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world cup
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Russia 1 up on NI at half-time.
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Just watched it on Skyplus this morning and feel slightly hard done by. The linesmen and ref got a few crucial decisions wrong early on, disallowing a goal and flagging Lafferty offside when he was well on. That meant they got dog's abuse for subsequent borderline decisions that were right. Still, if we had taken our chances?
Both managers spoke to Roy McGivern from Linfieldfc.com after yesterday's game. Linfield boss David Jeffrey was disappointed that his side had contributed to their own downfall.
"I think it was a classic case of shooting ourselves in the foot. I counted that Cliftonville had three attempts on goal, one of which resulted in a great save from Alan Blayney. In the first half we were in total control and played some great football up to the 18 yard box. We had no cutting edge unfortunately and that was the difference at Portadown last week as we converted our chances. There was more good football today but there has to be an end product. Cliftonville came out a bit brighter in the second half but we got the goal and I thought our play deserved that. We then had a chance to get a second and if Brian McCaul had squared the ball to Daryl Fordyce we would have been two goals up and very comfortable. But then we made one of the oldest mistakes in the game by failing to deal with a long ball down the middle. We got ourselves in a mess but we responded to that before another moment of hesitancy and lack of communication cost us again. You are then going from looking at three points secured, dropping two and then dropping all three within the space of five minutes. "
The manager also spoke about the recurring problem of controlling games but not getting the important result.
"There is no point dominating games and having all the possession if you don't have a cutting edge. But you cannot make basic, schoolboy errors and expect to win games. The players are saying themselves that it is not good enough. We all know that and our results have to improve. I know that in this day and age everyone wants to be an alarmist but I have said to the players that the league table doesn't tell lies. Up until now we haven't played well enough or consistently enough. There have been occasions when we maybe haven't got what we deserved but there is a sign on our dressing room door which says no excuses. We have gone through a difficult time with injuries but that can't excuse what we did today. Two bad mistakes have cost us the three points. Having said that, I thought we were denied a clear cut penalty in the first half. The linesman awarded a foul in our favour but there was miscommunication with the referee and it was somehow awarded the other way."
Cliftonville manager Tommy Breslin was delighted to see his side bounce back after last weeks defeat to Ballinamallard.
" We were disappointed after last weeks result and I wanted a reaction from the players today. Had we not won today we would have dropped further down the table. I made a few changes and the players who came in did the job for us. It was a workmanlike performance rather than a convincing one but any victory over here has to be enjoyed. The players were hungry for success today and we were determined to give a good account of ourselves. At half time I asked the players to show more belief in themselves. Linfield were maybe over running us a bit in midfield and we tightened things up a bit. We asked them to be brave and, if we were going to come away with nothing, then at least we were going to have a go. Linfield did apply some pressure but we had other chances in the game and we need to produce performances like that every week if we are to challenge in this league. It's nice to be back on top but it is still early days. I still expect any team that finishes above Linfield to win the league."
"I think it was a classic case of shooting ourselves in the foot. I counted that Cliftonville had three attempts on goal, one of which resulted in a great save from Alan Blayney. In the first half we were in total control and played some great football up to the 18 yard box. We had no cutting edge unfortunately and that was the difference at Portadown last week as we converted our chances. There was more good football today but there has to be an end product. Cliftonville came out a bit brighter in the second half but we got the goal and I thought our play deserved that. We then had a chance to get a second and if Brian McCaul had squared the ball to Daryl Fordyce we would have been two goals up and very comfortable. But then we made one of the oldest mistakes in the game by failing to deal with a long ball down the middle. We got ourselves in a mess but we responded to that before another moment of hesitancy and lack of communication cost us again. You are then going from looking at three points secured, dropping two and then dropping all three within the space of five minutes. "
The manager also spoke about the recurring problem of controlling games but not getting the important result.
"There is no point dominating games and having all the possession if you don't have a cutting edge. But you cannot make basic, schoolboy errors and expect to win games. The players are saying themselves that it is not good enough. We all know that and our results have to improve. I know that in this day and age everyone wants to be an alarmist but I have said to the players that the league table doesn't tell lies. Up until now we haven't played well enough or consistently enough. There have been occasions when we maybe haven't got what we deserved but there is a sign on our dressing room door which says no excuses. We have gone through a difficult time with injuries but that can't excuse what we did today. Two bad mistakes have cost us the three points. Having said that, I thought we were denied a clear cut penalty in the first half. The linesman awarded a foul in our favour but there was miscommunication with the referee and it was somehow awarded the other way."
Cliftonville manager Tommy Breslin was delighted to see his side bounce back after last weeks defeat to Ballinamallard.
" We were disappointed after last weeks result and I wanted a reaction from the players today. Had we not won today we would have dropped further down the table. I made a few changes and the players who came in did the job for us. It was a workmanlike performance rather than a convincing one but any victory over here has to be enjoyed. The players were hungry for success today and we were determined to give a good account of ourselves. At half time I asked the players to show more belief in themselves. Linfield were maybe over running us a bit in midfield and we tightened things up a bit. We asked them to be brave and, if we were going to come away with nothing, then at least we were going to have a go. Linfield did apply some pressure but we had other chances in the game and we need to produce performances like that every week if we are to challenge in this league. It's nice to be back on top but it is still early days. I still expect any team that finishes above Linfield to win the league."
