Roddy Collins overjoyed with Cup victory

Having watched his side knock cup holders Sligo Rovers out of the FAI Cup, Roddy Collins was overjoyed with the result.

Speaking to ExtraTime.ie, the Monaghan United boss expressed his elation with the character shown by his team.

“I’m delighted for the lads, but for me, I don’t have three points. But I am delighted for the lads. To win 3-1 after being 1-0 down here was a testament to our character, yet again.”

Sligo Rovers had initially taken the lead through a Mark Quigley penalty after eight minutes, but goals from Tony Griffiths, Jason Marks and a penalty from Keith Quinn sent the visitors through to the next round of the cup.

“I thought we played particularly well, we kept very, very calm, we were very concentrated and I thought we were worthy winners in the end”, Roddy continued.

The Bit o’Red knocked Monaghan out of the cup in 2011 and 2010, along with the EA Sports Cup in 2010. The cup game was Mons’ second time at The Showgrounds in 2012 and when asked if he was bored of playing in Sligo, Roddy insisted that he adores playing in the north-west.

“Nah, I love it. I love it here.”

Defender Alan Byrne was particularly impressive on the night and Roddy was full of praise for the former Shelbourne man.

“Alan is brilliant. He was man of the match in the last game and he was man of the match again tonight. He hasn’t played in eight weeks, so to do that in back-to-back games was a testament to him.

“He’s a fantastic player, and he’s a courageous lad with a big heart. It runs through the team when he plays.”

Roddy’s men are bottom of the Premier Division table having played thirteen games. They are yet to win a game at home but the former Cork City manager is adamant his side will be safe from relegation.

“Nah, I’m not a bit worried. Once we get everyone fit. We have nine senior players that would have started tonight out injured but once we get them fit we’ll have no problem. We won’t be in the bottom two.”