Friday will be a defining moment
Credit:
I am not sure if I have said this yet this year but playing part-time in the League, working full time and trying to look after a new baby (Dylan is 11 months old) is hard work, so apologies for missing my column last week.
Before the weekend’s fixtures, there was one round of games remaining in this season’s league campaign. At the start of the year, I don’t remember too many people, myself included, predicting Pats would be battling for the league title. As the season has passed by, we seem to have gelled as a team and every time it looks like our title challenge might fade away, we surprise people and produce a great result.
Bohs at home and Fingal away are just two instances where this has been evident. Lets just hope we can do the same this Friday and keep our title challenge alive.
Before last week’s trip to the West to meet Sean Connor’s men and looking at the other fixtures on Friday, Bohs playing Fingal and Rovers playing Sligo, things were looking good. It appeared (on paper anyway) that we had the easiest game out of the teams at the top of the table and this was an ideal opportunity for us to make up some ground on Rovers whilst opening a gap from the teams below us.
Unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way and as often happens in football; just when you think things are going your way, a bad result can set you back.
From my experience of successful league campaigns, when you enter the last round of games, results are what counts and good performances come in a distant second. Looking at Friday night’s results, this couldn’t be closer to the truth and winning is everything at this stage. From the match reports, Sligo were supposed to be the better team in Tallaght but Rovers ground out a priceless one nil win.
Having beaten Galway three times already this season we were confident going into our game and we started off very well. Ryan Guy ended a slick move for us with a great header to put us one nil ahead. Things looked to be going to plan. As performances go, we passed the ball as well as we have done all season and it was our lack of clinical finishing that came back to haunt us in the second half.
If you analyse the DVD, we missed five excellent goal scoring opportunities and once that happens very often the opposition will punish you. Friday was no different; Galway hit us with a good counter attack and scored just on 70 minutes.
In the remaining minutes we had some great chances to win the game but luck just wasn’t on our side and it finished a draw. Two points dropped and back to the drawing board.
This time last year we had been beaten by Galway four times in the league and were staring relegation in face. This year we have taken ten points from a possible twelve and we are disappointed we didn’t take twelve out of twelve, what a difference a year makes. I suppose we should put things in perspective and we should be happy with how we have performed this year but the professionalism and drive in you takes over and all you want to do is win a league title.
Friday in Richmond Park will be a defining moment in where that league title will end up this season. Rovers will bring a big crowd to Inchicore and hopefully the Pats fans will be out in force to support us. The atmosphere should be great.
The game is one we are going to have to win if we want to stay in the title race. If, and it’s hard to say, Rovers win, a ten point gap would be very hard to close with seven games remaining. As I have already said, if you offered me a one nil win and we have one of our worst performances of the season, I would take your hand off.
Throughout the year, we have performed well in all the big league game and hopefully Friday will be no different. From a neutrals point a view (and Pats fans), if we were to win it would really blow the title race wide open. With it being so long since Rovers last won a league title, the pressure would be really on them.
Let’s just wait and see how it goes. I am writing this after training on Monday evening and with the pace we trained at tonight, I think we will be well up for the game.
Before the weekend’s fixtures, there was one round of games remaining in this season’s league campaign. At the start of the year, I don’t remember too many people, myself included, predicting Pats would be battling for the league title. As the season has passed by, we seem to have gelled as a team and every time it looks like our title challenge might fade away, we surprise people and produce a great result.
Bohs at home and Fingal away are just two instances where this has been evident. Lets just hope we can do the same this Friday and keep our title challenge alive.
Before last week’s trip to the West to meet Sean Connor’s men and looking at the other fixtures on Friday, Bohs playing Fingal and Rovers playing Sligo, things were looking good. It appeared (on paper anyway) that we had the easiest game out of the teams at the top of the table and this was an ideal opportunity for us to make up some ground on Rovers whilst opening a gap from the teams below us.
Unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way and as often happens in football; just when you think things are going your way, a bad result can set you back.
From my experience of successful league campaigns, when you enter the last round of games, results are what counts and good performances come in a distant second. Looking at Friday night’s results, this couldn’t be closer to the truth and winning is everything at this stage. From the match reports, Sligo were supposed to be the better team in Tallaght but Rovers ground out a priceless one nil win.
Having beaten Galway three times already this season we were confident going into our game and we started off very well. Ryan Guy ended a slick move for us with a great header to put us one nil ahead. Things looked to be going to plan. As performances go, we passed the ball as well as we have done all season and it was our lack of clinical finishing that came back to haunt us in the second half.
If you analyse the DVD, we missed five excellent goal scoring opportunities and once that happens very often the opposition will punish you. Friday was no different; Galway hit us with a good counter attack and scored just on 70 minutes.
In the remaining minutes we had some great chances to win the game but luck just wasn’t on our side and it finished a draw. Two points dropped and back to the drawing board.
This time last year we had been beaten by Galway four times in the league and were staring relegation in face. This year we have taken ten points from a possible twelve and we are disappointed we didn’t take twelve out of twelve, what a difference a year makes. I suppose we should put things in perspective and we should be happy with how we have performed this year but the professionalism and drive in you takes over and all you want to do is win a league title.
Friday in Richmond Park will be a defining moment in where that league title will end up this season. Rovers will bring a big crowd to Inchicore and hopefully the Pats fans will be out in force to support us. The atmosphere should be great.
The game is one we are going to have to win if we want to stay in the title race. If, and it’s hard to say, Rovers win, a ten point gap would be very hard to close with seven games remaining. As I have already said, if you offered me a one nil win and we have one of our worst performances of the season, I would take your hand off.
Throughout the year, we have performed well in all the big league game and hopefully Friday will be no different. From a neutrals point a view (and Pats fans), if we were to win it would really blow the title race wide open. With it being so long since Rovers last won a league title, the pressure would be really on them.
Let’s just wait and see how it goes. I am writing this after training on Monday evening and with the pace we trained at tonight, I think we will be well up for the game.
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