BY MATTHEW WILSON
SWILLY Rovers manager Ben Reuven is expecting a tough battle when his side make the trip to Moyle View Park to face Milford United this Sunday.
Swilly Rovers were unsuccessful in their last league outing, coming out on the wrong end of a 3-1 defeat to Kerrykeel ‘71 on home soil.
The two sides were level at the break in last Sunday’s encounter but two goals after the restart sealed the win for the Rabs Park men.
Reuven stated that there was disappointment following the defeat but feels that his side competed well throughout the course of the game.
“We were disappointed but I felt that we competed in a lot of the game in terms of being tough to beat, disciplined and defensively solid which is something that we wanted to work on.
“We’re dealing with a lot of injuries at the minute, with some players playing both Saturday and Sunday. It was always going to be a troubling one over the 90 minutes.
“I think 3-1 doesn’t really reflect it but it is what it is. We missed a couple of chances, our goalkeeper Barry Gallagher made a couple of good saves so it could’ve gone either way but we go again next week.”
Reuven is in his first season in the dugout at Swilly Rovers and expressed to the Donegal News that he’s loved his start to life at the club.
The side suffered relegation from the Brian McCormick Sports Premier Division last term following a ninth place finish and they’ve experienced a mixed start to the new campaign.
The Swilly Park residents have recorded two wins and a draw from their opening eight outings in the Division One campaign.
The Swilly Rovers boss stated that the side have competed well in all of their encounters so far but they would be disappointed to have only secured two victories.
However, he expressed that they’re working with a vastly changed squad to the one that competed in the top tier of Donegal soccer last season and therefore feels that it’s a project that’s going to take time.
“We’re definitely disappointed, only notching two wins so far from eight games.
“Again, I think we’re competitive in a lot of games and maybe we didn’t get the luck that we deserved or failing the final ball, scoring or keeping a clean sheet.
“I think we’re all disappointed with how things have gone but also understanding that this is a brand new team. This is a process and it’s going to take time.
“In the Sunday squad, I think we have five players from last year. We’ve reinforced with a lot of new players and a lot of young players as well who are definitely up to it but will take time to gel and to understand senior football.
“I think we’re a bit naive at times having these young lads in but we’re better off for it, for the energy they bring, the commitment and the buy in.”
Next up for Swilly Rovers is a trip to face Noel Gillespie’s Milford United this Sunday.
The Moyle View Park men are positioned fifth place in the table entering Sunday’s encounter, having picked up 12 points from the 21 available to them to date.
This is the first of two fixtures remaining for the Swilly Park outfit this side of Christmas, with a clash with Cappry Rovers to come the following week.
They’ll be keen to come away from these two contests with as many points as they can in order to try and build some momentum heading into the break.
Reuven understands the challenge that lies ahead of his side this weekend when they make the journey to Milford, expressing that it’ll be an interesting game.
“Milford away is a tough place to go to. They’ll be tough and they’ll be dogged I’m sure. We’ll have to be smart and we’ll see what we can do
“You’re only as good as what you can do on a Sunday, what you can do and who you have available to we’ll wait and see.
“I think Milford has had a mixed bag as well so we’ll wait and see. We’d love to get points away from home. We haven’t played Milford so I don’t know what they’re like, I’m sure they don’t know us as well.”
“It’ll be an interesting game but we’ll try our best and see what we can get on the road.”
