Pat Devlin pleased with battling FAI Cup second half display against Bohemians as Cabinteely's attention switches back to the First Division promotion race

Cabinteely boss Pat Devlin admits he was pleased with the reaction his side showed in the second half during their FAI Cup defeat away to Bohemians at Dalymount Park.

The Green and White’s struggled to deal with the Gypsies in the first half, with 18-year-old Dawson Devoy running the show for Keith Long’s side.

However, Cabo rallied in the second half on Dublin’s Northside, although they were unable to ultimately trouble Bohs in terms of goals.  

“Going out of the cup is a big disappointment for a club like ours but it was always going to be a tough ask, particularly when you have four first-team players out in Mick Kelly, Kevin Knight, Eoin Massey and Dan Blackbyrne,” Devlin told extratime.com.

“The lads didn’t do well in the first-half, but the second half performance was very good. We missed a couple of chances and if we scored one it might have made a little bit of a difference but Bohs are a class outfit.

“They have great resources in regard to training and facilities that we don’t have. They were back an awful lot earlier – and you could see that with their fitness and how sharp they were.

“All credit to them and I hope they go on to win the cup now and we have to concentrate on the league.”

He added: “We played a system in the first-half that didn’t suit us, so we changed it and the lads were great.

“The changes we made were good and we had a few players back from injury so overall we’re in a healthier position that we are now in than before the game.”

Next up for Cabinteely is an away clash against Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds – and Devlin is eyeing a return to winning ways against his former club.



“I loved my time at Bray, but this is a different mission that we are on now. We’ve got to go there and beat a very good Bray side.

“We’ve got a tough week ahead of us with Bray then obviously Drogheda on Monday night,” he finished.

“We’ve got a few players back from injury which I’m happy with but trying to get the right balance will be important now so let’s see if we can get a few more back this week.”

 

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