Keogh shines once again in Dundalk victory

Ciaran Kilduff praised Sean Keogh following the 18-year-old’s pivotal role in securing Dundalk FC’s 1-0 victory over Cobh Ramblers in the SSE Airtricity League First Division.

It was Keogh’s cross that led to an own-goal by Cobh defender Jonas Hakkinen, marking a fourth goal involvement in eight appearances for the Skerries native this season.

The outcome further underscores an impressive opening round of fixtures for The Lilywhites, who currently sit seven points clear at the top of the table after nine matches.

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“Sean was excellent, and he has been for the last couple of weeks,” enthused Dundalk manager Kilduff after watching his left-back create the winning goal for the second week running.

“He got the assist last week at UCD for (Leo) Gaxha and then he scored the week before against Wexford, so he’s giving us a great outlet from left-back in the attacking sense.

“He’s not just a left-back there to defend; he’s a goalscoring threat as well, as you can see. He was brilliant for the goal, and he’s got into that area a few times in the game, and it’s really threatening.”

Reflecting on Dundalk’s hard-fought win over Cobh, their eighth victory from nine matches, Kilduff added: “I would’ve taken any win against Cobh.

“They’re a good team with some good players, and we haven’t got an easy game in the whole round, to be totally honest about it.

“Once we got that goal, we would have liked to have made life easier for ourselves, but this is the division—long throw-ins and corners and stuff like that. Cobh are not without their threats. I think they were the top-scoring team in the division.

“We’re taking a lot of pride in our clean sheets. That’s three in a row for Peter Cherrie as well. The lads are all accountable tonight for another great clean sheet. It gave us a platform to win the game.”

Though the hosts undoubtedly held the upper hand, both sides carved out opportunities before Dundalk ultimately struck what proved to be the winning goal in the 56th minute.

“In the first half, we looked really good. We dictated the play, we had chances, we looked threatening—just that final ball was letting us down.

“We were waiting for that breakthrough. Five minutes after half-time, I’m feeling like, is it going to be one of those nights? Are we going to get it?

“Then we get it, and it’s that whole adage of we’ve scored, and they’re going to throw the kitchen sink at us. Not that we were hanging on, but we were seeing it out a little bit. In phases, especially in the first half, we played some really good stuff.

“In the second half, once we scored, it turned into a little bit of trying to see it out rather than cut them open. Not that there’s any frustration when you win, because it’s a huge win for us, but there’s probably just that little feeling that maybe we could have made life a little bit easier for ourselves.”

Kilduff also confirmed that goalkeeper Enda Minogue, sidelined since February with a broken finger, is expected to remain out of action for at least a further three weeks.

The clash against his former club, Athlone Town, on May 2nd now stands as the earliest potential date for his return to the pitch, while long-term absentees Norman Garbett and Ethen Vaughan are both eyeing a comeback following the mid-season break in June.

“Enda was due to be back, and then the specialist left the pins in. He went in to get them out last week, but they wouldn’t take them out, so they’ve knocked it back an extra week.

“The two lads are long-term—we’re talking maybe two months at the earliest. They’re ticking along well. They’ve both had their surgeries, and they are on the road to recovery, just have a bit of a road left.”