Bradley rues lack of ruthlessness in his Rovers team

Macdara Ferris reports from Tallaght Stadium

It is a game often referred to as the ‘battle of the Rovers’ but the clash between Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers on Friday night in Tallaght was more like a siege.

The Hoops camped out in Sligo territory for all of the game but couldn’t breach the blanket Bit O’Red defence who escaped with a point come the end of the game.

The home side created lots of chances, hit the frame of the goal and when finally their shots beat the despairing blocks of the five man – dare we say ten man – Sligo defence, 19-year-old Sligo ‘keeper Ed McGinty was superbly on hand to smother the ball or tip it behind for a corner.

“We did everything but score,” said Bradley speaking after the game. “If we were struggling and not playing well and not dominating teams and getting only one or two chances, I’d be more worried. 

“Maybe it doesn’t feel like it but I’m really happy and delighted how we played and how we approached the game but we just need to be more ruthless to turn that into three points.”

The panacea for Shamrock Rovers is a striker that can find the back of the net on a regular basis. Graham Cummins was handed a debut with the Hoops and played more centrally for the Hoops than they have with Aaron Greene or Dan Carr in the number nine role.

Cummins cracked a header off the crossbar and should have won a penalty when John Mahon bundled him over in the box.

“Graham Cummins was very good considering it was his first game and he is getting used to us. I was really happy with his positions and the dangerous areas he took up in the box.

“We were after something different than what we have and Graham is certainly something like that. He loves staying centre of the goal. He doesn’t want to get involved in anything else except put the ball in the back of the net.” 

Bradley also brought Gary O’Neill off the bench for his debut. “Gary did well. It is his type of game and he is used to similar at UCD whereas Graham will take a bit longer as it is a different game for him. You can see how athletic he is and how comfortable he is on the ball.”

The corner count read 14-0 in favour of the Hoops at the end of the game. There was disappointment that the home team couldn’t convert one of them to cement win. Bradley even let goalkeeper Alan Mannus come up to join the attack for an injury time set piece.

“Jack Byrne’s delivery is so good and Pico (Lopes) and Joey (O’Brien) should be scoring more goals off those set pieces. We tried everything else so we decided to put Alan in the box. He attacks the ball really wall but it wasn’t to be.”

The gap between table toppers Dundalk and the Hoops remains at eight points after the Lilywhites conceded a 95^th minute equaliser in Derry but Bradley wasn’t concerning himself too much with Dundalk. 

“It genuinely it doesn’t interest us,” he said when asked about Dundalk dropping points. “I’ve been around the league, I’ve won the league, this will go to the wire. I know it will. We need to do what we are doing and come the last few games let’s see where it takes us.”

Attention now turns away from the title tilt for the Hoops for the next fortnight. There will be Monday’s FAI Cup First Round draw, then the Hoops travel the next day to Norway ahead of their first leg against SK Brann on Thursday in the Europa League qualifiers. Brann also were held to a scoreless draw in their league on Friday night.

Bradley believes that despite the difficult opponents, his team can progress and their chances should be boosted with Aaron McEneff due to return to the squad for Europe.

“We’ve watched three of their games and Stephen (McPhail) has watched them live. We know they are a good side but I fully believe we can win the tie over the two legs. 

“They are strong, physical and well organised with pace up front. It is a dangerous tie but we go there on Thursday to win the game.” 

League Report: Shamrock Rovers 0 - 0 Sligo Rovers from @macdarabuellerhttps://t.co/EHxceGSBOQpic.twitter.com/1AVcjnVydc

— Extratime.ie (@ExtratimeNews) July 6, 2019