PLAYERS who speak to the media have always earned my admiration, increasingly so in these days of control freakery from certain managers and some ironically-titled public relations officers.
Yet three footballers in particular went up in my estimation over the past week. ‘Win, lose, or draw you should stay the same’ is the sensible advice in terms of reacting to results - and this trio spoke engagingly after a win, a loss, and a draw.
Northern Ireland duo Dale Taylor and Conor Washington, and Crossmaglen’s Aaron Kernan are at different stages of their playing careers: the beginning, the late middle, and towards the end respectively.
Washington and Kernan have always been extremely accommodating to the media, so could have been excused for saying nathin’ after their most recent matches.
Even on one of the rare occasions when he declined to give me a post-match interview Kernan was still polite - and he still spoke to me. None of the pretending not to see you or shake of the head that sometimes happens.
He explained his refusal too: the Kernan family were unhappy about an article which had appeared on our news pages when dad Joe’s business went into difficulties due to the collapse of the housing market. It was nothing personal, nothing against the sports department, Aaron explained, and we chatted about the game, off the record.
As the well-brought up Kernan boys demonstrate, manners cost nothing.
Aaron could easily have avoided the media on Sunday after Cross’ lost the Armagh SFC Final thanks to a bizarre goal and other late scores from Clann Eireann.
It was a second consecutive senior final defeat for the illustrious south Armagh club and Kernan’s disappointment was probably doubled by the fact that his older brother Stephen is the Rangers manager.
Yet he spoke to my colleague Andy Watters, making an intelligent and interesting case about the quality in the Rangers team and squad.
Washington was arguably under the hottest spotlight on Monday night, perceived as ‘missing’ a glorious late opportunity to secure a famous victory for Northern Ireland over European champion Italy.
In the continued Covid-related absence of mixed zones - those post-match areas where players walk out past the media and can stop to talk if they choose to do so - it would have been very easy for Washington to simply get on the team bus and go back to the hotel.
Instead, he fronted up in the press conference room - and he didn’t even walk out after yours truly insensitively asked manager Ian Baraclough about the chances of Hearts striker Liam Boyce being persuaded out of his self-imposed international exile.
Nor did Conor let rip at another questioner who suggested he seemed to have ‘too much time’ when he took the ball into the Italian penalty area in the 90th minute. In reality, he had a second or two to get his shot away.
Sure, time seems to slow down in that moment - but when you watch the clip back, Washington had two defenders closing in on him, with one lunging at his feet. The other, crucially, was cutting off any pass across the box to the left.
Washington could have rolled the ball behind himself towards two onrushing team-mates, but they both would have had the same shooting angle, from further out, having to hit the ball first-time on the run, and with two defenders and the goalkeeper between them and the net.
An early shot with his favoured right foot would have had to be struck perfectly, inside the far post, as there were already two Italian defenders inside the six-yard box, blocking off any aim towards the right side of the goal.
So he did the right thing by going left, evading the lunge and then shooting with his left foot.
The only bit that he got wrong was the contact - “a rubbish connection” as he put it. The ball still almost spun in off Italian captain Leonardo Bonucci’s boot as he hacked it off the goal-line, so a shot struck cleanly probably would have gone in.
As Washington also explained, had he managed to hit the ball higher, or slightly more to the left, it would surely have gone in.
The disappointment on his face was evident, even after a remarkably good result against the team ranked fourth in the world. Yet he didn’t hide away, instead giving his insight on the situation he’d found himself in.
"As I've gone past him [Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma] I'm looking across - you see me look up - and I'm thinking ‘Somebody has to be there to tap this in…’; but to be fair the lads had put in such a shift that I don’t think too many of them managed to get very close to me.”
Often in sport you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
As outlined above, had Washington shot early with his right the effort would most likely have been blocked and he’d have been asked why he didn’t take his time.
Teenager Taylor didn’t shoot when he had a chance to do so shortly after coming off the bench against Lithuania on Friday night, but as a 17-year-old he was never going to be criticised.
Still, his very presence in the press conference room afterwards was impressive.
Everyone would have expected the lad from Tiger’s Bay to spend his time after the match chatting with family and friends before going back with the team. However, he did media duties, and did them with terrific maturity and composure.
Sure, the most important ‘talking’ always has to be done on the pitch, but those who spare the time to share their thoughts with the media, and the public, are always to be applauded.
