Buckley aims for better quality in the final third

“It was great ball but I don’t know how it went in to be honest,” said Steven Beattie of Kieran Sadlier’s late goal direct from a corner that earned champions Cork City a battling 3-2 opening night victory at St. Patrick’s Athletic. “He (Sadlier) is claiming it there anyway,” laughed the Skerries native who has become a Cork stalwart.

“You can’t prepare for that,” was Beattie’s assessment of the consequences of Graham Cummins 27th minute straight red card for elbowing home central defender Kevin Toner. “We defended for our lives for 65 minutes, whatever it was,” enthused Beattie of the Leesiders’ rearguard action, which saw the home side draw level after City’s two goal opening salvo but unable to claim a third. “We always thought we’d get one chance,” reflected Beattie. And Sadlier swooped for what Beattie termed, “a great result.” A result which nicely sets up next week’s Munster derby at newly renovated Turner’s Cross against Waterford.

On the other hand, Pat’s boss Liam Buckley was understandably frustrated that his charges couldn’t make their numerical supremacy count. “We gave a stupid goal away in the second half. Direct from a corner. Our goalkeeper slipped, it was a mistake. It happens. I don’t think they had another shot.”

Buckley threw fresh legs into the fray after Conan Byrne’s equaliser. “At 2-2 we felt we had all the play. We had 90% of the ball. The changes were with a view to get something extra out of it.”

The home crowd in the 2,771 attendance went home unhappy but Buckley isn’t too discouraged. “We’ll take some positives out of it. Our play wasn’t too bad in general. Our quality in the final third needs to be a bit better.”

There were some faces on show for Pat’s tonight and Buckley was satisfied overall. “They all worked hard. They’ve all acquitted themselves well. There are a few areas we’ll look at. Our movement needs to be a bit better.”