Away tickets for the match in Richmond Park are SOLD OUT. The match will be shown live on Virgin Media Two, coverage begins at 7.30pm
We had a very good win over Shelbourne on Monday night, winning 3-2. It was a big three points for us.
“It was important, especially after the frustration of the draw in Waterford last Friday, that we picked up three points against Shels. I felt due to our second half performance, we deserved to do that.”
You were disappointed with our first half despite those two goals we scored just before half time to lead 2-1. Was there anything in particular that you felt where we were off?
“It just wasn’t us. We were too passive in and out of possession in every aspect. Obviously it was important we scored two goals before half time, but for us and I’ve said it a number of times, our processes are really important to us and how we carry them out. We weren’t doing that in the first half against Shels. But the players knew that, I didn’t have to say much at half time, you could feel it in the dressing room. So I thought we were very good in the second half.”
You were a lot happier as you said there with our second half and there were several very strong individual performances in the team, particularly in that second half.
“Some teams can fold if your performance levels aren’t great. But the lads responded really well, there were many key performances that were very good, which was nice to see. We know our standards and what we set for ourselves and when we don’t hit them, we know it and feel it and the players put it right.”
On to this weekend and we play current leaders St Patrick’s Athletic who’ve rallied well since we beat them 2-0 in Tallaght in our first league game of the season.
“They have, they’ve won games and that’s no surprise. They’ve got good players, a lot of attacking players, which we know. They’re top of the league and have done well. It’s a Dublin derby, it should be a good game, a tough game, but it’s one we’re ready for and really looking forward to it.”
The first ten games of the season are again demonstrating that every single point needs to be earned along the way and that every player in the group needs to be ready to contribute when called upon.
“There are points in the season when we everyone will play their part. This is not just lip service, we’ve seen this throughout the years and we’re already seeing it this year. With the few knocks we’ve had, we’ve seen John O’Sullivan and Naj Razi come in and they’ve been excellent and we’ve many more around that have played and will play their part. So the squad is so important.”
What’s the latest with our injured players?
“Adam Brennan will be back involved this weekend. We could’ve pushed him for last Monday but we decided to keep him out. Dylan Watts and Dan Cleary I’m hoping will be back next week. I’ll be speaking to Rory Gaffney today to see how he’s doing. Lee Grace’s wife Emma gave birth to a baby boy on Tuesday so Lee will be back next week. We’re all delighted for Lee and Emma. Danny Mandroiu continues his ACL rehab. Everyone else is fine.”
