'Game of two halves'-Kearney

AS United struggled a little last Saturday, boss Oran Kearney admitted at was definitely a game of two halves.

"Without doubt it was the old clich of a game of two halves and I take the credit for that," he said.

"You wouldn't have liked to be in the dressing room at half-time because I can tell you it wasn't pleasant.

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"If there was a swear box in there it would have definitely made quite a bit of money out of myself."

Kearney was quick to admit that the players were well warned of what they needed to do before the game.

"We had warned all of the players before the game that this particular game was all about the mental side.

"They were told that they had to up for it and they must be ready for what Barn were going to throw at us.

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"We told them it was going to be their cup final and they would come here and empty the tank.

"It's the same in all the games like this and it's the same team talk before every game of this nature."

Despite the players being made very aware of this the manager admitted that they didn't do that initially.

"They didn't get the heads right from the start and it's really just as simple as that!

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"We didn't start well at all and to be truthful it just got worse and worse as the first half progressed.

"We went into our shells a bit and some of the less experienced players played well within themselves.

"We were looking in big trouble but at least we only went in at half-time only one goal behind.

"We got a bit impatient at times and tried to do something different but it didn't come off in the first half."

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With a much improved second half display Kearney praised the character of his players.

"The key to the much improved display in the second half was down to our character and response.

"We got the perfect response to the half-time team talk and that's obviously very pleasing from my point of view.

"This wasn't a typical championship game because they stood off us quite a bit and doubled up a lot.

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"We had to change our tactics slightly for games like this but we played some good football in this game as well.

"We needed a bit of a kick start and thankfully we got that from Peter's header from the corner early in the second half."

With both substitutes getting on the score-sheet Kearney was pragmatic about the impact of his substitutions.

"I wouldn't quite say that they were inspired but they certainly helped us get back into the game.

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"It was great to see Shane score after such a long time out but he still looks a little bit rusty to be honest.

"Cookie and Hutchy were also on target for the second game in a row and that's also very pleasing.

"Getting through to the next round are what it's all about in this competition and it's great to be in the next round.

"There will be some tough games ahead and nobody will remember this game just that we won and are though and that's what it's all about," concluded Kearney.