Devine - We showed character
Credit:
Derry City manager Declan Devine was very happy with the character that his side showed following their 1-1 draw against Shamrock Rovers at the Tallaght Stadium on Friday night.
Talking to ExtraTime.ie he said, “I think it is testimony to the character of the players that they survived a penalty, going down to 10 men and being a goal behind. They were brave enough to continue to play and pass and believe in themselves. We are not in the habit of celebrating a point but we are happy coming away tonight the way things worked out.”
Patrick McEleney was sent off in the 70th minute. The first yellow was for dissent and the second was for diving. Devine did not agree with the first booking.
“I will assess it on Monday when I see it again but the first yellow is very harsh. I asked Patrick (McEleney) what he said. I asked the referee what he said. They both said the same thing. It was a very harsh first yellow. There was no bad language or questioning the referees decision. It was a simple comment and it was a very harsh first yellow for me.”
Regarding the second yellow Devine stated, “The boy said he was caught. My initial reaction was that it was a bit of a dive. Sometimes you get them sometimes you don't.”
Gerard Doherty saved a 22nd minute penalty from Billy Dennehy and Devine was full of praise for the Derry born goalkeeper.
“Gerard Doherty has been outstanding for this club since he signed. In my opinion he should be an international goalkeeper. I am hoping that opportunity will still arise for him. He works hard on a daily basis and he kept his team in the game tonight with a terrific save from the penalty and a terrific save from Gary Twigg as well.”
The Candystripes manager is hoping that his side can improve on a mixed start to the season but he did highlight that Derry have a number of injuries at the moment.
“We haven't done as well as we should have against teams we should beat but I can't question the effort and commitment the players are putting in. I feel we will get better and when we get players fit we will continue to play the way we play. I feel we can strengthen in the break.
"We haven't been able to train this week because we haven't had enough players to train. Mark Farren has done himself more damage because he has played injured tonight. Tonight we had seven players missing” concluded Devine.
