More positives than negatives as United new boys show zip
Date Published: {J}
St. Patrick's Athletic 3
Keith Kelly
Forget the scoreline, for it is not the most important part of Friday night’s encounter in Terryland Park. United might have lost, and might be bottom of the table after the first series of games, but they are playing, and playing in the Premier Division, and judging by the attendance, the public are returning to support the club.
The night had far more positives than negatives and despite the scoreline, the season actually has a whiff of promise. However, he managed it, Sean Connor has managed to cobble together a first team of potential, despite operating on a budget that is an insult to shoe-strings everywhere in its description.
St Patrick’s Athletic came into the fixture with two tough games under their belts in the Setanta Cup. The United squad hadn’t a single training session together, never mind a competitive game, yet they more than matched Pete Mahon’s side in the opening 45 minutes and created more chances than their opponents in a highly entertaining first half.
When the sides were announced, it was a case of ‘name the player’ for United fans who were watching a side that had more new faces on one night than Joan Rivers has had in her lifetime. Six players – Gary Fleming, Shaun Kelly, Shaun Maher, Steve Feeney, Karl Moore and Joe Yoffe – made their United debut, while two more – Sean Kelly and Bobby Ryan – returned after stints elsewhere, so given the unfamiliarity between the players, a defeat was hardly a surprising outcome.
Pats manager Pete Mahon has never been afraid to call a spade for what it is, and one would imagine he dug into his side at the half-time break for the visitors were a transformed side in the second half, but still fell well short of the standard many are expecting of the Inchicore side this season.
That should reflect negatively on United, for they were up against a poor side missing the muscle of Stuart Byrne and the magic of Ryan Guy, yet Friday night was not about forming negative knee-jerk reactions about Connor’s squad, and many of the crowd of 1,512 recognised Friday night’s performance for what it was – one of effort by a bunch of players delighted to be playing football, but needing a little time to come together as a team.
Granted what went in the month leading up to the game, Connor and his players are entitled to be cut a little slack for, in reality, the season starts in two weeks’ time at home to UCD, not last Friday against Pats, and not this coming Friday away to Dundalk.
For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.