St Helens missed out on a crucial two points in their loss to York Knights with the Red Vee now at serious risk of missing the play-offs for the first time in the history of Super League.
Saints almost pulled off a miraculous comeback but they fell just short, losing 34-32 against the promoted Knights who had managed to score two tries whilst a man down.
Having taken charge ahead of last week’s derby against Wigan, it was a second defeat in as many weeks for O’Carroll who admitted: “I’m proud, the same as I was last week.”
He’d add: “A little bit frustrated as well. I think we clearly didn’t give up, but we really lacked some execution at critical times during the game, which let us down, but there were some great learnings in there for what’s a relatively young group.”
One thing he refused to question was the spirit of his side, stating: “There’s huge belief within the group, which is fantastic, and I think there’s some easy fixes in there as well.
“Although it’s easy to say that we’re going through a bit of a tough period at the moment, we’ll be the first to hold our hands up and say, some of the things aren’t to our standard, and it’s important that we rectify that and rectify the conflict.”
St Helens boss hails debutant
After going 34-22 down and looking out if, Saints would score two more but a missed touchline conversion from Tristan Sailor saw them fall just short of taking the game to golden point.
One player who stood out in attack was Harry Robertson with O’Carroll agreeing, before offering praise to others, including debutant, Billy Keely.
“I was really happy for Harry. I thought he really stood up today,” O’Carroll said of stand-off Robertson.
“I think young Billy, who made his debut, was fantastic as well. We put him on early and he got some really nice early involvement, so he certainly didn’t look out of place.
“Collectively I think we could through the whole squad in terms of who really stood up but again, we just lacked that little bit of execution at key times, really, and we got punished for it.”
With six tough games to go, Saints will be hoping for some bodies back and whilst there may be some soon, O’Carroll couldn’t comment on who or when, but he insistd that the side will be improved.
He said: “We’re not too sure. There’s a few long-termers in there, but it’s a great opportunity for people in the group now.
“Although it might not feel like it now, it will certainly be better for this period in the future.”
WHAT A FINISH 🤯
The Knights hold on ⚔️#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/MpyaJgXHUe
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) August 1, 2026
