Post-Match Reaction: SSE Airtricity National U19 League – Cork City U19 Manager Stephen Birmingham – The Evening Echo – May 24 2016

U19 boss happy with City’s display

 

SOCCER

 

Daire Walsh

 

FOLLOWING their draw with Shamrock Rovers in the SSE Airtricity National U19 League at the Tallaght Stadium last Saturday afternoon, Cork City manager Stephen Bermingham admitted that the 38th-minute sending-off of George Gill changed the shape of the game.

 

A void was left in the City midfield when Gill was dismissed for a late challenge on Rovers’ Sean Boyd, and Bermingham acknowledged that they needed to alter their game plan for the remainder of the contest.

 

“Yeah, once the sending-off happened, it probably changed the whole game plan. It changed everything in that game. Up to that point, it was very much attacking both sides. We had chances, they had chances. Obviously we took an early lead, which was a huge help, but the sending-off was a big factor,” Bermingham remarked.

 

“The game plan had to change against a very, very good Shamrock Rovers team. I thought our lads worked very hard, there’s some very, very tired legs there now after that, but it was a big draw there for us. Considering that we had nearly an hour of it with 10 men.” While Cork had opportunities to add to Connor Ellis’ seventh-minute opener, City goalkeeper David Coffey denied the Rovers attack on a number of occasions either side of Sean Boyd’s equaliser.

 

Bermingham praised the performance of Coffey on the day, and believes that he was pivotal in ensuring that the visitors secured a share of the spoils.

 

“Dave made some excellent saves there again. He’s been involved in the Irish schools and involved in the Irish set-ups over the years. He’s a very, very good goalkeeper.

 

“He was excellent, he kept us in that game and kept the draw for us there at the end. We were unlucky, we had one or two chances, counter-attacks, but we were obviously very much defensive second half.”

 

This result means that Cork City will lead the Southern Division table heading into the competition’s mid-season break, but in terms of the long-term plan for his team, Bermingham explained that supplying players for John Caulfield’s first-team is on top of the agenda.

 

“What we look at, our plan, and I’ve no doubt Shamrock Rovers will be the same, we’re looking to try and get players into the first team and progress on. We take it game-by-game. We’ve now played nine games. We’ve won eight, drew one against a very good team.

 

“There’s some very good teams in the league. It’s a very, very good league. It’s only one half of the season, and it’s great that we’re playing to a summer season,” Bermingham added.

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