Stephen Bradley on his stretched squad mis-firing against Galway: “It looked to me that we had a few players that got really comfortable understanding that the squad is tight at the moment”

Macdara Ferris reports from Tallaght Stadium

Counting through the missing players for Shamrock Rovers last Friday night you needed all ten digits with Dan Cleary suspended and nine other outfield players out injured. However Hoops Head Coach Stephen Bradley wasn’t using that as an excuse for his team’s failure to beat Galway United.

If Shamrock Rovers brought Gavin Bazunu in on an injury loan, their missing team against Galway would be Gavin Bazunu; Sean Hoare, Dan Cleary, Lee Grace; Neil Farrugia, Jack Byrne, Gary O’Neill, Markus Poom; Aaron McEneff, Graham Burke, Richie Towell.

The 1-1 draw against the Tribesmen was the first time since 2009 that Rovers didn’t beat United – a run of 21 consecutive first team wins over the men from the west. Afterwards when speaking to extratime.com Bradley was quite critical of his players who were available on the night.

“It looked to me that we had a few players that got really comfortable understanding that the squad is tight at the moment,” said Bradley. “That doesn't work around here. When I saw that tonight, we'll change that fairly quickly.

“There are no excuses with the injuries. We are starting to get bodies back which is good but the 11 players that started are good enough to go and win any game against any team in this country. We were just a million miles off our levels.”

Rovers dominated the play, with 77% of the ball, but couldn’t create too many clear cut chances. They had 23 shots but only had three on target – one being Dylan Watts’ penalty that was saved brilliantly by Brendan Clarke and another was Johnny Kenny’s equaliser six minutes from time.

Their conversion rate from their 55 crosses was poor but Watts’ corner kick did at least provide the assist for Kenny’s headed goal. 

Galway were ruthless with what they created – scoring from one of their three shots, two of which were on target with Stephen Walsh’s low shot by Leon Pohls one of only four touches they had in Rovers’ box.

“I didn't think with our overall performance that we deserved to win the game to be honest. I thought we were really poor. We were slow, sloppy and made really poor decisions. 

The missing players meant Bradley brought Sean Kavanagh into the team in the back three for his first start since mid-February. He also named seven teenagers on the bench, along with 20-year-old Johnny Kenny.

Matthew Britton, son of former Hoop Matt Britton, came on in the second to make his first team debut – one of only two subs Rovers made.

“Sean gives us real balance wherever he plays on the pitch. He has that wand of the left foot that can play all types of passes. He can penetrate through two lines of press very quickly. I thought Sean was brilliant considering that he has been out for a long time.

"We've been cautious about putting him in, so for him to play 90 minutes showing that quality was really high level. I thought he was the one positive for us tonight.”

Speaking about Britton, Bradley said: “I really like him. He is one that played with us in pre-season and I really liked what he did then. He got how we played really quickly. He understands his position and gets the game. He has a lovely touch. 

“He has a really good attitude which is no surprise when you know his Dad who has played the game. When you combine all that he has a real chance. The impression he made in pre-season stays with you and when the opportunity comes up you've no fears about putting him on.

"To be fair to him for someone who is 16 I thought he showed moments of real quality and it shows the reason why we did put him on.”

Next up for Rovers is their rearranged home game against Drogheda United on Monday night – as the Hoops face into their second week of three in a row of Friday-Monday double header matches. 

“It is what it is,” said Bradley about the fixture list. “I don't believe in complaining about the schedule as we all know it. You just get on with it and deal with it.

"Unfortunately it has fallen when we've had a few injuries but that is life and why the best team comes out in the league because you've got to deal with different scenarios and different challenges. 

“Drogheda won well on Friday (beating Sligo Rovers 3-1 at home) and they will come with a game plan very similar to Galway I'd imagine. We've got to be a lot better on Monday than we were (against Galway)."

League Preview: Shamrock Rovers-v- Drogheda United - https://t.co/94rjArr8tjhttps://t.co/eV2EdC5yVG

— extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) April 28, 2024