Mathews - Draw was a fair result
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Shelbourne manager Alan Mathews was not overly impressed with his side's display in their top of the table clash against Cork on Friday night but did take the opposition into consideration when reviewing his team's performance.“We didn't play particularly well. It was two sides at the top end of the table trying their best to get out of it. There was a lot at stake this evening. Nothing was won or lost. We stay on top with 23 points which is a good haul and we will try and move forward in the next series of games. It's gonna be tough. There's a lot of decent sides in this division.”
Mathews also felt that his team should have defended Graham Cummins' goal better but was impressed with the character that Shels displayed to get back into the match. In reference to City's goal Mathews stated “Could we have defended it better? Yes. You can rewind two or three phases beforehand. We should have done better to retain possession. We should have stopped the cross coming in but that's football. Guys make decisions on the spot. The ball probably fell awkwardly to Lorcan (Fitzgerald), he skewed it up in the air and on another night it would have gone over the bar for a corner. Yes you'd be disappointed but not to the extent where you'd be making any public admonishments to the lads.”
However Mathews has no doubt about his team's character. “I'd never criticise the lads for lack of effort. We showed very good attitude and spirit to get the equaliser. When you're getting beaten you need to show a bit of character and resolve to come back which we did. Overall I think a draw is a fair result.”
Influential centre half Stephen Paisley once again missed out for the Reds through injury and Mathews did not rule out dipping into the transfer market to add more cover. “Stephen is getting treatment on a daily basis. It's gonna be a couple of weeks really but we are not forcing him back. I thought Andy Boyle and Ian Ryan done really well against two good strikers. We've got good cover there and decent options but we would like to make some signings to try and enhance the squad.”
Mathews also felt that his team should have defended Graham Cummins' goal better but was impressed with the character that Shels displayed to get back into the match. In reference to City's goal Mathews stated “Could we have defended it better? Yes. You can rewind two or three phases beforehand. We should have done better to retain possession. We should have stopped the cross coming in but that's football. Guys make decisions on the spot. The ball probably fell awkwardly to Lorcan (Fitzgerald), he skewed it up in the air and on another night it would have gone over the bar for a corner. Yes you'd be disappointed but not to the extent where you'd be making any public admonishments to the lads.”
However Mathews has no doubt about his team's character. “I'd never criticise the lads for lack of effort. We showed very good attitude and spirit to get the equaliser. When you're getting beaten you need to show a bit of character and resolve to come back which we did. Overall I think a draw is a fair result.”
Influential centre half Stephen Paisley once again missed out for the Reds through injury and Mathews did not rule out dipping into the transfer market to add more cover. “Stephen is getting treatment on a daily basis. It's gonna be a couple of weeks really but we are not forcing him back. I thought Andy Boyle and Ian Ryan done really well against two good strikers. We've got good cover there and decent options but we would like to make some signings to try and enhance the squad.”
