Stephen Bradley: 'Our aim is to catch Derry and Bray so we had to win'

Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley said the decision to move yesterday's clash with Bray Wanderers forward worked out well for after the Hoops ran out 2-0 winners at Tallaght Stadium.

The tie was originally scheduled to take place on July 7^th, which would have clashed with Rovers' participation in the first qualifying round of the Europa League.

Bradley consulted with Rovers' director of sport Stephen McPhail and came to the conclusion that they were better off playing the game before the break to avoid a fixture pile-up later on.

And his decision was quickly vindicated as goals from Brandon Miele and Gary Shaw saw the Hoops race into a 2-0 lead, and they could easily have doubled that tally in the second half.

“We spoke about it, me and Stephen, and as a player Stephen was saying the last few years he didn't like catching up on games,” Bradley said after the match.

“He didn't like having four or five games when you're finished Europe going to try and win and everyone else is picking up points around you.

“We'd rather go and play them now and meet them head on while we know we're playing well. So yeah, it looks a good decision.”

The last meeting between the sides, at the Carlisle Grounds in April, also saw Rovers take an early lead, through Darren Meenan, but a Bray blitz saw the home side run out 4-2 winners.

It was the Seagulls' first win in 18 attempts against the Hoops, a result made all the more galling by the fact former Tallaght favourite Gary McCabe bagged two of the goals in the five minutes before half time.

Bradley feels that game was a nadir of their season so far in terms of performance and, last week's defeat to Cork City aside, their defending has largely improved in the intervening weeks.

“I felt when we played them out there we were defending in ones and twos, we were too spread out. We looked like a team that had never played together, and that was the most disappointing [thing].

“Obviously we lost the game. Since then I think we've looked a much more solid team, although we've lost a game here or there.

“Tonight, they've the pace of Dylan going in behind, Aaron's quick as well, Gary plays in the pocket. He's scored ten goals or something – he's on fire this year.

“I knew they were dangerous going forward but I thought we set up well against them defensively and I thought the two centre-halves, Roberto and Webby, were different class.”

Rovers now have the opportunity to go into the summer break on a high with a victory over St Patrick's Athletic in Tallaght on Friday.

Should results elsewhere go their way, Rovers could go into the break in third place, a remarkable prospect given the Hoops' inconsistency in a season that's seen them lose eight out of 17 games.

“We said for a few weeks our aim was Derry and Bray, and in order to go and achieve that in terms of catching them, we had to go and win tonight.

“We have Pats up now on Friday and we're ready for them and to go and win the game – that's what we've to do.”

Bradley hailed the performance off the bench of striker Michael O'Connor, who replaced the injured Shaw midway through the second half and was unlucky to see his late effort hit the post.

“It's been frustrating for Mikey – he came out in Bray and got sent off and it's just been trying to get him back in the fold and get his fitness levels back up.

“The last few weeks he's featured. I believe Mikey is a very talented player but he's just going to need time to show that. He's still very young.”

Shaw has been a vital player for the Hoops this season, performing an often thankless job as the lone frontman, and Bradley expects him to be fit for Friday's clash.

“We've had a lot of games over the past few weeks and Gary's been the focal point of all our performances.

“We're hitting him with a lot of things and he's the one making things happen for us up there. A lot of his game is explosive, he's jumping for headers, he's sprinting, so with that comes a lot of energy you're going to use.”