O'Connor full of praise despite loss
Credit:
Wexford Youths manager Noel O’Connor found himself in the unusual
position of praising his players after a 5-1 defeat but it was
certainly the case that the score line disguised what was at times an
excellent performance from the First Division side.
“ We were quite positive going into it and we’d done our homework on how we needed to upset them. But first half, I mean to concede after three minutes away from home against a team like Shamrock Rovers, you know, that would probably knock the stuffing out of most teams but we came back really well. Garry Sheahan could have had a hat-trick in the first half, you know, hitting the bar and maybe taking a wrong option and getting a great goal and I thought for twenty, twenty five minutes we actually played them off the park. So from that point of view it’s certainly encouraging for us”
This was certainly true, though O’Connor admitted that his side were less impressive when it came to defending crosses.
“We said inside we gave them easy goals, not stopping crosses and not picking up men in the box, basic stuff and maybe, you know, that’s a concentration issue that we’re certainly going to have to work on.”
In reference to his squad O’Connor was cautiously upbeat.
“ There’s a lot of good players down there and even some guys who didn’t play well tonight but who maybe played well last week and the week before. I think that we’re trying to play football were trying to be positive and get it down and play. Fitness levels are improving, there’s a lot of work to be done in terms of, you know, strength issues and, you know, just teaching people the game, but I think that they should take great heart from tonight. I’m really proud of their performance and our real Cup Final is Tuesday night against Monaghan and they need to show that same desire and attitude that they showed tonight, in Monaghan, and that will tell me if they are going to be real players.”
“ We were quite positive going into it and we’d done our homework on how we needed to upset them. But first half, I mean to concede after three minutes away from home against a team like Shamrock Rovers, you know, that would probably knock the stuffing out of most teams but we came back really well. Garry Sheahan could have had a hat-trick in the first half, you know, hitting the bar and maybe taking a wrong option and getting a great goal and I thought for twenty, twenty five minutes we actually played them off the park. So from that point of view it’s certainly encouraging for us”
This was certainly true, though O’Connor admitted that his side were less impressive when it came to defending crosses.
“We said inside we gave them easy goals, not stopping crosses and not picking up men in the box, basic stuff and maybe, you know, that’s a concentration issue that we’re certainly going to have to work on.”
In reference to his squad O’Connor was cautiously upbeat.
“ There’s a lot of good players down there and even some guys who didn’t play well tonight but who maybe played well last week and the week before. I think that we’re trying to play football were trying to be positive and get it down and play. Fitness levels are improving, there’s a lot of work to be done in terms of, you know, strength issues and, you know, just teaching people the game, but I think that they should take great heart from tonight. I’m really proud of their performance and our real Cup Final is Tuesday night against Monaghan and they need to show that same desire and attitude that they showed tonight, in Monaghan, and that will tell me if they are going to be real players.”
About Simon O'Gorman
Simon O'Gorman began reporting for Extratime in 2010. He remembers Milltown and Flower Lodge and, back in the mists of time, saw Diego Maradona play at Lansdowne Road. He now lives in Co Kildare and … View Full Profile