Deans not surprised by Longford's position
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It shows you how far Longford Town have come this season when a draw against Cork City away from home felt like a defeat.
As the clock entered the final minute of normal time Cork City grabbed a dramatic equaliser to deny the Town a famous win on Leeside. Speaking to ExtraTime.ie after the game Town captain Chris Deans was disappointed with the way victory was snatched from them. “It’s the manner that we conceded it,” said the defender. “We’ve defended well for the whole 90 minutes and then to concede in the last minute is a bit of a disaster. It’s not a bad result but considering you are 1-0 up in the last minute you expect to win the game and see it through.
He went on to say, “I think it’s a credit to how we have been doing this year that we come away from Turner’s Cross and a draw feels like a defeat. It just shows you how high we set ourselves targets. It still isn’t a bad result.”
Town were dealt a blow before the game when striker Don Cowan pulled out with a groin injury and Lee Roche was called into the fray earlier than expected. Deans admitted that Roche did well but losing Cowan was a huge blow for the Town. “I think Don has done really well this year. They probably breathed a sigh of relief. He was a big loss for us. To be fair to Lee he came in and done a job. When we scored Lee was asked to do a job in the middle, he’s a centre forward and it was a bit difficult for him.”
Although missing Cowan, Town silenced the vociferous home support in the 6th minute when Austin Skelly scored a fantastic goal. His captain was full of praise for him. “I think he took it very well. Aussie has done very well for us this year. Himself and Don have been playing really well. It was a great finish from Aussie. You can’t take anything away from it, it was a great goal,” said Deans.
After their first series of games the Town now lie in third spot in the table. It’s a position few would’ve predicted but according to Deans it’s no surprise to the team or management. “I think everyone outside our group thought we wouldn’t be where we are. But within the group of players and the management we knew we had the players to be there, whether or not we could was the question. We set ourselves a target of being in touching distance of the top four after the first set of the games and then kick on from there. We know there are areas we can work on but we are up near the top. We have played everyone and we don’t fear anyone. It is a good start for us.”
So can they maintain this form and keep up with the top sides? A top half finish was the aim at the start of the season. Deans said, “From our point of view we want to take every game as it comes. We know we have to players to go on and beat teams. We just need to try and remain in contact with the teams at the top. Our aim is to keep with the top four or five coming into the last series of games.”
As the clock entered the final minute of normal time Cork City grabbed a dramatic equaliser to deny the Town a famous win on Leeside. Speaking to ExtraTime.ie after the game Town captain Chris Deans was disappointed with the way victory was snatched from them. “It’s the manner that we conceded it,” said the defender. “We’ve defended well for the whole 90 minutes and then to concede in the last minute is a bit of a disaster. It’s not a bad result but considering you are 1-0 up in the last minute you expect to win the game and see it through.
He went on to say, “I think it’s a credit to how we have been doing this year that we come away from Turner’s Cross and a draw feels like a defeat. It just shows you how high we set ourselves targets. It still isn’t a bad result.”
Town were dealt a blow before the game when striker Don Cowan pulled out with a groin injury and Lee Roche was called into the fray earlier than expected. Deans admitted that Roche did well but losing Cowan was a huge blow for the Town. “I think Don has done really well this year. They probably breathed a sigh of relief. He was a big loss for us. To be fair to Lee he came in and done a job. When we scored Lee was asked to do a job in the middle, he’s a centre forward and it was a bit difficult for him.”
Although missing Cowan, Town silenced the vociferous home support in the 6th minute when Austin Skelly scored a fantastic goal. His captain was full of praise for him. “I think he took it very well. Aussie has done very well for us this year. Himself and Don have been playing really well. It was a great finish from Aussie. You can’t take anything away from it, it was a great goal,” said Deans.
After their first series of games the Town now lie in third spot in the table. It’s a position few would’ve predicted but according to Deans it’s no surprise to the team or management. “I think everyone outside our group thought we wouldn’t be where we are. But within the group of players and the management we knew we had the players to be there, whether or not we could was the question. We set ourselves a target of being in touching distance of the top four after the first set of the games and then kick on from there. We know there are areas we can work on but we are up near the top. We have played everyone and we don’t fear anyone. It is a good start for us.”
So can they maintain this form and keep up with the top sides? A top half finish was the aim at the start of the season. Deans said, “From our point of view we want to take every game as it comes. We know we have to players to go on and beat teams. We just need to try and remain in contact with the teams at the top. Our aim is to keep with the top four or five coming into the last series of games.”
