Taylor - Young players can be proud of display

Limerick manager Stuart Taylor says his young players can be “proud of their performances” after a new-look side defeated Shelbourne 1-0 at Thomond Park on Wednesday night, as they ended their home fixtures with three straight wins.

Taylor made seven changes to the team that had lost in Bray three days earlier and he included 17-year-old defenders Tony Whitehead and Colm Murphy for their full club debuts, while 18-year-old striker Kieran Hanlon entered in the second half for his senior bow.
 

Another 18-year-old, midfielder James McGrath, who played a role in the Superblues’ First Division title-winning campaign last term, was handed his first home outing in the top flight.
 

The inclusion of 19-year-olds Barry Sheedy, who was making his full Premier Division debut, and Carel Tiofack added to the very young Limerick team that were on display against the relegation-threatened Reds.
 

And Taylor was in a good mood after the game, as his youthful players made it three home wins on the bounce and extended their long run without conceding a goal at the venue to almost 400 minutes.
 

“It was good. I’m really delighted with the performance, first and foremost,” Taylor told LimerickFC.ie.
 

“I thought the players went and expressed themselves really, really well and they passed the ball and played at a good tempo where Shelbourne found it very, very difficult to get the ball back.
 

“We had spoken about giving the supporters a good send-off for the season and thanking them and doing it in style, and I felt we did that. Although we only got one goal, I felt we still did it in style and we kept a good clean-sheet at the back.
 

“Barry Ryan was always safe as houses at the back with Brian O’Callaghan and Shaun Kelly, as they have been all season, and with the two young boys coming in, Tony Whitehead and Colm Murphy. I thought it was a great defensive display.
 

“In the middle of the park and up front, I thought we really controlled and dictated the play from start to finish and it was a joy to watch and a joy to be part of. I’m really, really proud of the players.
 

“I felt that there was a five-minute spell in the first half where we took our foot off the pedal a little bit and one or two bits of our play we could have tidied up a little bit better.
 

“But that also came from the fact that Shelbourne had just lost a goal and they had a kick up the bum and they needed a reaction because they’re fighting for their lives.
 

“To go out and play the way that we did, against a good side who are organised very well and fighting for their lives, it’s all credit to the players who were absolutely superb.
 

“The players that we pick as a management team to go and play, we’ve got full confidence in them and full belief that we can go and get a result no matter who we’re playing against.
 

“But it was great experience for the younger lads and it was a proud display from everybody. It was great. Getting big Kieran Hanlon on for his debut was also pleasing for the youth side of the football club, so it was all good.
 

“It’s what we’re looking for our club to be all about; progressing and promoting our young players and having a stage for them to go and play on.
 

“They can be over the moon with their performances. They can be really, really proud of their performances – that’s for sure.
 

“I was over the moon with Tony. I thought he actually looked a more experienced player than he is.
 

“He looked as if he’s had a good run of games in there. Defending is all about decision-making and I thought his decision-making was spot on. He dominated his position and he had the centre-forwards under control.
 

“He went through the game without any slip-ups and he looked very, very confident and very strong throughout the game.
 

“Without taking anything away from him, a big thanks goes to Brian O’Callaghan and Shaun Kelly playing either side of him. They’re two fantastic professionals and they’ve helped play a great part in his debut, so all credit to those two as well as Tony.
 

“Colm did very well. I felt that it was a little bit of naivety from his part when he got booked and the tackle before that, but I would rather have that eagerness, trying to calm people down as opposed to having to put a little bit of fire in their belly.
 

“A young lad having that is great and it stands him in good stead for the future. Colm will have a huge part in the success of the football club – that’s without a shadow of a doubt.
 

“He’s got a lot of attributes that we’ll have a very, very good young player at Limerick Football Club. It’s just a case of making sure these players come through and keep expressing themselves in the manner that they didon Wednesday.”
 

Limerick have recorded clean-sheets in their last four games at Thomond Park, with UCD the last team to score against them there back in mid-August. And that understandably left the manager pleased.
 

“I’m over the moon,” he said. “I’m absolutely delighted and a big part of that comes from Eddie Hickey as well with the goalkeepers Shane Cusack and Barry Ryan. They’ve come in and they’ve done their job and they’ve done it great.
 

“Then obviously the back four has chopped and changed a little bit through suspensions. But everybody’s performing. We say that we defend from the front so you’ve got to give the guys credit there as well and how hard they work.
 

“We set out our teams to go and play in a certain way to make it easier for us to defend, and the guys at the front have helped the guys at the back in the defensive side. And certainly the guys at the back have helped the guys at the front in an attacking sense.
 

“It’s a great performance and it’s a massive achievement from everybody at the football club – from the guys who have maybe only participated the once or twice throughout the season, their commitment and their attitude throughout the training nights have been fantastic and all credit to them.
 

“We are where we are because it’s a team game and everybody wanted to do it for the cause of the club and the right for the club which was to stay in the Premier Division.”
 

Should Cork City fail to beat Dundalk at Oriel Park on Friday night then Limerick will still have sixth place to play for when they travel to Derry City next weekend, and Taylor says he will have a close eye on the game in County Louth.
 

“I’ll be supporting Dundalk at the weekend,” he said. “Dundalk have got a little bit to prove. They have petered away, some people would say, but I wouldn’t say that.
 

“I think that it has been a hard season for them and a long season, and they’ve done excellently.
 

“They’ve done absolutely superb so they’ll want to finish on a high and finish their season strongly, as we’ve done, so they can go and make sure they finish second in the league. We’ll be looking for a Dundalk win obviously.”