STEPHN BRADLEY WATCHED his side concede a 95th-minute goal to St Patrick’s Athletic last night, a 2-1 defeat that left them 12 points off Premier Division leaders Shelbourne.
So there was only one question worth asking.
Is the gap to the top now too big?
“I don’t know. We’ll do what we do. Come November if it’s enough, it’s enough, if it’s not, it’s not. We’ll see where we lie. If we keep doing our stuff, let’s see where it takes us,” he said.
“It’s a big gap, yeah. Twelve points is 12 points. We are where we are. We’ve got to take the break now, try and refocus and come back ready to fight and ready to go.
Shamrock Rovers lie third in this mid-season break.
They are also 10 adrift of Derry City, although the Hoops have two games in hand on the Candystripes, who also produced a dramatic late winner away to Bohemians last night.
Shels may have played one more than Rovers but it will take a dramatic collapse from the top two allied with a relentless run of form that Bradley’s side just haven’t shown any indication of producing.
Injury issues continue – although Gary O’Neill will be back after the break all going well – with Bradley confirming that Lee Grace could face an extended period out wit a recurrence of his hamstring problem.
Goalkeeper Leon Pohls, whose position has come under scrutiny due to some high-profile errors, also picked up a knock in the days before the Pat’s defeat.
That meant Bradley had to turn to the experienced Lee Steacy, a winter signing from First Division Cobh Ramblers, and while he made one stunning save from Romal Palmer in the first half, Bradley lamented the manner in which his side failed to quell the home side’s pressure.
Barely 60 seconds after Pat’s stole possession in the middle of the park and had the ball in the net through Ruairi Keating, only for the offside flag to be raised, Rovers then invited trouble with how they
“We haven’t managed the game, that’s the most disappointing bit. Goals are the goals. They come as a result of that,” Bradley said.
“It’s about managing the game, key moments. We’re an experienced group. Look at the starting XI, really good, a team that have been together a long time. A team that have won things. And you don’t win things without having know how and being able to manage games.
“We didn’t do that [last night]. There were key moments in the second half on the pitch where you feel how it’s turning, and you manage that five or 10 minutes.
“We just got away with one,” Bradley said in reference to the offside goal. “And then we decided to play short and conceded 30 seconds after, which is really naïve from our point of view.
“We invited the press in silly areas, made really naive decisions and it’s cost us the game.
“We didn’t get a feel for what was happening in the game at that time, didn’t manage it and lose the game as a result.
“You can say the touch [from Steacy] is obviously a part of it but it was the decision before that to sense where the game was at in that moment in time. Experience. Get together and get up the pitch. It’s basics.
“Lee is an experienced keeper, he’s played in the league a long time. He made a brilliant save in the first half. On that one, there’s no need to play. It ends up back at your feet and we get caught.”
That has been the story of a haphazard season for Rovers so far.
If Bradley can somehow inspire a turnaround in the second half of the campaign, while also negotiating Europe and the FAI Cup, then a fifth title in a row will be his finest achievement yet.
