Saturday’s kick-off in Tallaght Stadium is at 5.30 pm. Tickets are available at the gate and online.

Was the scoreline against DLR Waves a little too close for comfort for you in the end given our dominant position at half-time?

I still just judged the game on the performance itself and the performance from the players I thought was very, very good. The only part we lacked was that we weren’t clinical enough in front of the goal. I thought we were very good in the first half and probably deserved that 4-1 lead at half-time. We started the second half really bright and on the front foot. I think we had three one vs ones and the game should have really have been put to bed at that stage. But I just judged us on the performance and the performance was really, really good.

Did the team’s response to going behind early please you with three goals coming from the left-hand side, goals by Savannah, Jess Gargan and Abbie, and two assists from the once again impressive Lia O’Leary?

Yeah, I think the squad has got to the stage where even if we do go behind there is no

panic. We still just stick to what we’re good at and we know chances will come. So, there was no need to panic or change things. We were only 15 minutes into the game at that time and it’s always positive when you look at the reaction of going behind. We even went up an extra few gears so I’m really happy with how we reacted.

The fourth goal is a good finish by Alannah McEvoy one-on-one with the keeper, did that round off a good first-half display?

It did, and it’s when we’re doing our finishing drills, it’s one of those things where I’m always trying to get the players to make sure that they try and pass them into the corners. There’s no need to be whacking them, trying to absolutely bury them into the back of the net. It’s just passing into the corners and that’s exactly what Alannah’s finish was. The timing up her run was good and the finish was great.

All three of DLR’s goals were great strikes, two from Eve O’Brien in the second half. The team hadn’t been conceding goals from open play at all this season, so how did you view them from a defensive point of view?

The only other goal we conceded from open play was Wexford, where I still think it was a cross and wasn’t actually a shot on goal. Saturday then were the only other goals that we’ve conceded from open play. I think we just get games where the opposition just hit things and goes in. Defensively, for the first one, our concern was that we had opportunities to play and pass and we didn’t. We took different options and it’s something we’ve already spoken about with the squad. For the other ones, I think we were a little bit open and too casual, thinking it was going to be easy at that stage. We always need to be mindful, even though we’re comfortable and we’re in good possession of the ball, we still need to be aware of the danger if it’s lost quickly and need to be set up and ready to be able to deal with it. So there is learning from the goals that we’ve conceded and it’s something that we’ve taken into training.

Rovers have now played every team in the league and remained unbeaten. Did the first round of games meet or exceed your expectations?

It probably exceeded expectations. Obviously, if you had offered me at the start of the season that we’d be at the halfway mark and unbeaten through all of it, I probably would have snapped your hand off. But now looking back at the games that we drew, I still think there were opportunities there to actually go on and win those games, so they’re the improvements that we’ll be looking to make now for the second half of the season.

We have also been placed into a tough group in the new All-Ireland competition that starts next month. Is everyone looking forward to that challenge?

We’re looking forward to it and we’ll probably be down a lot of bodies because Vera Pauw is going to announce her squad on the 12th of June. So, depending on who makes that squad, there is the potential of being down several bodies for that cup competition. It’s something that we always said from the start, that we’ll use it to have a look at other players and have a look at some players in different positions and shapes. So we’ll be using that as kind of pre-season training matches and it’s trying to be fair to the squad and utilize all the players that we have.

Galway have won 3 out of 4 games since we played them up there, only losing to leaders Peamount. What are they doing well at the moment that has them high up the table?

They’re a very, very tough side to play against. They don’t give you a second on the ball. They chase everything down. There were two issues against DLR where suddenly a ball down the throat can cause you trouble and it’s something that we’ll be working on to try and deal with. They’ve good players like Gemma McGuinness and Jenna Slattery,so there is good quality in the side and it’s a game where we’re going to have to be fully at it if we want to get anything out of it.

We’re at home again in Tallaght. The players seem to make a conscious effort to bond with the supporters before and after games with autographs and selfies. Is that all part of building a long last connection especially when you are a new senior team in the league?

Yeah, it is and it’s something we put a lot of emphasis on because without the fans we’re nothing. They’ve helped cheer us on and bring us to extra levels. It doesn’t take anything to just give a little bit back so it’s something that we’ll always look from the squad to obviously

dedicate time with just our fans because they have been so good to us so far.

Shauna Fox, Stephanie Zambra and Maria Reynolds are all still out. Will anyone else miss the Galway game?

Jamie Thompson did have a knock and was only on the bench last week purely in case of an emergency. We might have got about 10 minutes out of her, but thankfully she’s been training this week and will be in contention for this weekend. Other than that, no other injury concerns.