Manager Tiernan Lynch conceded the Derry City dressing room was disappointed following Friday night’s 1-1 draw with Shelbourne, at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.
City took the lead thanks to Adam O’Reilly’s stunning first-half goal, but the champions earned a point thanks to Ademipo Odubeko’s close-range strike just before the hour mark and with only Bohemians winning, the Foylesiders sit in third place and, importantly, seven points clear of their nearest European rivals.
“I probably have mixed emotions to be honest,” explained Lynch.
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“I think we’re a little bit frustrated and a little bit disappointed in the end.
“It feels a little bit like a defeat in our changing room and there were some good things we did at times but we’re disappointed in the manner in the way we let the game play out rather than go and grab it by the throat and push it back in our favour.
“I can’t criticise their effort or commitment like we always get from them. There’s probably just things in there we should’ve and could’ve done better with.
“Every game you want to go in with the three points in your pocket. We knew tonight was going to be a tough game.
“Shels are a good side and they’ve been in a decent run of form so we knew it was going to be difficult. There were lots of positives tonight. We’ll take our point and we’ll move on.
“I think there were probably two things in it with that natural balance of Ronan Boyce on the right-hand side and we probably didn’t get the same numbers going forward.
“Robbie (Benson) came in and did a brilliant job for us but it’s not his natural position and he was never going to give you what Ronan gives you. That probably hurt us.
“And then losing Dipo (Akinyemi) at half-time and we missed that presence on the frontline. So they were things we just had to deal with. We take that and move on.”
The Belfast native also conceded that he felt the encounter was ‘boring’, but he hopes that the point will be a big one once the season comes to an end.
“Yeah it was probably a boring game if truth be told,” stated Lynch.
“The last number of weeks we’ve been absolutely superb with balls into the box and numbers in box and box entries and all those types of things. We probably just didn’t get that tonight for whatever reason.
“It wasn’t a lack of effort or a lack of commitment, it just didn’t go our way and we probably didn’t do enough to make it go our way and that’s probably where our disappointment lies.
“You hope it’s a good point. I thought Adam scored a great goal but then we were hugely disappointed with the goal we conceded. Just the manner of the goal and the timing of the goal.
“Every goal is preventable but that is something we have been preventing the last number of weeks. It sounds very doom and gloom but it shouldn’t be. There were good things out there tonight and we’ll take the positives.
“You’re at the business end of the season now. There’s still five games to go and we haven’t achieved anything as we stand here right now so there’s still so much to play for.”
O’Reilly’s superb goal was his fourth in as many games and the ex-Larne gaffer concedes he can’t put his finger on why the midfielder is amongst the goals.
“I actually don’t know the answer to that,” declared the City boss.
“I think the lad has tremendous energy and legs and he gets into positions that probably no one else gets into with his energy and his legs.
“He took his goal like a proper champion tonight. He looked like a centre forward who had been there for years. And great credit to him.
“He’s working really hard at it and he’s given us a different dimension up there so I’m delighted for him.”
