And Reds manager Damien Duff says he’s happy to live on his nerves and cope with the curve balls as his club enter the last two rounds of games in the season with their leadership of the league table intact.
At one stage on Friday night, when Shels were losing 1-0 at home to Waterford while Derry City were ahead away to Dundalk, the table had a grim look for the Reds and it looked as if they faced a challenge to see out a title challenge which was in danger of fading, on a run of one win in the previous 10 games.
Dan McDonnell and Seán O’Connor look back on a huge night of drama at both ends of the League of Ireland table
But a resurgence by the Reds, with goals from Sean Boyd (2) and Liam Burt, earned them a 3-1 win which allows them carry that two-point lead into next week’s games where Shels are at home to Drogheda United – a side they have yet to beat this season – and Derry are away to an in-form St Patrick’s Athletic.
“We speak about it, the nerves. Was I a bit nervous before the game? Yeah, but I like nerves,” Duff said after that win.
“Every time I pulled the jersey on as a player for whoever I was playing for, I was always a little bit nervous. It always drove me to have a real clarity and aggression in my play – it’s something I always talk about with our lads, the tension, the nerves. They’re going to be there but it has to be a driver. It could be a weight on your shoulders but it’s about striking that fine balance. On Friday, for sure, you’d have to say it drove the lads.”
“I just thought there was a beautiful energy. Granted, there was a beautiful tension in the ground, which is what we want here at Tolka Park. So always had faith, I guess. We knew we couldn’t make any more changes, obviously with the first change in the first half,” he says, referring to the enforced early substitution where Ali Coote had to withdraw, replaced by compatriot Liam Burt, as he also conceded that Shels lacked conviction with first half opportunities.
“We had three or four decent chances I thought. What stood out with Sean’s chances was he was calm, didn’t slash at it, whereas the rest in the first half we slashed at in real desperation to score. You can’t be desperate, you have to be cool as ice. Then the second half, did we create a lot at times? No. But we worked our way back. And the third goal, Liam, he can do that. In the pockets, rolling people, his shooting from distance is elite,” Duff added
“With the penalty, I’ve no ego. I want to play great football and dominate the ball, but also we do go direct.”