ROCHDALE MANAGER BRIAN Barry-Murphy heaped praise on his players after they came agonisingly close to pulling off a Carabao Cup third-round upset.
The League One side lost a penalty shootout to Premier League giants Manchester United after the teams had finished level at the end of normal time at Old Trafford.
Mason Greenwood’s 68th-minute opener for United was cancelled out eight minutes later by an equalising goal scored by 16-year-old Luke Matheson.
The decisive moment in the shootout saw Sergio Romero save the attempt of former Cork City man Jimmy Keohane, allowing United to advance to a clash with Chelsea.
“The players gave it everything, as they have done in a lot of recent games even though we haven’t had results in the league that reflect that,” said Barry-Murphy, a former Republic of Ireland U21 international.
“It was a great night for the club. The supporters and the whole town came out in numbers that had to be seen to be believed. I think it’s a very, very successful night for all of our players.
“We didn’t lose the game. We got a result at Old Trafford. We took the game to penalties and we thought we could win, but obviously we got knocked out. But there’s no disappointment for me whatsoever.”
Barry-Murphy moved into his first managerial role when he succeeded Keith Hill as Rochdale manager in March. He oversaw a drastic improvement in their form to prevent the Spotland outfit from suffering relegation to League Two.
Following a mixed start to the season, Rochdale are currently in 17th place in League One ahead of Saturday’s game at home to Wycombe Wanderers.
The 41-year-old Corkman said: “The pragmatic side of me will want us to focus on Saturday’s game, but I think it’s vital that the players are allowed to enjoy how successful they were in this game.
“Otherwise what’s the point in asking them to put in so much effort, which they’ve done right from the start of pre-season.”
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