City of Derry Head Coach Richard McCarter reflects on a Junior Cup defeat to Dromore at the Kingspan Stadium
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00:00 See, it's not a great day at the office to say the least. How can you try and sum that up?
00:05 We just got off to the worst possible start to be honest.
00:08 We're 5 or 7 nil down after two minutes.
00:11 We lost Sam Duffy a couple of minutes later.
00:13 And the first half was just...
00:15 In a cup final you want to start, you want to be composed, you want to be in the game at half time.
00:19 We weren't out of it, but we certainly had a mountain to climb in the second half.
00:23 How much did that start to un-settle your voice?
00:28 It definitely un-settled us.
00:30 We were a bit rattled by it obviously.
00:32 We tried to force the game a bit.
00:34 Couldn't really find territory because of the breeze.
00:36 There's no complaints from my point of view.
00:40 They just executed the game plan better than us.
00:42 They were the better team throughout.
00:44 We definitely showed resilience and a bit of character towards the end.
00:48 At one stage I thought it was going to be a cricket score.
00:50 The positives for us is that we came back and made the scoreline look a bit more respectable.
00:56 You did have a couple of chances at the end of the first half.
00:58 It could have maybe snuck up the tides slightly.
01:02 Once they got away it did feel like these were an uphill challenge.
01:04 I felt we blew a couple of chances to be honest.
01:06 At the end of the first half we weren't direct.
01:08 We were running across the pitch which made it easy for them to tackle us.
01:12 That felt like a turning point.
01:14 If we had gone in 20-10 at half time it would have been game on.
01:18 23 meant that we still had the force of the wee bit.
01:22 We didn't really give up territory in the first period of the second half which made it difficult.
01:28 What can you put it down to?
01:30 You and I both know that there is much more in that Derry team than we have seen today.
01:35 Was it just nerves?
01:37 I honestly don't know but nerves will play a factor.
01:40 We haven't been to a cup final in 14 years.
01:42 It has been talked about a lot.
01:44 Jim Moore has been to a couple in the last 3 or 4 years.
01:47 There is a difference.
01:49 You go from playing a judges road in games that arguably don't really matter that much in the grand scheme of things
01:54 to a final in the Kings' Bar with a massive crowd.
01:57 Some people get affected by that.
02:00 We just didn't turn up when we needed to.
02:03 That is a slight disappointment for us but it is done now.
02:07 We have to move on.
02:08 In terms of what were you able to say to the boys after the match?
02:11 It is hard to pick them up after a game like that.
02:13 Not much I am sure.
02:14 It is hard to say much after a defeat.
02:18 After a cup final defeat it is even more difficult.
02:21 They recognised a better team on day 1.
02:24 We missed chances.
02:26 We just weren't at our sharpest.
02:28 That is what happens.
02:30 There are fine margins in these games.
02:32 Credit the drawer.
02:33 They thoroughly deserved it.
02:34 Double the resolve to come back next year.
02:36 You have got the semi-finalist here, finalist here.
02:38 Double the resolve to come back next year and go a step further.
02:41 That was mentioned.
02:42 It is hopefully whetting the appetite if you want to come back and have big occasions like this.
02:47 As a club we should be challenging and competing to be in these cup finals.
02:52 I want the boys to have enjoyed the spectacle side of it.
02:57 Being in the home change rooms, being on the main pitch, in front of a big crowd.
03:00 The whole occasion today was great.
03:03 Just putting it up with it.