Stephen Bradley believes that his side’s “game management” will be a key factor in next Thursday’s second leg of their Europa League qualifier in Cyprus after the Dubliners came from behind in Tallaght to beat Apollon Limassol 2-1.
“We will go to try and win the game,” said the Dubliner when asked about the away leg. “It might be a different tempo to the game with the heat, so our game management will have to be good at different times, but we’ve shown tonight we can create chances against them.”
The Dubliners certainly did that in Tallaght where there was a clear sense of disappointment afterwards that they had not scored at least one more goal with Lee Grace and Aaron Greene each going close with second half chances both of which were created by Jack Byrne.
“They were there for the taking when it was two,” remarked the manager, “we felt we could go and try to get one more. Lee hits the crossbar and Aaron has a chance so yeah, you want to go and get another goal to help, but it wasn’t to be.”
More satisfying, though, from Bradley’s perspective had been the character shown by his side early on when they seemed to take the concession of an early goal in their stride and calmly set about battling their way back into the game then pushing on to win it.
“We’ve come back from a goal down,” he said, “and we didn’t look rattled. When they scored, it didn’t bother us. We stuck with our game plan and that’s easier said than done when you’re on the pitch against a good side, with a big crowd.
“I thought they (Apollon) had some spells in the first half and maybe one or two in the second, but nothing for long, long periods. When they did have spells I thought our shape was really good, our communication was really good and we filled gaps for each other. We knew that was going to be important as they are so good at running off the ball so your distance and timing has to be good, but it was.
“In these games your decisions have to be quicker,” he continued, “as the press is quicker. I thought our intensity caught them by surprise.”
Byrne’s performance had been a big factor too, he acknowledged, but there had been other who had made their mark, he insisted. “You say Ronan Finn there… he shows up on big nights and in big games.
“It’s no coincidence we’ve had to take him off in the last two European games, as he just empties the tank. And he drags you. When you have a captain that will drag you over the line; you can’t ask for any more than that.”
