Cooke happy with Drogs progress
Credit:
Mick Cooke was his usual down to earth self on Monday night having
seen his Drogheda United side register their first competitive win of
the 2011 season against Bray Wanderers in the first round of the EA
Sports Cup. He spoke to ExtraTime.ie shortly after the game and, while he
was clearly pleased to have progressed to the next round, he was keen
to focus on the upcoming league game against Shamrock Rovers on Friday
evening.
“It was a good result and the thing is we’re in the next round of the Cup. We’re improving every week and no-one has really given us a hiding as of yet. Last Friday was probably our worst performance of the four league games so far and to give so many new players a game tonight and to come away with a win is just great for everybody involved in the club.
One of the highlights of Drogheda’s win was the solid defending that earned the club their first clean sheet of the new season with Robert Kovascevics, a player who had appeared in pre-season for both Cork City and Bohemians, standing out in central defence.
“I was very impressed with him”, said Cooke, “and it was his first time to play with Victor (Ekanem). In fact for the back five, including the ‘keeper, it was their first time to play together this season so to keep a clean sheet and then go and win the game is a great bonus for the club. I gave eleven fellas a game tonight and it gives me a nice headache for the game on Friday to pick a team to play Shamrock Rovers.”
Drogheda’s winning goal on the night came from Sean Skelly, brother of Longford Town’s Austin, and with goals in short supply at Hunky Dory Park the Drogheda manager was well aware of the morale boost that comes with hitting the back of the net.
“It’s a good boost for him, he’s trained very hard as most of the boys have in the eleven that started. I’m only here three weeks and none of them have missed the training sessions. So it’s great to see them all getting a game and obviously the victory will give us more confidence going into Friday’s game.”
Another potential ace up the sleeve of Drogheda’s new boss is young forward Darragh Hanaphy, a player of immense promise who developed at Monaghan United under Cooke. More commonly employed at Monaghan in tandem with a strike partner, Hanaphy led the line alone on Monday night, a role that he may have to fill more frequently at Drogheda.
“Darragh will always give you a tremendous work-rate. I had him last year at Monaghan and his goals per appearance are actually very high and it’s another step up the ladder for him playing Premier Division football. I thought he acquitted himself very well tonight. He’ll now compete with Dinny Corcoran and David Freeman, they’re the three strikers I have at the club and it’s up to them, whoever works the hardest between now and Friday will be selected to play on Friday night.”
“It was a good result and the thing is we’re in the next round of the Cup. We’re improving every week and no-one has really given us a hiding as of yet. Last Friday was probably our worst performance of the four league games so far and to give so many new players a game tonight and to come away with a win is just great for everybody involved in the club.
One of the highlights of Drogheda’s win was the solid defending that earned the club their first clean sheet of the new season with Robert Kovascevics, a player who had appeared in pre-season for both Cork City and Bohemians, standing out in central defence.
“I was very impressed with him”, said Cooke, “and it was his first time to play with Victor (Ekanem). In fact for the back five, including the ‘keeper, it was their first time to play together this season so to keep a clean sheet and then go and win the game is a great bonus for the club. I gave eleven fellas a game tonight and it gives me a nice headache for the game on Friday to pick a team to play Shamrock Rovers.”
Drogheda’s winning goal on the night came from Sean Skelly, brother of Longford Town’s Austin, and with goals in short supply at Hunky Dory Park the Drogheda manager was well aware of the morale boost that comes with hitting the back of the net.
“It’s a good boost for him, he’s trained very hard as most of the boys have in the eleven that started. I’m only here three weeks and none of them have missed the training sessions. So it’s great to see them all getting a game and obviously the victory will give us more confidence going into Friday’s game.”
Another potential ace up the sleeve of Drogheda’s new boss is young forward Darragh Hanaphy, a player of immense promise who developed at Monaghan United under Cooke. More commonly employed at Monaghan in tandem with a strike partner, Hanaphy led the line alone on Monday night, a role that he may have to fill more frequently at Drogheda.
“Darragh will always give you a tremendous work-rate. I had him last year at Monaghan and his goals per appearance are actually very high and it’s another step up the ladder for him playing Premier Division football. I thought he acquitted himself very well tonight. He’ll now compete with Dinny Corcoran and David Freeman, they’re the three strikers I have at the club and it’s up to them, whoever works the hardest between now and Friday will be selected to play on Friday night.”
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