Kilduff: Attack is Dundalk's best form of defence

Ciaran Kilduff was delighted to witness his Dundalk FC side secure a commanding 3-0 victory over Longford Town in their SSE Airtricity League First Division clash on Saturday evening.

The match followed a series of frustrating results for Dundalk, having taken a 1-0 lead in their previous encounters against Treaty United at Markets Field and Finn Harps at Oriel Park on Easter Monday, only to see four points slip away with draws in both fixtures.

This time, Dundalk would not be denied, as Dean Ebbe broke the deadlock in the 54th minute, quickly added a second in the 62nd, before Andy Paraschiv sealed the victory with a third in the 87th minute, securing a well-deserved win.

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The result was met with jubilant celebration after the full-time whistle from the approximately 200 Dundalk supporters who had made the trip to Longford.

“We said that attack would be our best form of defence,” manager Kilduff told The Democrat afterwards. “Instead of scoring and then sitting back, can we go and get the second and the third?

“We’ve been trying to do that, but it’s hard. Teams are there to set up and, even after you score, sometimes they don’t come out and they’ll score from a free-kick, a long ball, a mistake. No one needed to tell Sean Keogh last week, it was a short back pass that hurt us.

“We conceded from a throw-in against Longford the last time we played them in Oriel. Teams in this division, they’re all big, strong, athletic teams and men, and they can hurt you.

“Last weekend we got hurt twice, once in Treaty and once against Harps, and thankfully tonight there was no heartache; it’s an important three points.”

With a third of the season now completed, The Lilywhites have triumphed in nine of their first 12 matches, securing three draws and remaining undefeated, as they sit three points clear of Bray Wanderers at the top of the First Division.

After a five-match goal drought, striker Ebbe found his form with a brace in Longford, bringing his league tally to six goals from 12 appearances this season.

“That’s the life of a centre-forward,” said Kilduff, an ex-striker himself. “It comes with the territory, as I told him before the game. That’s six for him now in the season, not a bad return.

“You’d be hopeful now that he’ll catch a bit of fire and he could add to his tally in the coming weeks and maybe be at double figures before the break.

“It’s just football. At any level, when you get a couple of goals, you feel like you can’t miss. When you don’t, you feel like you couldn’t buy one, so I’m delighted for him tonight. It was a long time coming, and I’m pretty sure there will be more to come.”

Completing the scoring alongside Ebbe’s double salvo was a first-ever League of Ireland goal for Paraschiv, an 18-year-old who arrived at the club from Glebe North of the Leinster Senior League at the beginning of the year.

“He’s had to wait for opportunities. It’s a massive moment for him, and we’re all proud of him. These boys are writing their own careers, they’re writing their own legacies here in this club, and I’m delighted for Andy to open up his League of Ireland account for himself there tonight.

“He had a chance just before it as well, so to get it the way he did, we couldn’t be prouder of him. He was probably disappointed not to start, but comes on, scores a goal, we win the game. It’s a great night’s work for him.”