Sligo are only one step away from a Tailteann Cup final slot, but deciding Sunday’s match on the ‘dreaded’ penalties is no real “penalty’ for experienced Yeats County forward Pat Hughes.
hey face a fancied Cavan side in the Tailteann Cup semi-final in Croke Park on Sunday, after edging out neighbours Leitrim in a spine tingling shoot out after extra time where Sligo keeper Aidan Devaney was the hero with two brilliant saves.
To add to Leitrim’s ire they had a perfectly good goal disallowed-as Sligo prevailed and moved on.
A number of ex GAA player’s including ex Donegal GAA captain Anthony Molloy have hit out at the practice saying it is totally ‘unjust and unfair’.
But, while Hughes agrees that it is a ‘horrible way to lose’ he is in favour of the GAA keeping the contentious shoot outs.
When it is suggested that deciding matches on penalties is a very ‘cruel, unfair and unjust method, he said: “Yes, even chatting to a few Leitrim lads the last day, it is a tough way to lose, but it’s a great way to win.
“It’s hard to strike a balance.
“The atmosphere after the game the last day felt like a real championship atmosphere.
“There were crowds on the pitch and huge excitement.
“There possibly might not have been so much hype and excitement had the game been won in normal time, so penalties do add that extra bit of spark to it.
“It may be new to the GAA, but it has been going on in soccer for years
“But there is an argument that you can’t have seasons dragging on with replays and feeding into the club season as well
“So, I guess for the GAA to try and close out the season in as short a period as possible and allow plenty of time for the clubs, penalties are one of the things they had to introduce.
“I think it adds a bit of extra spice and excitement to these Tailteann Cup games”.
But is it fair, how is the guy who misses the penalty when his mistake means the end of the season for his club, and what about the feelings of underage players when they miss a penalty?
“Look it is the same as anything else.
“Someone could miss a free in the last minute to level a game or draw a game and most players have been there over the years.
“It is kind of the same thing.
“As for younger players, we have quite a few younger players in our squad, and I would back them to step up and take a penalty and if they missed I would back them to score again the next day.
“That is what a team environment is for, to bring those lads along.
“You miss, you go out, you learn, and you go on and you come back again the next day and the ones that you win like us in Carrick gives you a great buzz and a great excitement about it.
“Yes definitely a horrible way to lose but a great way to win.
“That’s been seen in soccer for years.
“How many times have we seen itin Champions League Finals being decided on penalties.
“Can you say it’s fair, I don’t know if you can but it’s another exciting twist to the Tailteann Cup and the GAA this year.
Meanwhile on a personal level, team captain Keelan Cawley did not feel under any pressure to take a penalty for Sligo against Leitrim had Emlyn Mulligan of Leitrim scored against Aidan Devaney.
“The way Aidan was playing I fancied him to save all of them.
“I think he got a hand to every single one of them bar one.
“If Emlyn had scored it, I did not feel any pressure to score.
“Sometimes penalties are a bit of a lottery and if a keeper guesses right ,he saves it and if not it goes in and it did not bother me either way”.
