| Happy with the result but not the performance |
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| Monday, 28 August 2006 | |
 Targets are important to Sean Connor, so is performance. Happy to reach the cup quarter final, but unhappy with the display. As for Darren Mansaram? He’s well on his way to meet his targets. Both men speak to www.sligorovers.com.There really is something about the cup. It brings out the best in everyone at this club. If last weeks victory versus Bray was slightly dull, well last Saturday certainly made up for it. Not the best game again for the spectator but with the tension a close cup-tie brings to the Showgrounds the final whistle was greeted with the loudest cheer at the Showgrounds all season. Sean Connor was in a talkative mood after the game and he gave this reaction to Rovers booking their place in the FAI cup quarter finals. Foot off the pedal "It was a game spoilt by 10 minutes of...not madness, by 10 minutes of taking our foot off the pedal. We went direct and got sucked into their sort of game instead of passing it on the ground because when we did that we were far superior. I was disappointed with them and that is the first time I've been disappointed with them in a while. Having said that, with cup football the result is the most important thing and getting into the next round and we are there" To be fair to Bray they put up a much stronger challenge this week and the manager was full of praise for his goalkeeper John O' Hara' display. However he was not happy with the state of the pitch "John O' Hara was magnificent throughout because a lot of shots in the 1st half didn’t look that dangerous but they were. His handling was fantastic and he kept us in the game in the 1st half and its 1-0 and even when it was 2-0 he made a couple of decent saves" Penalty Truthfully Rovers should have had a more comfortable lead but once again Keith Foy failed to convert a penalty. Connor had this to say on it "You've got to be very brave to step up and take them. But I felt that after Keith missed that penalty it affected him the rest of the game. You have to be man enough that if you miss it you got to keep playing and not let if affect your game and tonight was the first time it did affect his game. He strikes a wonderful ball and practices them every day, I think he just hit it at a perfect height for the keeper and he made a good save" Connor was then asked would it be Foy taking the next penalty. "I don’t know, there are one or two players who will be chomping at the bit to take a penalty so we will have to wait and see" Rovers started the game with only one recognised striker up front, leading scorer Darren Manseram. Connor was very open about how it worked out 4-4-2 "We attempted to play 4-3-3,they went and matched us straight away which really nullified what we thought they would do. As soon as we went 4-4-2 we got to grips with the game. In a 4-4-2 system I'll take us against any team in the league, I think we're as good as anybody." "I never felt panicked or felt we were under-threat in the game. They only ever resorted to long balls and when your 2-0 you deal with it, it is fine but when its 2-1 it can just take an awkward bounce, especially on a greasy surface. “I never thought we were going to lose the game; we just had to work a bit harder. With cup football the result is the most important thing, you just want to be in the draw for the next round. Sligo Rovers are in, Bray are out. It was difficult because we played them last week and we football-ed them off the park. When we played it and passed it we looked a class above" Striking riches The Man of the Match went to striker Darren Manseram who once again proved he is one of the best strikers in the league with a fantastic performance. Sean had this to say about his display "It was a fantastic finish (for his goal). For 15 minutes of the 2nd half I thought Manseram turned them ragged and was unlucky on 2 or 3 occasions. He worked really, really hard for his goal. Darren Manseram can be as good as he wants to be, I’ve got to keep working at him, keep convincing him he is a good player. When he is in the mood, the twisting and turning he's a nightmare to mark against." Rovers have now healthy competition for a starting role in attack and the return of Paul Mc Tiernan intensifies that. Sean had this to say on the return of the prolific striker "Paul has come back in and had a couple of half chances, his problem now is match fitness, he is not fit enough to start but until he does start he is not going to get that fitness. So we have to try and resolve that and work on his fitness." Although it was a major achievement qualifying for the last 8 of the cup for the 2nd season running the Belfast native had a clear message for his players, they must keep performing "All this does is keep our season alive and this puts pressure on the players now and if they want to play in the quarter-final of the cup they need to keep performing. They need to keep performing week in, week out, because the true reflection of a team is where you finish over the 33 games in a season. “Cup football is one off football and I've said it, in one off situation we are good enough to beat anybody. But I want to look at us over a year, over a season. I want to look at consistency. I want to look at clean sheets. I want to look at the number of goals scored. We are conceding far too many goals and tonight was another example of a sloppy goal conceded. We should have had a clean sheet." LONGFORD Next up for Rovers is a tricky trip to in-form Longford. A large following is likely to follow Rovers there and Connor knows what they must do "We have got to go Longford, we have to be professional and we have to make sure we do not get beaten. Any time we are playing in the league we want to win our home matches and make sure we do not get beaten away from home. Longford is going to be very difficult because they have had a bit of form in the league . ”The only thing is they have a replay now so they have an extra game but we have all week to prepare. There are people in there now (dressing room) who have to stay on their toes because we are beginning to get a bit of competition. The team is getting a wee bit harder to pick now. McTiernan is back, Faz came back today, Harpel can play up front and Cash is available again. I am delighted we are still in the cup and I am delighted there is plenty of competition because I want to finish in the top 4 if we can." Sean saved his final words for the crowd and a message to the teams still left in the FAI Cup "The crowd were fantastic. I mentioned it in my programme notes that there is something about cup football that gets this place going. I would love it to be like that every week. I think if it’s like that every week it gives us that extra edge and teams don't like coming here when there is that sort of crowd. The crowd has played their part; the team has played their part. We’re in the next round. Bring it on."  FAI Carlsburg Cup Man of the Match Darren Manseram was delighted to be through to get the goal that put Rovers in the next round of the cup. He gave his view on the goal"I saw the ball come to Conor [O'Grady] on the edge of the box and I thought I was in a great position for a quick ball into feet, he played one with great pace and I rolled the man and I was fortunate enough to get a toe on it and I think it has just gone underneath the keeper" That was Manseram's 7th goal of the season and he has become a favourite with the Rovers fans. He added "The gaffer set me a target and he thinks I can get double figures. I don't think I have ever got double figures when play professional football so it would be a big achievement in my career. If the goals help Sligo progress in the cup and move up the league it is great. The league is our bread and butter but the cup we have a realistic possibility of winning. Every team in the quarter-finals will think they can win it and we are no different. On our day I think we can beat and match any team left in the cup. The crowd were great and since I have been here they have gotten behind me so the crowd have been a bonus." Longford vs Sligo Rovers Sunday September 3rd Flancare Park By Rory Houston |
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