Dundalk determined to “take on anyone and everyone”, says Kilduff

Ciaran Kilduff marked his first victory as an SSE Airtricity League Premier Division manager in emphatic fashion, watching his Dundalk FC side dismantle Waterford 5-0 at Oriel Park.

After a frustrating start to the season that yielded four draws and a single defeat from their opening five fixtures, The Lilywhites finally secured a full three points in front of a strong home crowd.

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Kilduff expressed hope that the familiar surroundings of Oriel can help the side build momentum in the weeks ahead.

“We’ve had a really tough start,” Kilduff said. “We prided ourselves on our home form here last year. Obviously, we were a minute away from an opening-night win against Drogheda but didn’t get it. Tonight, we made sure we got the three points.

“I thought we were at it tonight. I think we’ve had some really good performances this year, and we probably just needed to get that final one over the line, and tonight it all came together for us.

“I thought the first half in particular we were excellent — two up and probably disappointed not to have more. Look, we’re the newly promoted team, but I probably set my stall out early this year, and the lads have bought into it. We’re trying to take on anyone and everyone and be offensive with it.

“So I was delighted for the players tonight — the starters, the ones who came on, and the whole group — because a lot of work has gone into getting us back here. A performance like that is a nice reward for the week’s work.”

Dundalk opened the scoring through Ronan Teahan, who notched his first goal for the club since his move from Kerry, with Daryl Horgan providing the assist.

Kilduff praised the goal, describing it as “brilliant” and a moment that reflected the team’s quality. “That was probably just a little frustration for us because we wanted to maintain that quality,” Kilduff said. “There were loads of chances out there early on, and that was a real big moment.”

Dundalk extended their advantage with a sublime lob from Declan McDaid, again set up by the talismanic Horgan, who was nominated for the Premier Division Player of the Month for February but lost out to Derry City’s Michael Duffy.

“Brilliant ball from Daryl, obviously, and Decky is such a talented player,” Kilduff said. “I referenced the three lads we started up front tonight — Daryl Horgan, Decky McDaid, and Danny Mullen. All three have played in the SPL in Scotland, at the top level, and they’re experienced players.

“They possess the quality to do something special at any given moment. There was magic in the ball from Daryl to pick him out, and then the finish was different class.”

Before substitute Eoin Kenny struck twice in the closing stages, Horgan got on the scoresheet himself, adding to the three assists he has already registered in March.

The winger looks set to be in contention for Premier Division Player of the Month once again, while Kilduff highlighted the growing influence of his bench, including Kenny, in recent matches.

“That’s what you want,” he said. “Over the last couple of weeks, Gbemi (Arubi) came on and got an equaliser in Derry, Danny Mullen came on and scored an equaliser in Tallaght, and then Eoin came on and chipped in as well.

“There was a bit of a debate there between Aodh Dervin and Eoin over who got it, but we’ll give it to Eoin. I’m delighted for him — he came on and made a real impact.”