Shamrock Rovers earned maximum points against Galway United on Monday evening, banishing the memories of their 1-0 defeat to Derry City along the way as Gary Shaw popped up with two match-winning goals. Manager Stephen Bradley addressed the media hu
Shamrock Rovers earned maximum points against Galway United on Monday evening, banishing the memories of their 1-0 defeat to Derry City along the way as Gary Shaw popped up with two match-winning goals.
Manager Stephen Bradley addressed the media huddle following his side’s 2-1 victory and was in buoyant mood outside the away dressing room when reflecting back on the manner of their performance.
“We were in control of the game and we gave away a sloppy pass and they go and get the equaliser so it was important that we kicked on,” he said.
“We spoke at half-time about pushing on and making it three or four-nil. I felt we had that in us, we were playing within ourselves and I knew if we stepped it up, they were there for the taking so to give away the goal knocked us back a bit, but then Gary [Shaw] comes in and produces a really great goal.”
Indeed, it really was a well-taken hit from Shaw to restore the Hoops’ lead on the night, but what impressed Bradley most of all was the mentality of his players, and how they managed to forget about the Derry loss.
“I was disappointed on Friday with how we played, but when I watched it back we actually weren’t as bad as I thought we were.
“This group, I’ve been saying it all along, they’ll only get better and there’s really strong characters in there, they’re really together and I knew that they’d bounce back – they just have that in them, they’re a different group to what we’ve had and I believe in them 100 percent,” he offered.
Up next for Rovers on St Patrick’s Day is the visit of Cork City, a match that will provide them with a stern test and one that, should they get a win, could fuel talk of Rovers as something of a dark horse for the league title.
But Bradley was keen to deflect attention away from any discussion of them as title contenders and drew on his own experiences as a footballer when Bohemians were the team to catch.
“That’ll take time. Cork [City] and Dundalk have built for three or four years and Cork haven’t managed to get near them – second, second – now, this year might be different, but it’ll take us time and it’s not going to happen in one season.
“I was in a team that had to build to go and catch Bohs, I understand what it takes to build.”
Trevor Murray
