O’Brien’s Reds return to Tolka looking to build on Bank Holiday response | OneFootball

Shelbourne return to Tolka Park tomorrow night to face Sligo Rovers in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division, looking to build on a positive May Bank Holiday weekend that saw the Reds take four points from two difficult away fixtures. (Live on LOITV, 7:45pm)

Joey O’Brien’s side beat Dundalk 2-1 at Oriel Park last Friday night before drawing 2-2 with Bohemian FC at Dalymount Park on Monday evening.

It was a strong response from Shels after the previous defeat to Drogheda United, and while O’Brien was pleased with the return, he felt there was still more in the weekend for his side.

Speaking to ShelsTV after training at the AUL earlier today, O’Brien said: “It’s been a good week’s training. When you have three games in a week, it’s about rest, recovery and getting moments on the pitch when you can. We played Friday and Monday, got back in on Tuesday, and we’ve been building from there.”

On the impact of taking four points from Dundalk and Bohs, O’Brien said the results were important, but not a surprise to those inside the group.

“It was a great weekend, but I said it before the games, we have serious talent here. People were talking about us going to hard places, but we’re a good team with good players.

“We were disappointed not to get six points out of six. You saw it late on against Bohs, we had a chance to get the third goal and make it 3-1. But it’s in the past now.”

The win in a testy affair at Oriel Park showed plenty of character from the Reds, with Shels taking control before having to withstand late pressure from the home side.

O’Brien said: “The fire in the belly, I never doubted it. We were 2-0 up and fairly comfortable, and then again we made it stressful for ourselves and the fans by giving them a penalty. But the attitude and the fight were there.”

The Shels boss also pointed to the growing strength of the squad, with players returning from injury and others making an impact from the bench across the Bank Holiday weekend.

“Momentum is a big thing in football, hard to build, easy to lose. Those results last week give everyone a lift and it’s well timed because you put that with lads coming back into the team from injury, and players impacting games off the bench in Dundalk and against Bohs, that’s important for us.

“The injured lads are stepping up their training in the background as well, so over the next few weeks we’ll start seeing more of them on the pitch and on the bench.”

The focus now turns to Tolka Park, where Shelbourne will be looking to improve their home form and turn recent positive performances into another important result.

O’Brien said: “We know where we are.  There is no getting away from it. Our home form has been really disappointing, but you have to look forward to the next one in front of you.

“Me personally, I believe in the quality and ability of the players we have. In the games we’ve lost, there has been a lot of dominance. We’ve shown our identity in those games, but mistakes and not being good enough at set plays have hurt us.”

Sligo Rovers arrive in Dublin in good form, having lost just once in their last six games. O’Brien expects another tight contest against a well organised side.

“It’s going to be a difficult game. Sligo are in a nice run of form. John is an experienced manager, he’s been around a long time, and they’re going to make it a real difficult game.

“When you look at our results with them, they’re always tight games. There are very few blowouts. They’re a well coached team and there are no bad teams in this league. Sligo lost a few games in a row, then go and win three on the bounce. It’s a tight league, there’s quality in every team. Same when we were going through our patch, we had to stay confident that it would turn, we saw enough to show us it would, and after last week, we’re hoping that is the start.”

The Reds edged the previous meeting between the sides earlier in the season, but O’Brien believes there was very little between the teams on that occasion.

“We shaded it down there earlier in the year, but there wasn’t a lot in it. We’re expecting the same tomorrow night. It’ll be a hard-nut game, Tolka will be rocking, and we’ll need to be ready.”

After a strong away return over the Bank Holiday weekend, Shelbourne now have the opportunity to carry that momentum back to Tolka Park and deliver a home performance in front of the Reds supporters.