Barry Gray spoke to us after his side came back from two goals down to draw at home against Limavady United.
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00:00Barry, a bit of a mixed emotions today, obviously you're 2-0 down, but probably come away from
00:04that game feeling like you should have left with all three points?
00:07Yeah, definitely disappointed, thought while it was a sloppy start from us obviously 2-0
00:12down, definitely wasn't the game plan, but I thought we'd done enough across the 90 minutes
00:16to win it. But given the fashion of how we started the game, the fact that we were 2-0
00:24down, you have to be thankful that you've got anything out of the game. I thought there
00:28was patches and times today that were very good, outside that period where we just seemed
00:34to do everything wrong and we were punished heavily for it. But it's a building where
00:40we were last week, I don't think we were as fluid just as what we were last week, but
00:46overall we have to take our point. I feel a wee bit grieved that we haven't got all
00:54three, but given the circumstances of the game, there's not too many games you'll go
01:002-0 down on so early and still come and get something out of it. The players showed a
01:04wee bit of character in that, which is important at this stage of the season. We'll just focus
01:11on the positives and see if we can work hard this week and tidy up some of the defensive
01:15problems that we've had today.
01:16What do you sort of put that down to, the first start, was there anything in particular
01:20that you weren't happy with?
01:21No, listen, we're only two games in. Last week we didn't have it, there was none of
01:27the same signs on display last week that would give you any cause for concern. Today we did,
01:32I just thought we were too slow, we were too lethargic, on and off the ball, we were too
01:36sloppy. We started the game really, really poorly and obviously when you've got good
01:41experienced players like Glenn and Vanny have, ex-Premiership players, and when you get punished
01:46for it, it would have been easy for us to roll over, we didn't do that. We weren't slick
01:52in the first half, but we still managed our way back into the game, which was massive
01:56for us. That's what's going to take, character, we're not going to get it all the wrong way,
02:02we know that. There's good sides in this league and we're two games in, I keep saying that
02:09to the players, we're two games in, we've had a massive turnover of players, we've brought
02:13our average age in the squad considerably down, and we're still integrating the team
02:20together and trying to do our very best in a different style of play, and that's work
02:25in progress for us. I'm very confident that we keep seeing more and more inside the detail
02:31of the game, this week and last week, and we just stick to what we've been working on
02:37with no panic, or no scenarios where we need to change a massive amount. Just add a wee
02:44bit of fluidness, a wee bit of continuity, and people just being together and being fresh
02:49and familiar with their roles. We scored good goals today, and we created really good goalscoring
02:55opportunities outside the goals, so it's not all negative, the focus will be obviously
02:59in the goals we conceded early on, but we have to really focus as well on the positives
03:06that we're seeing on the other side of the pitch.
03:07Yeah, and look, as you said, we only are two games into the season, but obviously the further
03:11you go on without picking up that win, if you like, it becomes more pressure, so now
03:15going into the third game, away to Armagh next week, there is going to be a massive
03:18need to get a win, obviously.
03:19Yeah, listen, you look across the league at the minute, and if you take all the so-called
03:23big names and all the teams that we're going to be leading the pack, us included probably
03:28in that pack, it's been a mixed bag for everyone, and that's what you get at the start of the
03:32season. You look at the premiership above us, teams are doing exactly the same. The
03:37last time I checked, two games in, whoever is sitting at the top of the table hasn't
03:40won the league, and whoever is sitting at the bottom hasn't been relegated, so we're
03:44not at that scenario where we're worried about where the table stands. Obviously we want
03:49to win every week. We didn't today, but we didn't lose, so we've lost one in a row, if
03:55you want to call it that, and today we've picked up a point where we've been massively
03:59behind the game for a patch, so that's a positive and a step towards where we need
04:04to be, and hopefully next week we pick up the win.