PERFECT RESPONSE
Boss Bradley praises Bolger attitude
GREG BOLGER has been praised for taking the chop on the chin.
He was instrumental in Shamrock Rovers’ 2-1 win at Dundalk on Tuesday that blew the title race wide open.
The Lilywhites were up in arms at the awarding of an injury time penalty that Bolger’s midfield partner-in-crime Dylan Watts converted in a dramatic finish.
The three points were just the spark Stephen Bradley’s charges needed after disappointment in back-to-back weeks.
After crashing out of the FAI Cup first round to Drogheda, they then lost their third derby of the season to Bohemians. But Rovers were much improved at Oriel and while Dundalk ultimately had enough chances to win it, they passed up the opportunity to stretch their lead to six points.
Bolger’s in-your-face display was key and Bradley hailed his midfield general’s character for bouncing back after being dropped against Bohs.
“Greg was excellent, he was obviously disappointed to be dropped for last week and responded really well,” said the Rovers boss (right).
“It’s small margins when you’re dropping players like Greg for Aaron Bolger. He understood it. What you want is for players to respond like he did on Tuesday night.
“We had our really good spell because of Greg and Dylan Watts. They settled us by passing it and controlling the game. I thought the two of them were excellent.”
Still, Rovers fans must be pulling their hair out at the team’s inconsistency this year.
After losing 5-2 to Dundalk in Tallaght before the summer break, they went on an unbeaten run that yielded five wins and a draw in the league – all with clean sheets.
The wheels came off in that meek cup defeat to Drogs and then against Bohs in Tallaght but Bradley claims people were trigger happy in their criticism.
He added: “You’ve got to learn from it. You have to analyse it. I think a lot of people got carried away as we had been really good in the league but last week we weren’t.”