Missed chances disappoint Mahon
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Extratime caught up with St Patrick’s Athletic manager Pete Mahon
after his side had suffered a 2-0 reverse away to Shamrock Rovers last
Friday night.
The result left Mahon’s team five points behind the reigning champions with only three matches played in the 2011 league season. We may still be in the very early stages of the campaign but we wondered if the Hoops ominous run of results to date might soon render matches against Michael O’Neill’s men irrelevant.
“I certainly hope not”, said Mahon. “Just for the betterment of the league it would be good if they were beaten a couple of times. They have a very strong squad of players here and unless they’re beaten soon the rest of us could be in trouble. Because we’ll be beating one another and they’ll carry on winning. But maybe over the course of the season they’ll have a blip as well and it’ll be up to the rest of us then to be in a position to challenge them.
In terms of Friday night’s game Mahon felt that his side had, perhaps, not done themselves justice, coming away with nothing from a game that they dominated at certain points.
“I thought we were the better team in the second half. I think over the course of the game the only real save our goalkeeper made was the penalty. We had lots of chances, didn’t take them, and got punished at the end with a goal from a set piece. So from that perspective I’m very disappointed. But that’s football, you have to take it on the chin and move on.”
While St Pats have had an erratic start to the new campaign they have at least managed to blood a few promising young players. Jordan Keegan and Sean Stewart are two who look capable of making the step up to Premier Division football, but that is a silver lining that Mahon acknowledges does not offer an immediate solution.
“We have some good young players but we’re trying to win matches too and it’s hard to get them on the pitch at times. But, you know, we’re happy enough with the way things are going. Obviously it would be better if we were winning matches but we’ll just carry on, keep working hard and hopefully that will come right for us eventually.”
The result left Mahon’s team five points behind the reigning champions with only three matches played in the 2011 league season. We may still be in the very early stages of the campaign but we wondered if the Hoops ominous run of results to date might soon render matches against Michael O’Neill’s men irrelevant.
“I certainly hope not”, said Mahon. “Just for the betterment of the league it would be good if they were beaten a couple of times. They have a very strong squad of players here and unless they’re beaten soon the rest of us could be in trouble. Because we’ll be beating one another and they’ll carry on winning. But maybe over the course of the season they’ll have a blip as well and it’ll be up to the rest of us then to be in a position to challenge them.
In terms of Friday night’s game Mahon felt that his side had, perhaps, not done themselves justice, coming away with nothing from a game that they dominated at certain points.
“I thought we were the better team in the second half. I think over the course of the game the only real save our goalkeeper made was the penalty. We had lots of chances, didn’t take them, and got punished at the end with a goal from a set piece. So from that perspective I’m very disappointed. But that’s football, you have to take it on the chin and move on.”
While St Pats have had an erratic start to the new campaign they have at least managed to blood a few promising young players. Jordan Keegan and Sean Stewart are two who look capable of making the step up to Premier Division football, but that is a silver lining that Mahon acknowledges does not offer an immediate solution.
“We have some good young players but we’re trying to win matches too and it’s hard to get them on the pitch at times. But, you know, we’re happy enough with the way things are going. Obviously it would be better if we were winning matches but we’ll just carry on, keep working hard and hopefully that will come right for us eventually.”
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