Fenlon heaps praise on grieving Byrne
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Bohemians manager Pat Fenlon lavished praise on two-goal hero Jason Byrne following Bohemians 2-0 derby victory over rivals Shamrock Rovers on Friday night.
Fenlon revealed after the game that Byrne lined-out for the Gypsies just days after his grandmother passed away. Byrne was handed his first start of the season after Neale Fenn was ruled out for the champions through injury. Fenn is now likely to find the Ireland international hard to budge from the starting lineup after Byrne followed up a first half penalty with a neat finish from five yards midway through the second half to cap what was a fine overall performance.
Speaking to extratime.ie after the match, Fenlon said: "Fair play to Jason for stepping up to take the penalty for the first goal as that takes real guts. He's had a hard week too as his grandmother died. The second goal was just a fantastic goal - there was quality all over it. Overall I thought we played very well. We set a good tempo from the start and in fairness to Rovers they played well too. I think it was a good game of football and a good advert for the league."
Both sides passed up numerous chances in the opening quarter of an hour before Byrne put his side ahead on 17 minutes from the penalty spot after Stephen Rice had felled Gary Deegan in the area. Bohs then took control in the second half, with Rovers failing to really threaten Brian Murphy in the Bohs goal.
Fenlon added: "We were fabulous second half. I thought Joseph Ndo and Gary Deegan linked up very well down the left. But I don't think there was anyone who didn't give a perfomance, and all over the park we were very, very good. Both sides passed the ball really well tonight and it's unusual to see so many chances in a Bohs-Rovers game, but it's a big three points for us and it has been a good start to the season. That said, we won't be getting too carried away by it. It's really a night for the supporters. For the staff and the players it's just three points and we must move on and as of tomorrow we'll be thinking about next week's game."
Bohs travel to up the M1 next Friday night to take on winless Drogheda United at United Park (kick off 19:45).
Fenlon revealed after the game that Byrne lined-out for the Gypsies just days after his grandmother passed away. Byrne was handed his first start of the season after Neale Fenn was ruled out for the champions through injury. Fenn is now likely to find the Ireland international hard to budge from the starting lineup after Byrne followed up a first half penalty with a neat finish from five yards midway through the second half to cap what was a fine overall performance.
Speaking to extratime.ie after the match, Fenlon said: "Fair play to Jason for stepping up to take the penalty for the first goal as that takes real guts. He's had a hard week too as his grandmother died. The second goal was just a fantastic goal - there was quality all over it. Overall I thought we played very well. We set a good tempo from the start and in fairness to Rovers they played well too. I think it was a good game of football and a good advert for the league."
Both sides passed up numerous chances in the opening quarter of an hour before Byrne put his side ahead on 17 minutes from the penalty spot after Stephen Rice had felled Gary Deegan in the area. Bohs then took control in the second half, with Rovers failing to really threaten Brian Murphy in the Bohs goal.
Fenlon added: "We were fabulous second half. I thought Joseph Ndo and Gary Deegan linked up very well down the left. But I don't think there was anyone who didn't give a perfomance, and all over the park we were very, very good. Both sides passed the ball really well tonight and it's unusual to see so many chances in a Bohs-Rovers game, but it's a big three points for us and it has been a good start to the season. That said, we won't be getting too carried away by it. It's really a night for the supporters. For the staff and the players it's just three points and we must move on and as of tomorrow we'll be thinking about next week's game."
Bohs travel to up the M1 next Friday night to take on winless Drogheda United at United Park (kick off 19:45).
