Shut out consolation from draw

Rhys Breen:- “I feel throughout the full group the demand for getting the ball back is really really strong and we need to continue that throughout the season.”

It is not yet the end of August but Rhys Breen has started more games this season than he did last season. What’s more after just twice being on the winning side during 2021-2022, he can now feel disappointed with the draw that followed three wins out of three in the league this term.

While Kelty Hearts held their near neighbours to a 0-0 draw, it proved to be a frustrating afternoon for the Pars players, management and fans. Rhys felt that things just didn’t work out for them:-

“I didn’t think that we were composed enough on the ball. Again it is really really disappointing because we had some opportunities to go in front.”

Rhys’ 78th minute header was saved by Kelty’s goalkeeper, the former Arbroath stopper, Darren Jamieson:-

“I am disappointed that I didn’t put mine away but we just have to look forward to next week and come back on Monday really fully refreshed. Obviously it wasn’t our best performance. Everybody in the team knows that, we need to fully focus on the next game now.”

To deny Kelty at the other end however, Rhys put in several important blocks and he was kept busy throughout the 90 minutes. He added:-

“That’s my job. It was another clean sheet for us but we can’t look at it like that. We have come to Kelty and left with only a point. They hadn’t won a (league) game and so there was a demand on them to get their first win. I think everybody was expecting us to have an easy game but it was never going to be an easy game against Kelty. I feel like we need to continue working hard in training and look ahead to the next game now.”

Twenty two year old Rhys has played every minute of every game in the eight Premier Sports Cup and League One matches played so far, and he can be rightly proud of a defensive record that confirms Saturday’s shut out was their sixth this season and are currently on four in a row:-

“We are pleased with that, 100%. It goes back to the relationship and the willingness to win the ball back by putting your body on the line. That’s something that we need to continue and hopefully the goals at the other end start to come for us.

“I feel that we have a good connection between the back four but it is not even the back four. I feel throughout the full group the demand for getting the ball back is really really strong and we need to continue that throughout the season.”

With just five minutes of the game remaining Rhys showed that he is not scared to put his head where it hurts. Putting his body on the line, he was able to carry on after his clash of heads with Jamie Barjonas five minutes from the end. The unfortunate former Rangers youth was not so lucky and was not fit to play on. Rhys smiled as he signalled that he was none the worse of it all:-

“It is just one of those things, I’m a defender and I’m going to get a lot of these during the season. I just need to get on with it but I’m feeling absolutely fine. I have had a lot of them in my career, that’s probably why I’m the way that I am today!”

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