The Commentary Box: Dundalk threw off their shackles against Longford

Dundalk came away with three very precious points last Saturday night when they beat Longford Town by three goals to nil at Bishopsgate.

The win lifted the Oriel Park men three points clear of bang-in-form Bray Wanderers, who have won their last seven games and who are very much in the chase for the automatic promotion spot along with Dundalk and Cobh Ramblers.

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Dundalk had a terrible Easter results-wise. A 1-1 draw against Treaty on Good Friday was followed up by a very disappointing 1-1 draw against Finn Harps on the Bank Holiday Monday.

Dundalk had not been banging in too many goals in recent games with key striker Dean Ebbe failing to find the net in over a month. Add to that was the fact that Dundalk had only scored more than one goal in two previous league games this season.

On Saturday Dundalk banged in three goals. Dean Ebbe resumed normal service with two well-taken goals, while Andy Paraschiv also got on the score sheet for his first goal with Dundalk.

Dundalk have fallen into a poor cycle of missing easy chances in recent games. They just have not been able to put the ball in the net in comparison to the chances they have created.

They have scored in every game this season. But in their games over the past month, the one-nil lead going into the final minutes of a game was a far too dangerous score.

They were going to get punished at some stage. Thus in the two games prior to Saturday's game, they dropped points which all but seemed like defeats.

On Saturday against Longford, that pattern of missing golden chances and lacking any penetration up front continued, for the first forty-five minutes at Bishopsgate.

But in a golden spell in the 53rd minute and 62nd  minute, the Dundalk team threw off their shackles and got two dream goals which finally put Longford to the sword and announced that they had finally found their scoring boots again.

Andy Paraschiv's late goal was the icing on the cake. It was ironic Dean Ebbe last scored for Dundalk in a home game against Longford six weeks ago. It was also the last time Dundalk got more than a single goal.

So at the end of the game, the Dundalk players ran over to their adoring fans who numbered well over three hundred and celebrated so happily that one could all but observe they felt they had found their scoring boots again.

But at half time, Dundalk were in trouble. For the first forty-five minutes, the game as a spectacle was poor. Dundalk did not look like a side who were hoping to go clear at the top with a win.

It's not that Longford posed a real threat. It was that Dundalk were poor for long spells of the first half. They were lucky not to go behind after just two minutes when Conor O'Keeffe attempted a back pass to Peter Cherrie. It was a bad mistake.

Longford's Patrick Campbell was in so quickly. He had a great chance. But the 41-year-old Dundalk keeper Peter Cherrie was out quickly and narrowed Campbell's opportunity to score.

In the end, the Longford player did get his shot at goal. But Cherrie was able to take off a good save. This prevented what would have been a dreadful start for Dundalk.

Aodh Dervin picked up an ankle injury in the warm-up before the game. I was sure he would not appear for the game. But he did feature.

However, Ciaran Kilduff was forced to replace him at halftime as the Dundalk vice-captain struggled through much of the first half, In the end, he never came out for the second half.

The Dundalk manager made two changes to the side that were held by Finn Harps on Bank Holiday Monday. Eoin  Kenny and Conor O'Keeffe replaced Sean McHale and Andy Paracshiv.

McHale is an excellent defender. I was surprised that he did not start. The Dundalk defence has been shaky over the past few games. I think the 19-year-old should be an ever-present in the Dundalk defence.

Conor O'Keeffe came back in as an attacking right back. He was excellent. Sean Keogh was again top class as left back. His ability to get in behind defenders was once again superb.

Mayowa battled hard for the entire game at centre half and brought his much-needed stability to the defence. Vinny Leonard was excellent at centre-back. Nothing got through him.

Daryl Horgan led his troops into battle so bravely. Though knowing Daryl I'd say he was concerned that Dundalk had not played well in the first half.

My guess is that he would also have been concerned at the misses on goal Dundalk had in the first half. Eoin Kenny was once again played on the wing. Eoin did well creating chances when he got the chance.

The Leaving Cert student found himself in front of goal as well. But he failed to convert any of the chances to goals. Eoin is a talented young player. He has got some vital goals for Dundalk this season. That will continue.

Aodh Dervin struggled for the entire first half with the pre-match warm-up ankle injury he had picked up. Common sense prevailed at the break. Andy Paraschiv was an able deputy for the Dundalk vice-skipper.

Leo Gaxha was excellent on the wing all night and tormented the Longford defence. Leo is such a talented player. I am amazed he has not been picked up by a Premier Division club.

He was unlucky not to find the back of the net during the game. Dean Ebbe scored two top-class goals. Before he got the goals I was wondering if the Dundalk manager might drop him as his form has not been that of a player who scored 33 goals last season.

But Dean answered my questions with a real sizzling second-half performance. The ball just has to be presented to Dean in the correct way and he will score.

Put the ball at his feet with the goals at his mercy and he will score. He is not the same type of striker as Pat Hoban. But give him the right chance, then he will score no problem.

Ciaran Kilduff made several changes to his side in the second half. Sean McGeogh was replaced by Sean McHale on 89 minutes. Aodh Dervin was replaced by Andy Paraschiv at halftime.

Eoin Kenny was replaced by Keith Ward on 69 minutes. Daryl Horgan was replaced by Shane Tracey with a minute remaining. Dean Ebbe was replaced four minutes from time by Gbemi Arubi.

Luke Mulligan and reserve keeper Samuel Safaei were not used. Dundalk had seven subs on the bench in comparison to Longford having ten.

The reason were short their full quota of subs was that the players who usually complete the bench were playing for the Academy team in Oriel on the Saturday afternoon. They were leading 1-0 against Shelbourne. But the Dublin side struck for a late equaliser with just three minutes remaining.

Dundalk had chances in the first half. Leo Gaxha set up Eoin Kenny on six minutes. But the Blackrock youngster shot wide from six yards. Aodh Dervin and Leo Gaxha came close again.

Gaxha had an effort that looked bound for the net. Longford keeper Harry Halwax took off a great save. Sean Keogh then had an effort from long range.

It went over, but could just as easily have gone in. Leo Gaxha forced the young Longford keeper into another great save, following a blunder in the Longford defence. Eoin Kenny and Dean Ebbe squandered good chances before the break.

Dundalk were a different team in the second half. Ebbe and Kenny were very unlucky not to score just after the break with two excellent efforts within a minute of each other.

Sean Keogh then saw his lobbed free header narrowly over by Eoin Kenny. The breakthrough had to come as Longford were forced right back into their penalty area.

They simply could not get out of their area. Daryl Horgan's corner on 54 minutes was flicked on at the near post by Vinny Leonard.

Dean Ebbe at last found a chance to score as he deftly headed home from close range. Dundalk continued to hunt in packs as they searched for a second goal.

Eoin Kenny had a spectacular overhead kick that was not far away. Gaxha also had another great effort saved well by the Longford keeper.

Dundalk sealed the game eight minutes after the first goal when substitute Paraschiv threaded a great through ball to Dean Ebbe. The Dundalk striker was now firing on all cylinders. He fired home an unstoppable shot to the net.

Dundalk got their third goal with three minutes remaining. Keith Ward's cross was only partially cleared. Paraschiv reacted so quickly.

He latched onto the loose ball and fired home a shot that nearly burst the net. The shot went through a maze of players. It was that strong that it was never going to be stopped.

The result was never in doubt when Dundalk got their second goal. If they can reproduce this form against Athlone Town next Friday night in Athlone, there is no doubt that  Dundalk can get the three points.

Longford played five players at the back for the entire game. This did cause Dundalk with some difficulties to get goals. But in the end, they did put Longford to the sword.

Longford have always been a side Dundalk have found great difficulty playing against. When Longford last played Dundalk in the Premier Division in 2021 they beat and drew with the Oriel Park men in Longford. They were relegated in the same season.

Dundalk boss Ciaran Kilduff told me in a post-match interview that he was very happy with his side's second-half performance, but not so much the first half.

'We were probably a little nervous in the first half having drawn our previous two games. But once we got our first goal we were very dominant. We have a third of the season completed.

We have had nine wins and three draws. We have not yet been beaten. But there is a long way to go. The strikers were finding it difficult to get the through ball in the first half.

But we all know it's tough. Other sides now know what we are trying to do. And that has also made it difficult for us to score at times. Longford played five at the back tonight.

Teams are trying to frustrate us now. Once we got the goal tonight, we went on and won convincingly. In recent games, we have led, but maybe we have relaxed and have been caught out for an equaliser.''

''I have never lost my confidence in Dean Ebbe as a scorer even though it has been a month since he scored before tonight. Dean is an excellent striker.

He was top scorer in this Division last season and he will go very close to that again this season. Strikers do have dry spells. But you must understand that teams are now playing three centre-halves against us to frustrate us.

Earlier in the year there were only two centre-halves and it was easier to score. The first goal tonight was the best one. I like scrappy goals. It's a striker's goal, alive in the box. The flick-on from Vipnny at the post was top-class for the first goal.''

''Andy Paraschiv made a real impact coming on in the second half for Aodh Dervin. He hurt his ankle at the very end of the warm-up just before the start of the game. It was too late to make the call to leave him in or out. So we played him.

Aodh was also very adamant he wanted to play. It was not feasible for him to continue. He should be okay for next weekend. Andy coming on and getting his goal was great.

He was excellent and gave us a great platform to play. I was very happy with Dean's two goals. As I have said the first goal was a real striker's goal. The second was simply a touch of class.

It was great to see the lads looking to go on to try and get a third and fourth goal. The previous three draws we have had do feel like defeats. We are back to winning ways which was the objective coming down here.''

''Enda Minogue is very close to returning. He took part in full training sessions this week. He should be available for selection next week. If not, he will be the following weekend.

It's a great but massive headache to decide whether we continue with Peter in goals or whether we go with Enda. It's a fantastic position to be in. Peter is there and he will be there going forward.

Enda is just coming back. There will be some competition for the number one spot. That's what we want for all the positions. Nobody would ever have imagined that Peter would be where he is at this stage of the season.

We signed him as our number two keeper at the start of the season along with having him as the goalkeeping coach. I love having Peter around.''.

''I stayed calm with the team at half time. I gave them much more of a rollicking in Oriel last Monday after throwing away the game against Finn Harps. There was a strong wind blowing up the pitch in Longford.

I don't know if it was noticeable in the media area. But we knew we could take full advantage of it in the second half. We made a number of changes also at half time which helped us.

Andy coming on was massive. We pushed Horgs into the ten position. Eoin was slotted to play out to the left and Leo out to the right.

Thankfully the tweaks worked. We also knew we have not been scoring many goals in the first halves of recent games. It's always been second-half goals and wearing teams down.'

''I am seeing a couple of players in the window who I would of course be interested in. As that phase of the season nears. I will be talking to the owners. The club knows what we are trying to do. We do need experienced players.

We are also a little bit thin on the ground as far as our squad is concerned. The lads we have now, have been top-class. But there is still a long way to go in the season. So we will be looking to add to our squad in the window.''

Dean Ebbe says he was delighted to get on the score sheet as he had been on a bit of a bad scoring run in recent weeks. ''It was great to get two goals tonight.

And the win and the three points were so important. I have a good record of scoring goals against Longford here in their own ground. But to get the three points here is all that matters.

The draws against Treaty and Finn Harps were very frustrating. That's the standards we have set this year. I mean we are unbeaten this season. But two draws and we are upset.

But we want to win every game we play. The manager and his assistant has drilled it into us that we go out and try to win every game we play in''.

''Three points is a must at this club especially as we are in the First Division. I am delighted to have got the two goals. That's why I am at Oriel Park. If you wear the number nine jersey at Oriel Park it's for goals.

I am here to score goals. I have been very disappointed that I have failed to score goals in some of the recent games. But it was great to get the goals and the win back tonight.

I can not really say why others in the team have not been scoring. But I have just not been clinical enough. I've been unhappy at not being clinical enough and not getting enough chances to score.

The last two games I have not had too many opportunities. But tonight, two opportunities brought myself and the team two goals.

Getting the goals gives me the greater confidence and hopefully I will be able to score more when I play against my old club Athlone next Friday. I really am looking forward going back to Athlone. I know all the players up there.''.

''There are no easy games in this league. I have known that since last year. We have set a high bar this season. Everybody of course wants to take us down.

Our plan is to be there or thereabouts coming to the end of the season. We are just taking one game at a time. Our aim is to get promotion.''.

Leo Gaxha says he was delighted to see Dundalk get the win and the three goals. ''We are back to winning ways. We have also shown the standard which we set since the earlier part of the season. We were really good in the second half. Maybe not so much in the first half.

It was great to see Dean get the two goals in the second half. He is well capable of doing this knowing Dean so well. I played with him last season.

We all have to stick by him. The fans have also to keep sticking by him. Dean can get goals for us and he will get goals for us in the coming weeks.

I was very happy with my own performance tonight. The only disappointing thing for me was that I did not get on the scoresheet myself. I just need to keep working hard and I am sure the opportunities will come.''

''Teams always play very deep against us. Some will play five at the back. Their intention is to stop us scoring. But we always get the opportunity at some stage.

We are confident that we can win games going into the rest of the season, by three or four goals. But the most important thing for us is to get three points. If we are to get them by a single goal then so be it.

I came to the club because the gaffer believed in me. He knows what I can do. He knows my ability. I work hard in training. Bishopsgate is always a very difficult place to get a result.

When Galway got promotion two seasons ago they were never able to record a win there. We just need to keep going. Every game is a hard game.

We just need to get the three points wherever we go.'' Gaxha is a terrific player. He has fantastic ability. He will be a huge asset as the season goes on.

I can not believe it was thirty years ago last Sunday since Dundalk won the league under Dermot Keely in 1995. I will be doing a feature article on this later in the year. Just to say it was the most dramatic of days.

Derry blew the title. They only needed to draw with already relegated Athlone Town in Saint Mel's Park to win the league. They missed a penalty and lost.

Shelbourne needed a win if Derry stuttered. Shels stuttered themselves. Dundalk were rank outsiders. They needed a win and results to go well for them elsewhere.

They did. It was great to see Dundalk snatch the title from under the noses of Derry. There were only 1,200 supporters in Oriel that day to see Dundalk lift the title.

Finally, I never imagined Louth would be meeting Meath in the Leinster senior football Championship final in two weeks' time. I thought Louth would make the final. The experts gave Meath no chance against Dublin.

But they made it. Louth did so well against Kildare. That was a tough game. I saw Meath playing a couple of weeks ago. I had this feeling they could spring a surprise against Dublin.

I was told no way by the experts. I stayed away as a result of what the experts said from putting a bet on Meath. How silly was I to listen to the experts? I think Louth will beat Meath. Meath robbed Louth in 2010. It was disgraceful what happened.

If there is a God in heaven, then Louth must win. Meath do not deserve any luck for the forthcoming final, given how their predecessors robbed Louth in July 2010 in the most controversial game of the decade.

Best of luck to Louth in the final. It's great to see Dublin out of Leinster as they have won the title ever since Meath were last given it in 2010.

Have a great week. Next up for Dundalk is a trip to Athlone on Friday. Dundalk will have to win ugly to get all three points.

They can get them. Look after yourselves, and please remember to be careful out there.