‘A fair question' – Niall O Ceallachain admits Dublin GAA ‘proven wrong' in hammering against Cork but defends approach
The keeping of a clean sheet was a vital component of the Dubs'
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Niall O Ceallachain accepted the criticism after Dublin were hammered by Cork
Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
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Te Dubs shipped seven goals against the Rebels
Credit: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
But they
Ó Ceallacháin said: 'If you concede four goals, you're going to be in a tricky spot and that's obviously where we were.
'Did we set up right at the back? I'm sure that question is going to come.
'We found it very hard for long
periods
in that second half. I thought we showed a bit of fight to get back into it but it felt like each time we did, there was a sucker-punch of a goal.'
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When asked if he could have provided extra protection to his full-backs, Ó Ceallacháin said: 'It's a fair question when you concede seven goals. I'll tell you straight out that we intentionally didn't.
'I've been proven wrong now so I can be fairly criticised, but the way we see it is there's just no point in going with a zonal back six against a team like
'Is it a risky set-up? It absolutely is. Should I be criticised? Absolutely. It didn't
work
. They were very sharp and they were excellent. But what I would say is with the alternative, you won't lose by 20 points but you will lose the game.'
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For Ó Ceallacháin, it was a sobering way to end his first season in charge.
He added: 'Obviously it was a huge win a couple of weeks ago. We can be fairly criticised now that we didn't follow up two weeks later. We have to be better.'
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