TOMMY BARRETT KNOWS his Limerick players won’t be afforded much time to lick their wounds after being subjected to a trouncing last night at Oriel Park.
Ahead of Saturday’s visit of Shamrock Rovers to Markets Field, the Blues were beaten 8-0 by Dundalk in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.
“They were much better than us, simple as that,” said the Limerick manager. “In saying that, we kind of gifted them a few goals as well. That’s the most disappointing thing. They were just well better than us on the night — way sharper, stronger, quicker. They moved the ball a lot quicker. We were just very poor.”
In spite of their disrupted pre-season preparations, Limerick had made a positive start to their 2018 campaign. After Neil McDonald departed as manager in early January, Barrett was appointed to the role less than five weeks before the season kicked off.
However, the Shannonsiders defied their status as favourites for relegation by winning 1-0 away to Sligo Rovers on the opening weekend of the season, before drawing 1-1 at home to Bohemians on Saturday night.
But last night at a snowy Oriel Park, they came up against a rampant Dundalk side who finally found their rhythm after having to settle for goalless draws with Bray Wanderers and Shamrock Rovers in their first two games.
Patrick Hoban and Michael Duffy scored a brace each for the Lilywhites, while Robbie Benson, Stephen Folan, Karolis Chvedukas and Dylan Connolly also hit the net for Stephen Kenny’s side. Hoban and Benson had the hosts two up inside the opening 10 minutes.
“We said we’d keep it tight for the first 10 or 15 minutes,” said Barrett. “Our lads probably didn’t take the information onboard with regards to just passing it square. Sloppy passes, silly stuff and we knew we’d be under pressure. We knew they were going to press.
“I was worried before we came up here that they would click on the night. We said that during the week. We knew how good they were. Of course, you always think you’re going to get a result but they were just too good for us.”
While Barrett will be keen for his side to learn from such a heavy defeat, the Limerick boss also wants to ensure that his players don’t dwell on it. They’ll look to deliver a positive response on Saturday when they host a Shamrock Rovers side who thumped Bray 6-0 on Monday.
“We didn’t get too excited when we won or drew, so we’re not going to get over-excited in losing either. Obviously the scoreline is shocking really, and it’s embarrassing,” Barrett admitted.
“But in saying that, we have Saturday to come so we just have to dust ourselves down and move on.”
– Additional reporting by Caoimhín Reilly
