Treaty United boss Barrett taking positives into mid-season break

TREATY UNITED manager Tommy Barrett cut a disappointed figure after his side’s 1-0 loss at home to fellow promotion hopefuls Cobh Ramblers at the Markets Field last Friday evening – his side’s fourth defeat in five games.

Speaking after the game, Barrett said he felt it was a game that got away from Treaty. “I thought during the first twenty minutes that they were probably the better team,” he said.

“In fairness, they created more chances, but after that we grew into it, and we had a few chances, probably the best chance of the game… Colin Kelly probably should have scored. 

“And then I thought we dominated in the second half, but they managed the game well and a counterattack caught us on the hop.”

After a string of heroic saves from former Cobh Ramblers goalkeeper Shane Hallahan, it looked like it could have been Treaty’s night.

However, Barrett admits his side will be left to rue their missed chances after they started to get a stronghold on the game late in the opening half.

“I think we had the better chances in general in the game,” he said. “But they are dangerous on the break”. Overall, I was happy with the performance, but obviously not the result.”

Barrett says Liam Kervick’s winner 10 minutes from time was a sucker punch after all his side’s hard work.“We were very unlucky,” he said. “We kept fighting away. Ben O’Riordan was very unlucky, I don’t know how that one stayed out off the crossbar”.

“But, look, there are good signs there. Sometimes they go in. There is a long way to go yet. We have been proven that we can win three or four games on the bounce; I don’t think many clubs have done that in this Division, maybe just Waterford and Galway.

“That’s what we are taking into the mid-season break. We know we can do that and when we get lads back, hopefully we can do that again.”

With Treaty continuing to miss players through injury, and with Anto O’Donnell departing the club ahead of his planned move to Australia, Barrett admits his squad is now down to the bare minimum.

After a two-week break, Treaty travel to Westmeath to face high-flying Athlone on Friday, June 23, with Barrett hoping his side can bounce back to winning ways. The Treaty manager knows however it will be no easy task against third-placed Athlone Town.

“Athlone are a very good side,” he said. “I feel we are probably punching above our weight, particularly with the injuries we’ve got. I know people are probably sick of hearing me say that, but it’s a fact. These boys are working hard for each other, and are working hard for the club, and they’ve done very well again tonight [against Cobh], and just came out at the wrong end of the result.”