Scott on the overall takeaways from Saturday night

They played well, the conditions got better and they used the ball a bit better.

We were obviously in complete control of the game early, a few things went against us towards the end of the second half to give them a little bit of a sniff. Some of their good players got into the game, and we had a few issues that made it a bit harder for us.

In simple terms, the ball was just in their forward half for way too long in the third quarter.

It didn't give us a chance to put their defence under any pressure, when you have a quarter like that in an energy sapping game it makes it a little easier for them in the last quarter. 

Scott on the differences between the first and second half

If you confine it to the simplicity of getting your hands on the ball, I think it is closely related to getting the ball forward.

I don't know the exact number, but I think we had 30% time in forward half in the third quarter which just means your defence is under too much pressure. There is the obvious part of them being in position to score, but it makes the game harder for you.

Then you have to go and chase them in the last quarter, but you are fatigued because you have been defending in your back half for too long.

There are some issues that we will review really hard and we will rue the lost opportunity, because we did have control of the game. 

Scott on the positives from Round Three

In the immediate aftermath, there are a few things that we should be positive about.

I really thought Oisin Mullin's game was fantastic.

Connor O'Sullivan as a young, key defender gives us real room for optimism.

They don't all need to be pick one, we think we have got some young guys who are going to come in and improve us quickly which we will need.

If we don't find a way to improve, the competition looks pretty ominous. 

Scott on the outlook heading forward

It is frustrating, but we try to look forward. Despite the final margin, I think we will come away thinking for big parts of that game we had it under control.

If we have losses early in the year where we can't work out what it is we're trying to do, or we are so far off what we are trying to execute, we are miles away from that space.

We have made a few critical errors in patches of the last two games that have cost us, and that is all it takes. 

There have been so many years, I would say the majority where we have ended up in a pretty good position and when you look back, you think a certain game is really going to hurt us and in the end it hasn't mattered. You can't change it anyway, it is about trying to find balance and not being too hard on yourself.