After the 3-1 defeat to League 1 Raith Rovers in the first round of the Irn-Bru Cup, Development squad manager Paul Sheerin gave us his reaction:
THE MATCH
“I actually thought we started the game really well and our response to the first goal was pretty good. We kept doing what we were doing and passing the ball relatively well, but the second and third goals absolutely kill us in terms of how quick we lose them. We didn’t find our way again and it’s passed before we realised- we were hit with a couple of sucker punches. It’s frustrating from that point of view. Second half it was making sure we didn’t concede more and that it didn’t become embarrassing which makes a change for me because I normally go and chase it, but we had to really because their quality would have really hurt us.
“We shuffled the shape a wee bit and it seemed to suit us a bit better in terms of getting on the ball, being a wee bit more rigid, not as easy to get through and break down. From that aspect the second half was really pleasing, and it was a great strike from Bruce. Even then we had a go with Raith scrambling in terms of their shape which is pleasing that we got to that stage, but the damage was obviously done in the first 45 minutes.”
LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCE
“You could argue- do we need to play in the areas of the pitch where the bodies are steaming in- so it’s again about learning that it’s not the time to be playing a straight pass down Dean’s throat with a lot of pressure on him. It was probably a case of just lumping it which we don’t like to encourage, but it’s recognising that side of the game. I thought for a spell when we lost the second goal we lost our way altogether in terms of recognising that. Senior players are pretty unforgiving, and they showed that, not for all of the first 45, but certainly the last 25 minutes of the first half were a long 25 minutes for us.”
“In terms of development unfortunately we have to pick on all the negatives and try to get them right because if we don’t do that we’re doing them a disservice and they have to learn from that. That’s the biggest factor and, yes, there’s plenty positives- we’re delighted with the second half. Unfortunately, we have to pick the bones out of the negatives to get them better and to make them more experienced in games like that. We’ll look at it and hopefully they’ll learn because they need to learn, and I do think it was a lesson for certainly the last 25 minutes of that first half.”
“We will hopefully help them going forward for the next time we’re up against senior opposition.”
POSITIVES TO TAKE
“It was a brilliant goal from Bruce Anderson, who is performing brilliantly at the minute and I’m pleased for him to get his goal. It gave us plenty of encouragement for the second half and after that, Dean Campbell and David Dangana got in each other’s way for a chance so who knows if we score then. It was always just a case of making sure it stayed at three and see what happens. It could have made it a wee bit more interesting and it’s nice we do finish the game strongly because they were scrambling a bit with their shape and changing to make sure they don’t concede. That was the positive side to our second half.”
“It was a brilliant goal from Bruce Anderson, who is performing brilliantly at the minute and I’m pleased for him to get his goal. It gave us plenty of encouragement for the second half and after that, Dean Campbell and David Dangana got in each other’s way for a chance so who knows if we score then. It was always just a case of making sure it stayed at three and see what happens. It could have made it a wee bit more interesting and it’s nice we do finish the game strongly because they were scrambling a bit with their shape and changing to make sure they don’t concede. That was the positive side to our second half.”
