No novelty factor for Mathews

“We’re not here to enjoy the novelty, we’re here to win games” is the message from Shels manager Alan Mathews. His side kept up their fine start to the season with a 2-0 win against Bohemians in Dalymount Park on Friday.

Goals from Paddy Kavanagh and Philly Hughes gave Shels a big derby win, but the Reds didn’t have it all their own way. “We didn’t play particularly well in the first half,” Mathews admitted, “but we took the lead, then we were able to improve our performance significantly in the second half.”

Kavanagh in particular stood out in attack for Shels, with the former Rovers man playing in a more central role than he is used to. “Paddy’s been great and his contribution to the team was excellent tonight, as every player’s was.

“As the game wore on he became more involved in the play. We tried to play higher up the pitch in the second half and he was involved in the second goal. When you have players who can get you something out of nothing it’s a great help, and Paddy’s one of those players. “

The newly-promoted side have performed well in their first two matches against Sligo Rovers and Bohemians, but now face a daunting run of games with Derry City, Shamrock Rovers and St Pat’s all on the near horizon. But Mathews isn’t too concerned about the stature of his opponents, saying that just playing these sides is an achievement for Shels.

“Our objective last year was to get into the premier and you want to be playing Rovers, Bohs, Sligo and Derry,” he said. “You want to be playing the top sides in the country. It’s a great challenge for us to see how we can adapt to this league. There’s no lead-in period, you’re straight into it.”

Friday night saw Glen Cronin, who recently arrived from Bohs, captain Shels for the first time in the absence of regular captain David Cassidy. Mathews says that Cronin was a logical choice for the captaincy: “Glen is a natural leader, he plays a pivotal role for us so I felt it was appropriate to give him the armband this evening.”

Cassidy was just one of a number of absentees through injury for Shels on Friday, but those players are on the way back. “He [Cassidy] was about 80% fit, we weren’t going to risk him,” Mathews said. Kevin Dawson should also be available for selection next week for the home match against Derry City.