Liam Buckley has defended his decision to play stand-in centre-half Killian Brennan in St Patrick’s Athletic’s loss to Cork City, despite having two regular defenders in the squad.
A point would have all but wrapped up a Europa League place for the Saints but first-half goals from Steven Beattie and Danny Morrissey saw the Leesiders claim their first win since a 3-1 victory over the same opponents at the end of August.
Sean Hoare and Jason McGuinness both started on the bench and Buckley opted to keep Brennan, man of the match in the win over Drogheda United last Friday, in central defence.
“They played particularly well on Friday. I know the scoreline was only 2-1, [but] we still won the game,” Buckley told RTÉ Sport after the 2-1 defeat.
“Killian Brennan was man of the match last Friday night, he played centre-back, he plays it out well. I just thought we’d keep the same momentum going into tonight.
“In fairness, we’ve outplayed Cork, certainly in the second half. We’ve had the bulk of possession, we’ve had the bulk of opportunities, we just needed a bit of luck around the goal.
“We certainly deserved something out of the game, it wasn’t to be.”
The Saints host relegation-threatened Sligo Rovers on Friday night and Buckley said he was eager to finish the job and secure fourth place in the Premier Division.
“We’ve got two games left, [fifth-place] Bohs have a couple of games left. Once it’s not done, we’ve got to make sure we apply ourselves on Friday,” he said.
Cork boss John Caulfield was delighted to see his side get back to winning ways.
“We’re absolutely thrilled; it was back to basics for us,” he said.
“We were very disappointed in front of our crowd on Friday.
“I asked the lads to give an honest, committed performance, lots of heart and guts. We knew it was going to be difficult. We were plagued with suspensions and injuries, fellows coming off, some players carrying knocks.
“We dug in, we got two goals, [it was] a bit of an avalanche in the second half, a lot of tired bodies but we hung on. It’s a fantastic three points for us."
Having seen their title hopes crumble over the last month, Caulfield is now focussing on their FAI Cup final against champions Dundalk on 8 November at the Aviva Stadium.
“I asked the lads to give an honest, committed performance, lots of heart and guts"
He is concerned about the fitness of striker Danny Morrissey, who was substituted after scoring. He was also taken off immediately after scoring the winner in the semi-final win over Bray Wanderers.
He said: “He has this ongoing problem with his hamstring. It is frustrating but you can see what he brings to our team. He scores goals, so he’s out for Friday night.
“I’d still be hoping he has a bit of time, it’s not a tear so it gives him an opportunity but it is a bit of a concern because he gets goals for us, we need that.”
