Bucko lauds Byrne's goal heroics

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Saint Patricks Athletic manager Liam Buckley told extratime.ie that he was delighted to come away from the Tallaght Stadium with a 4-0 win against Shamrock Rovers on Fiday night “I am delighted every week when we win bearing in mind that we are top of the table.


It's a great place to come and win bearing in mind the squad of players thay have. I think the sending offs had a big bearing on it this evening so we won't get too carried away with it. It's a great result that keeps us top of the table.”


Buckley was full of praise for four goal hero Conan Byrne “He is a great lad. I had him at Sporting Fingal. I couldn't speak more highly of him. He is a gentleman. He is good to work with as they all are. I think they are all excited about where we're at and how er're going. It was Conan's night tonight.


"I've no doubt Anto Flood will have his nights , Christy Fagan will have his nights and Chris Forrester. They've all been chipping in with goals so far this season so long may that continue,” he added.


Both Derek Foran and Sean O'Connor were sent off for Shamrock Rovers. Buckley feels O'Connor's red card was justified but that he did not have a clear view of Foran's red which was given after the Shamrock Rovers defender fouled Anto Flood in the area.


“For the first one the referee has given it. The bottom line is that his line of sight would have been  I'm giving a penalty. You just have to take it. For the second one he just bodychecked him out of it. He was the last man. He had to go. That's the rules. For the first one I couldn't be sure because I was so far away from where I was but for the second one he was last man so I'm sure that's why he sent him off.”


The win leaves Pats one point clear at the top of the table as the season heads towards the final stretch. Buckley believes that if his side are to come out  on top they will have to win some tough games first “If you lose a couple of games you will be second or third.


There's a lot of tough matches to come no matter who you're playing in the league at this time. There's 3 or 4 temas at the bottom looking to avoid relegation. There's one or two in the middle that might get a fourth spot or maybe get a spot in Europe. There's another few at the top end that think they can win it so we will wait and see how it goes.”