Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley said that the 1-1 draw against Dundalk was a fair result, even though there were parts of the game where he felt his side were sloppy as they began their quest to win a fifth SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division title on the trot.
Substitute Aaron Greene rescued a point for the Hoops after Jamie Gullan had put Stephen O'Donnell's side in front in the first half. Indeed, Greene's leveller came shortly after Ryan O'Kane had a chance to put Dundalk 2-0 up; his header hit the inside of the post.
Reflecting on the Tallaght Stadium contest afterwards, the Hoops boss was happy to take the point, with Bradley telling RTÉ Sport: "They hit the post, but we had two or three really good chances to win the game. I'm sure they will look at the one that hit the post so I think a point was a fair result.
"It's the first game and the pitch was just okay. There were patches we were good and patches we were sloppy. We'll take the point and move on."
Bradley also had news on Neil Farrugia, who went off in the first half after what looked like a broken collar bone.
"Thankfully it's not collar bone so he should be okay," he added.
"I'm just hearing it was dislocated; they've relocated it back when he was in the hospital so he should get out tonight.
"The stoppage because of his injury took the momentum out of the game; we were really playing well at that stage and then it was a pretty even game until half-time. In the second half we were better but it definitely took the momentum out of things."
A similar view on the outcome was echoed by Bradley's counterpart.
"We were happy [with the draw], coming in with a lot of unknowns," said Dundalk manager Stephen O'Donnell, when he spoke to RTÉ Sport.
"We played well in patches but got bogged down in the second half. We are trying to connect and gel but the lads dug in brilliantly and I was delighted with their application. I thought we looked a fit team, an organised team and lads were digging in for each other. That's all you can ask for really.
"It's not often people come here and come away with a point. It's a building block but ultimately we want to get to a place where we are disappointed, either coming here or playing here, to get a point."
Dundalk started with five debutants from their 11 close-season signings and O'Donnell was full of praise for one of those - Gullan - who scored a fantastic goal on his debut.
"I thought it was a genuine chance when the free-kick was awarded; he's exceptional at free-kicks. It was brilliant for him in what was a little bit of a different role for him tonight from the outset.
"His work-rate and application was brilliant and great for him to get on the scoresheet on his debut."
