Jack Doherty was in familiar territory outside the dressing rooms in Ferrycarrig Park as he reflected on a job well done by he and his Longford Town team-mates as they chalked up a 2-0 win over Wexford FC in their SSE Airtricity League First Division
Jack Doherty was in familiar territory outside the dressing rooms in Ferrycarrig Park as he reflected on a job well done by he and his Longford Town team-mates as they chalked up a 2-0 win over Wexford FC in their SSE Airtricity League First Division encounter on Friday.
Well-taken goals in each half from Dean Byrne and Aaron Dobbs saw them earn the victory they needed to be sure of a play-off place and Doherty says they need to continue that winning form going in the business end of the season.
“That's what we came into this game to do, to get the three points and secure the play-off place. We've done that so we're pleased and now we have to try to push on again and see can we get second. All we can do is win our last two games and see where we end up,” he said.
The 25-year-old was making a quick return to Ferrycarrig Park, where he was the star man in the first half of the season, scoring six goals for the Slaneysiders, but he admitted it took Longford a bit of time to find their feet at his old stomping ground.
“It was a bit shaky at the start and we took a while to get into our rhythm. Once we got the first goal I thought we would have kicked on and got another few but they were resilient and they gave it everything out there and we were just happy to get the points in the end,” he said.
“I enjoyed it. It's tough to come down here and play. I'd be close with a lot of the lads so I enjoyed it and I'd say they probably did as well,” he said.
The Tipperary man moved to Longford last month, having had a previous stint with the club in 2015, and although there were other clubs interested in his signature, after speaking to the now departed manager Neale Fenn, he quickly made up his mind.
“Other clubs were interested as well but when I met with Neale, who of course has gone now, I felt it was the right time and the right place to go, but I'm forever grateful to Wexford for what they did for me and the opportunity they gave me,” he said.
Fenn's departure to Cork City make have been a bit of a shock to the system for the club, but Doherty says the players just had to focus on the job in hand and believes they're in capable hands with Daire Doyle steering the ship.
“It was quick. We just had to focus on the Bohs game to try and get a result. We played really well in that game.
"We just had to do what we could on the pitch and we couldn't think about things off the pitch. We can't control that, we can only control what we do on the pitch and just get on with it. Daire is brilliant anyway and we'll just keep going on the way we're going,” he said.
The former Ipswich Town man had good days during his brief spell with Wexford FC and he was full praise for his former comrades.
“They're a great bunch. They give it everything every time they step out on the field. They don't deserve to be down at the bottom. When I was here there's a few times we were unlucky not to get a result after playing really well. That's just the way football is, they'll just have to keep going the way they're going and see what they can do next year,” he said.
