THE Hoops lost for the first time since Easter Monday — when they were also defeated by Bohs — four days ago on a humbling evening for the league leaders.
Stephen Bradley admits getting “a kick up the a***” from Bohemians might be a good thing for Shamrock Rovers. But only if they right the wrongs he saw at Dalymount Park.
The Tallaght side remain top with a nine-point cushion to the Gypsies — who have two games in hand — and a run of 25 points from the last available 30 provides some perspective.
But Bradley acknowledged that his players must heed the warnings from their 2-0 defeat.
The boss said: “Sometimes in life and football, you need a kick up the a***, you know? Sometimes it’s not a bad thing.
“Would you prefer it not to be in games like that? Of course you would. But such is life. Sometimes you think it’s going right and then you get a slap in the face.
“It’s only a good thing if you put the wrongs right and that’s up to us to do that. It’s quite clear to see we were second best all over the pitch. We can have no complaints.
“You can’t play any game in this league like that — especially in a Dublin derby against a good team.
“But the beauty of football is it gives you a second chance. A lot of times in life when you get knocked like that, it doesn’t give you second opportunities. Football does.
“What we’ve been brilliant at as a group in moving on quite quickly — win, lose or draw.
“We don’t react to results and be all emotional with our week, that’s not how we do things.
“The players have been excellent for a large part of the season, we’ve got to look at us as a staff and what went wrong and then relay that to the players.”
This evening, the Hoops host a Waterford side that have caused them problems since returning to the top flight in 2024.
Bradley revealed Rovers’ coaches have paid close attention to the Blues as one of their players, Conan Noonan, is currently on loan at the RSC.
He added: “They’re creating a lot of opportunities and are playing really well.
“We saw that down there when we beat them 3-1 and they were the better team for the first 50-odd minutes.”
