Buckley expects more from fringe players
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A dejected Liam Buckley was left to rue the chance missed by his reserve players to impress him ahead of Fingal’s European tie on Thursday night.
“I take responsibility for the changes, you have a squad and that’s what they are for. I was disappointed with the performance, there are no two ways about it I’d expect more from the group that we have.”
His side took the lead in the opening stages but were pegged back by a dogged Drogheda side and Buckley felt his side should have performed to a higher level despite the early advantage.
“We still didn’t play well with or without the goal. We have roughly 20 in our group and I’d expect more and our reserves need to step up for whatever reason you need to put them in and tonight they just didn’t do it.”
Not only was it three points dropped for his side but the ramifications run deeper as several players may have played themselves out of a place against Maritimo on Thursday.
“There was an opportunity there because obviously Shaun Maher won’t be playing and there was an opportunity there for one or two to try and figure in the plans for Thursday night. They have made it difficult for me in that respect.”
The sending off of Keith Quinn was a big turning point for the home side and the Fingal manager felt the refereeing wasn’t up to scratch.
“I was just gutted with Keith Quinn’s sending off, his second tackle wasn’t a nasty tackle at all. It messed up our shape and we had to change things around and to be honest a draw would have been a fair result for both teams based on the way the game went on.
“But we just have to take it on the chin and move on. “
Buckley feels that there are too many yellow cards being dished out for not only his side but opposition team as well.
Buckley also expressed his disdain that this league may be decided based on how few players a team has suspended.
“I take responsibility for the changes, you have a squad and that’s what they are for. I was disappointed with the performance, there are no two ways about it I’d expect more from the group that we have.”
His side took the lead in the opening stages but were pegged back by a dogged Drogheda side and Buckley felt his side should have performed to a higher level despite the early advantage.
“We still didn’t play well with or without the goal. We have roughly 20 in our group and I’d expect more and our reserves need to step up for whatever reason you need to put them in and tonight they just didn’t do it.”
Not only was it three points dropped for his side but the ramifications run deeper as several players may have played themselves out of a place against Maritimo on Thursday.
“There was an opportunity there because obviously Shaun Maher won’t be playing and there was an opportunity there for one or two to try and figure in the plans for Thursday night. They have made it difficult for me in that respect.”
The sending off of Keith Quinn was a big turning point for the home side and the Fingal manager felt the refereeing wasn’t up to scratch.
“I was just gutted with Keith Quinn’s sending off, his second tackle wasn’t a nasty tackle at all. It messed up our shape and we had to change things around and to be honest a draw would have been a fair result for both teams based on the way the game went on.
“But we just have to take it on the chin and move on. “
Buckley feels that there are too many yellow cards being dished out for not only his side but opposition team as well.
Buckley also expressed his disdain that this league may be decided based on how few players a team has suspended.
About P.J. Murray
P.J. generally covers Drogheda games at HD Park and can generally be found at any Dublin ground when of a loose end on a Friday night. View Full Profile