Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley was in a satisfied mood at Tolka Park as he reflected on his side’s ultimately comfortable victory over Shelbourne in the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup second round tie. “I thought we were good. I thought once we score
Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley was in a satisfied mood at Tolka Park as he reflected on his side’s ultimately comfortable victory over Shelbourne in the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup second round tie. “I thought we were good. I thought once we scored it’d open up for us and it did. First half, we were good.
Even with the half-time score at 0-0, the Rovers boss was reasonably content. “I knew they’d got tired if we moved the ball quicker. When we played first half, we got chances but sometimes we just kicked the ball to them. That’s the game they (Shels) wanted - they wanted to play second balls.”
Rovers cup performances have been impressive this season with the Tallaght based team having already qualified for the EA Sports Cup final in which they will face Dundalk. Bradley was looking for an optimum combination of steel and skill for this tricky away assignment at the home of their age-old rivals.
“I thought we had to match them for the physical side of the game. But we had to understand that we came here to play and not just fight. I thought we did that in the first half but we could have been a bit better in possession and moved the ball quicker. We did that in the second half and the spaces opened up.”
Brandon Miele, Graham Burke and substitute James Doona made maximum use of that space to net the three second half goals that see the Hoops safely into the last eight.
Bradley is particularly pleased that his side are now going for the jugular and closing out games more successfully. “We’re learning as a group to keep going until you get the next one. We’re defending higher because we have the pace. We trust how we’re playing and we trust each other. On the side now, you just feel calmer that we’re going for two or three rather than settling for just one.”
