THE CHEST THUMPING and fist clenching was over.
The Shamrock Rovers fans began to filter out of Tallaght Stadium happily after manager Stephen Bradley had celebrated the moment with them.
Later, the players headed to a room in the ground for some late-night dinner.
Jack Byrne had delivered the corner for Dylan Watts that led to the latter heading a 92nd-minute equaliser to salvage a point against APOEL to get their Uefa Conference League campaign off to a positive start.
Down to 10 men after Neil Farrugia was sent off in the 50th minute, Rovers had to find a way to stay in the game. When their moment came, they took it.
Byrne spoke afterwards about the need for them to not start so slowly in games and give up the initiative. When asked if the nature of the draw meant it was a sign of Rovers coming good at a crucial stage of the season, his response was deadpan in the most Dublin of ways.
“Here, you wouldn’t say that after the St Pat’s game when we were beaten 3-0.”
Shelbourne visit Tallaght today (5.45pm kick-off, RTÉ 2) with a four-point lead at the top. They are five clear of Rovers and can end their five-in-a-row ambitions if they win again in D24.
“We need to back it up on Sunday and then you’ll see if you’re coming good at the right time,” Byrne said. “If we lose, we won’t win the league, so we have to win. But we’ve been in this position before, and they haven’t.”
Momentum and belief are so often spoken about as crucial, intangible differences, but just as important, Bradley insists, is a sense of calm and trusting the body of work that has been relied upon for the best part of a decade since Bradley took over in the middle of 2016.
“When you’ve been at the level they’ve been at for a number of years, you can’t operate on artificial highs, which is what I call them. You can’t operate there because they don’t last very long. These players don’t operate like that,” the manager said.
“Whether we would have won, lost or drawn [against APOEL], it’s about understanding what happened and move on quickly and prepare for the next game.. That’s why they have been the best in the country for such a long time. It’s about moving on.
“Last minute equaliser in Europe against a good team at home, you have to enjoy them, that’s why we play the game. They are special. But [Friday] we come in and get ready to try and win on Sunday and try to go and retain our title.”
Of course, it’s impossible not to draw a contrast with Shels and Damien Duff. They were involved in a brilliant, tortuous Dublin derby with St Pat’s on Monday that toyed with everyone’s sensibilities.
And Duff was questioned on RTÉ afterwards about whether they relied too much on emotion.
“Absolutely no. For three years this club has been built on standards, positivity, energy and emotion,” Duff said.
“The one thing I’ve aimed at the lads over the last three, four weeks is that they haven’t shown any emotion. Too calm. Up in the Brandywell a couple of weeks ago and there was no emotion. It’s a fine line.
“I’m happy to see all of the edge, emotion, fire. We’ve been knocked on the deck a few times over the last six weeks and it’s about getting back up again and coming out swinging. Four massive cup finals – starting on Sunday.”
Duff, of course, credits Bradley with pushing him to get on the coaching ladder and start work with Rovers’ U15s when he was in his last season as a player with the club. That’s almost a decade ago and, this weekend, he returns to Tallaght looking to take a major step to his first piece of silverware as a senior manager.
A victory would not just be Shels’ third over Rovers this season, it would be just their second in 10 games. Derry City are also serious contenders and stayed in second after Galway’s 1-1 draw with Dundalk on Friday. They cruised into the FAI Cup final on the same night, winning 2-0 at Bohemians, and Candystripes manager Ruaidhrí Higgins reckons the depth of quality around league is part of the reason why no side has managed to get well out in front.
“I don’t think so, that’s a bit of disrespect to us and what came before,” Bradly said. “You remember John’s [Caulfield] team at Cork coming here and it was nearly over by summer, Stephen’s [Kenny] team went, we were 12 ahead of Dundalk at one point and they went on a run of 18 games maybe to win it, they were the levels.
“And then we took over and we went unbeaten in one season – I know it was a curtailed season – and there were times in others where we went on runs of 12 or 13 games. So I think that’s always been the case but this year no one has managed to do that. I think that’s probably a poor reflection on the teams out in front.”
Bradley won’t be on the touchline today as he serves a one-match ban following comments about a referee. He said this week that he stands over his criticism of the official in question and that it’s his duty to stand up for his players when he feels they’ve been hard done by.
It’s an emotional game, after all.
Today – Shamrock Rovers v Shelbourne, Live RTE 2, 5.45pm.
