Russell relief at registering victory
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If Martin Russell had been wondering about where his young UCD team we
going to get their goals from this season then Robbie Benson’s
cracking strike against Shamrock Rovers last weekend might have given
him the beginnings of an answer. And the ex Athlone Town man popped up
again in the eighth minute of UCD’s home tie against Sligo on Friday
night, to set the Students on the way to a much needed win.
“It’s a great result for us”, said Russell. “The way I saw the first half I think we defended well but we also passed the ball well. We stopping passing as well in the second half [but] defended decent enough, and when we had to we rode our luck. But it’s hard to ask any more from the group of players that we have. They’ve given everything tonight against a very good Sligo team so we’ve got to be happy with the three points.”
Indeed, it was UCD’s first win since the opening night of the season when they ran out 1-0 winners over a Drogheda United side who have yet to register a league win themselves two months later. Russell’s mood will have been further improved by the fact that UCD ended a sequence of failing to hit the net at the Belfield Bowl, finishing score-less in their three previous attempts. But it was the quality of his sides goals that pleased him as much as the result itself.
‘[They were] good goals as well”, he added. “The delivery from the corner kick by Dean Marshall and Robbie Benson attacking [it]. Robbie’s decent in the air, and then Rusky (Graham Rusk) finishing, as he can do, into the bottom corner.”
And there was plainly an element of relief for the UCD boss that the pitch had at last offered up a decent surface for his team to play on.
“It’s improving. On the recent pitches that we’ve played on, in Tallaght, I think we showed glimpses of what we can do, and the same at Pats. And again tonight. What we’re looking for is consistency and we know with young players that it may not always be there. But we’ll enjoy tonight and then quickly focus on getting ourselves sorted to put in a good performance against Drogheda on Monday. You can’t pick and choose where you pick your points up. So we’re grateful for tonight but we know we’ll have a big game on our hands on Monday”.
“It’s a great result for us”, said Russell. “The way I saw the first half I think we defended well but we also passed the ball well. We stopping passing as well in the second half [but] defended decent enough, and when we had to we rode our luck. But it’s hard to ask any more from the group of players that we have. They’ve given everything tonight against a very good Sligo team so we’ve got to be happy with the three points.”
Indeed, it was UCD’s first win since the opening night of the season when they ran out 1-0 winners over a Drogheda United side who have yet to register a league win themselves two months later. Russell’s mood will have been further improved by the fact that UCD ended a sequence of failing to hit the net at the Belfield Bowl, finishing score-less in their three previous attempts. But it was the quality of his sides goals that pleased him as much as the result itself.
‘[They were] good goals as well”, he added. “The delivery from the corner kick by Dean Marshall and Robbie Benson attacking [it]. Robbie’s decent in the air, and then Rusky (Graham Rusk) finishing, as he can do, into the bottom corner.”
And there was plainly an element of relief for the UCD boss that the pitch had at last offered up a decent surface for his team to play on.
“It’s improving. On the recent pitches that we’ve played on, in Tallaght, I think we showed glimpses of what we can do, and the same at Pats. And again tonight. What we’re looking for is consistency and we know with young players that it may not always be there. But we’ll enjoy tonight and then quickly focus on getting ourselves sorted to put in a good performance against Drogheda on Monday. You can’t pick and choose where you pick your points up. So we’re grateful for tonight but we know we’ll have a big game on our hands on Monday”.
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