Shamrock Rovers ace Gary O’Neill has hailed Leon Pohls for a new found maturity between the posts.
The German goalkeeper has stepped up to replace regular No 1 Alan Mannus, who is out for the foreseeable future with a broken and dislocated finger.
Pohls, 26, is in his fifth season with the Hoops but has been limited to 12 competitive appearances in the Premier Division, FAI Cup, League Cup and Europe.
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He was left red-faced with a costly blunder in the President’s Cup defeat to Derry City in February but made amends at the Brandywell last week by saving a penalty.
Pohls came off the bench in that league win - on his birthday - to replace Mannus when he sustained the finger injury.
He also made good saves in Friday’s 2-0 derby win over Bohemians, including a key one to deny Paddy Kirk approaching half-time when the game was scoreless.
And midfield maestro O’Neill insists the entire squad have faith in their back-up keeper to deliver the goods in Mannus’ absence.
O’Neill said: “It’s so rare in football where a player has to wait so long for an opportunity. There’s no League Cup anymore so there wouldn’t be those games.
“If you’re No 2 for Alan, you’re going to be ready. Alan is such a professional. He holds such high standards as a goalkeeper - they’re through the roof.
“Leon working under Alan makes him ready for these moments. You couldn’t write a better script - a penalty save in Derry and a clean sheet in the Dublin derby.
“But he deserves it. We’re all so proud of him and he’s been brilliant.”
And O’Neill knows exactly where Pohls has improved his game to give team-mates such confidence in him.
The Kerry man continued: “I hope Leon doesn’t mind me saying this but I think there’s a lot more maturity in his game now.
“He’s not so eager to impress. He just lets the game happen.
“The penalty save in Derry is that luck in the moment - obviously he does his research - but it meant he was riding the wave coming into the Bohs game.
“It was a record attendance (for a Tallaght league game) and he could have been eager to make a big impression.
“But he just let the game come to him and he made some great saves.”
Trevor Clarke and Rory Gaffney scored the goals to floor league leaders Bohs who were crying foul by insisting the first goal was offside before being denied a penalty.
Their lead at the top has been whittled down to a point, with second-placed Rovers breathing down their neck and looking formidable in their four-in-a-row pursuit.
The champions went six games without a win at the start of the season but O’Neill admits that slow start is a distant memory.
“We’re the only team now that has only lost one,” he said, as focus shifts to Friday’s trip to bottom side UCD.
“There wasn’t a whole pile wrong at the start of the season. We were very calm in the changing room. We were playing well, it just wasn’t happening for us.
“But it comes from the manager and staff in these situations. They’re so calm. As players we’re thinking ‘what’s happening’?” We conceded four against Cork.
“It was so unlike us. We had a meeting on a Monday and the manager just said “Keep calm, we’re fine, we’ll get there. Keep doing what you’re doing’.”
“And since then, we haven’t looked back. I fully expected us to get into our stride and there will be no looking back now.”
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