately lose a nine-point second-half advantage.
“It’s tough to put the finger on at the minute,” said Costello when asked what went wrong.
“Obviously, it's only a couple of days past and I'm doing my best to avoid it at all costs. We played so well for so much of the game. Unfortunately, we just lost a bit of momentum in the end.
“The press that Mayo put on was just very good. Like I said, that little bit of momentum is so important in the game now. They just came out the right end of it.
“Probably throughout the year, we were letting big leads slip. That happened again at the weekend. I think just for ourselves, we need to learn a little bit more about how to control different parts of the game.”
Enda Hession of Mayo in action against Mathew Costello of Meath during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 3 match between Mayo and Meath at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar, Mayo. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.
That’s easier said than done under the new rules where securing possession from your own kick-out is now much more difficult to do than it once was.
“Yeah, it's tough with the new rules,” admits Costello. “Last year we were so often coming out the right side of these games and the way we were playing was working. I think we'll just have to adapt slightly.
“It doesn't take a massive push now to rein in an eight- or nine-point lead. I just think with the firepower out there that teams have and the press that they can put on kickouts, if they get momentum, no lead really seems too big to rein in.
“I think you've got to play really well for the full 70 minutes nowadays in the Championship games. There's no real slowing it down or running down the clock. It can't be done.”
This is still a relatively young Meath that that has potential for further improvement, and Costello hopes a spring playing in Division 1 of the Allianz Football League could accelerate their development.
“Looking at the likes of Roscommon this year in Division 1, I think it worked out very well for them,” he says. “Playing very well and playing against the top teams for the early part of the year.
“Hopefully it's going to stand to you, but like that it's going to be very difficult to stay up there.
“You're playing unbelievable teams week in, week out. They're so used to being in all-Ireland semi-finals and the likes and provincial finals and they're used to the big days.
“If we can come out the right side of more games than not, it hopefully should stand well to us.”
