Shelbourne boss Noel King is looking for a positive reaction from his side as they travel to Wexford Youths on Tuesday night for their rescheduled fixture.
The champions fell to their first defeat of the season at DLR Waves on Saturday thanks to a Katie Malone strike just before half time.
The result saw them lose ground on early-season pace-setters Peamount United, who they pipped to the title on the final day of last season.
They have a chance to bridge that gap tonight but they’ll have their work cut out against a Youths side who have likewise won five of their six outings so far.
King was pleased with aspects of his side’s display at the UCD Bowl - they had a lot of possession and created plenty of chances - but was frustrated by their finishing.
“We didn’t finish our chances We had a number of chances but it’s a compliment to DLR we didn’t score,” a philosophical King told Dublin Live.
“I think that’s important to say. They stuck with it, chased us all over the place, which they’re entitled to do, and made it difficult for us.
“Despite that, I think we did well, and you can’t panic if you play in a similar manner over a while. You don’t panic because you lose a game you’re expected to win. Sometimes it’ll go against you and unfortunately it was today.”
King got another 45 minutes out of Saoirse Noonan and Keeva Keenan, the latter having recently returned after a serious injury sustained against Bohemians last August.
And while the former Ireland manager can see the positives in the performances, his squad demand more of themselves, starting with the trip to Ferrycarrig Park.
“I only view things on a win or lose basis, which is very shallow! But there was positive in that we got a lot of people games, we played reasonably, created a lot of chances.
“The negative thing is we didn’t win. The important thing is to win and the girls know that. We’ll see how we react on Tuesday.
“It’s a tough week. We knew we’d have a tough week. I don’t foresee too many changes in the way we go about our job, but let’s hope we have a good response.”
