Buckley delighted with three points

St. Patrick's Athletic bounced back from their 1-0 defeat to Bray Wanderers with an away win against Dundalk at Oriel Park on Monday evening. Sean O'Connor's second half strike gave the Inchicore side a crucial victory and, speaking to extratime.ie, his manager, Liam Buckley, declared his delight at getting the victory he felt his side deserved.

"Very pleased with the performance. I thought we passed it well, we played well, we controlled most of the game. Delighted with the result. Having said that, you're always worried, with just the one goal. They(Dundalk) had one or two chances themselves. Overall though, I'm pleased with the effort and the result."

Despite their domination in possession, the Saints only scored the one goal but Buckley wasn't at all concerned and insisted that at this stage of the season it's all about results.

"It was important we won. Bearing in mind the result the other night, it was important that we got the win on that end. I thought our performance merited a win. We passed it very well. We were in control, we played where we want to play. Of course I would have liked to have had more finishes, but listen, it's all about winning at this stage, especially going into Friday's match with Sligo."

Sean O'Connor was man of the match on the night and indeed was the match winner. Buckley was full of praise for the midfielder but played down the importance of individual performances, complimenting the team as a whole.

"Sean scored a great goal tonight. He's been great for us, but for me, it's the sum of the parts more so than the individuals. We've got a lot of good players. They are all trying extremely hard, they're trying to play the right way. Passing, moving, keeping the ball on the ground. It's been up and down at times this season but from now until the end of the season we have to pick it up and give it everything we have bearing in mind Sligo are that little bit ahead."

Sligo Rovers are up next for St. Patrick's Athletic and the 52 year-old knows that his side have a tough task ahead of them but is confident of tasting victory come 10 o'clock Friday night.

"It's a big game. We've a game in hand on them and a game or two on a few others but there's no point in having them if you don't take the points. We'll just take Friday's on its merits. Sligo won again, they're full-time, they've got more resources than anyone else in the league in that regard. From our view, you can put out eleven. We went up there early on in the season and got a draw. We missed a penalty, could've won it but could've lost it too. We'll be looking to get three points and I think we certainly can."