Hamstring hampers final participation
Credit:
Looking from the outside, people were probably thinking Dundalk was the worst possible opponent for us on Friday night. With them sitting pretty at the top of the table and having done the double over Rovers already this season, they were sure to be high in confidence. From our point of view, they were our ideal opposition due to the top of the table reward should we manage three points. Getting back there was our aim.
Before the game, the pressure was on us to stop the recent run of back-to-back defeats. Suffering a third defeat was unthinkable! Even with the extra pressure, our approach was the same as any other game. Pete had outlined to us, if we kept working as hard as we have been, that effort would pay off in the manner of a victory against Dundalk on the Friday.
As players, we hadn’t dwelled too much on the recent results, and training leading up to the game was as competitive as I had experienced all year. We felt we owed the fans a good performance after a disappointing showing versus Rovers the previous week, and confidence in the group was high.
That confidence was justified after four minutes when Paul Byrne picked up a loose ball in the Dundalk box and drove home to give us a 1-0 lead. As the half went on, we really started to find our stride and we were passing the ball as well as we had all season.
Unfortunately for me, it was all about to end. On 33 minutes, I was running back towards our goal about to clear the ball when I felt a tweak in my hamstring and immediately knew I was in trouble. I was immediately substituted for Derek Pender and I embarked on the frustrating walk back to the dressing room for treatment.
As I have spoken previously in this column, I generally handle being injured well but coming off the pitch when your team is one up and you are playing well is horrible. For the 40 minutes after leaving the game, I was in the treatment room with the physio trying to minimise the extent of the injury.
After the physio was finished with my treatment, I managed to get back out to watch the remaining 20 minutes of the game. We had been down to 10 men for nearly an hour but we were still able to keep Dundalk scoreless. The guys put in a serious shift and it finished that way and we were back to where we wanted to be: top of the table".
Mentally it is a great boost to go back to the number one spot in the lead up to the Setanta Cup final. For me, the week will begin with an MRI to find out the extent of my hamstring injury. Depending on how that goes will determine on whether I will play in the cup final on Saturday.
As a player, when you get an injury you can pretty much tell straight away how bad it is going to be. With how I felt on Friday when my leg went tight, I am not overly optimistic about being fit for the final. All I can do is hope it heals quickly and I get the opportunity to be involved in a great occasion for St. Pats.
Tallaght will be a great venue for football fans. The stadium is the ideal size for a cup final in Ireland and the atmosphere for this Dublin derby should be great. We have faced Bohs once already this season in a tight game, finishing 1-1. There wasn’t much between the sides and I don’t expect anything different on Saturday.
Whether I am playing or not, hopefully we can manage to bring some long awaited silver ware back to Inchicore Saturday night.
Before the game, the pressure was on us to stop the recent run of back-to-back defeats. Suffering a third defeat was unthinkable! Even with the extra pressure, our approach was the same as any other game. Pete had outlined to us, if we kept working as hard as we have been, that effort would pay off in the manner of a victory against Dundalk on the Friday.
As players, we hadn’t dwelled too much on the recent results, and training leading up to the game was as competitive as I had experienced all year. We felt we owed the fans a good performance after a disappointing showing versus Rovers the previous week, and confidence in the group was high.
That confidence was justified after four minutes when Paul Byrne picked up a loose ball in the Dundalk box and drove home to give us a 1-0 lead. As the half went on, we really started to find our stride and we were passing the ball as well as we had all season.
Unfortunately for me, it was all about to end. On 33 minutes, I was running back towards our goal about to clear the ball when I felt a tweak in my hamstring and immediately knew I was in trouble. I was immediately substituted for Derek Pender and I embarked on the frustrating walk back to the dressing room for treatment.
As I have spoken previously in this column, I generally handle being injured well but coming off the pitch when your team is one up and you are playing well is horrible. For the 40 minutes after leaving the game, I was in the treatment room with the physio trying to minimise the extent of the injury.
After the physio was finished with my treatment, I managed to get back out to watch the remaining 20 minutes of the game. We had been down to 10 men for nearly an hour but we were still able to keep Dundalk scoreless. The guys put in a serious shift and it finished that way and we were back to where we wanted to be: top of the table".
Mentally it is a great boost to go back to the number one spot in the lead up to the Setanta Cup final. For me, the week will begin with an MRI to find out the extent of my hamstring injury. Depending on how that goes will determine on whether I will play in the cup final on Saturday.
As a player, when you get an injury you can pretty much tell straight away how bad it is going to be. With how I felt on Friday when my leg went tight, I am not overly optimistic about being fit for the final. All I can do is hope it heals quickly and I get the opportunity to be involved in a great occasion for St. Pats.
Tallaght will be a great venue for football fans. The stadium is the ideal size for a cup final in Ireland and the atmosphere for this Dublin derby should be great. We have faced Bohs once already this season in a tight game, finishing 1-1. There wasn’t much between the sides and I don’t expect anything different on Saturday.
Whether I am playing or not, hopefully we can manage to bring some long awaited silver ware back to Inchicore Saturday night.
About Damian Lynch
Premier Perspective: Damian Lynch is an extratime.ie columnist giving his views on the current state of the league as well as his own personal performance with St. Patricks Athletic. The Saints' skipper will give his … View Full Profile