The Commentary Box: Luke Mulligan was the hero of the hour in Dundalk win

Luke Mulligan was the toast of Oriel Park on Friday when his goal three minutes from time saw Dundalk come back from the dead to grab all three points against Wexford at Ferrycarrig Park.

It was a dramatic night with Dundalk looking for long spells of the game that they would come away with nothing. But Ciaran Kilduff's man showed their quality to fight back from 2-1 down to win the game in a majestic fashion.

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This team showed on Friday that they have the metal to take their fight all the way for the automatic promotion spot, back to the Premier Division of the League of Ireland.

There was just one change to the Dundalk side from the one that beat Kerry the previous week. Luke Mulligan was left on the bench with Dean Ebbe starting.

Ebbe scored and was heavily involved in one of the other Dundalk goals. But once again it was Kiduff's substitutions that were to prove pivotal in Dundalk getting the win.

They came on 59 minutes when goal hero Mulligan was introduced along with Eoin Kenny and Shane Tracey.

The move allowed Mulligan to slot into his normal place at right full with Aodh Dervin moving back to centre midfield. Aodh ran the show from there to the end and allowed Dundalk to rip Wexford apart.

Dundalk are now at the midpoint of the season. They are unbeaten and have a six-point lead on Cobh Ramblers and a seven-point lead on Bray Wanderers.

Manager Ciaran Kilduff told the Commentary box in an exclusive game that he is hoping to sign three experienced players in the transfer window. They are needed, as Dundalk compete for promotion and with the FAI Cup on the horizon.

It will of course depend on what sort of a budget Dundalk have. But this Dundalk team must bring in more experience as the team is just so young.

Luke Mulligan is 17 years of age. He started with the Dundalk Academy at age 13. He has just got his school summer holidays at Ballybay Community College. Luke is from Latton near Ballybay near Castleblayney. He is an excellent prospect.

Next season he sits his Leaving Certificate. He realises the importance of his studies. But having said that he wants to make it in soccer. There is no reason why he can not do well in both the leaving cert and make a career out of soccer.

Dean Ebbe was immense on Friday when he is firing on all cylinders, Dundalk are at full throttle. He has been given a role to operate up front while also coming from midfield.

Mayowa was not at his usual best. Enda Minogue put in a good overall performance in goals. But he did look shaky at times. It was a mistake from him that gave Wexford one of their goals.

Mayowa also made the initial mistake for the goal that when it came left Dundalk in a very vulnerable position Dundalk's starting team was Minogue in Goals. The two fullbacks were Aodh Dervin and Sean Keogh.

The centre-backs were Mayowa and Vincent Leonard. The four midfielders were Daryl Horgan, Harry Groome, Keith Ward, Leo Gaxha and at times Dean Ebbe. Gbemi Arubi played up front.

The triple substitutions on 59 minutes were Luke Mulligan for Harry Groome, Shane Tracey for Keith Ward while Eoin Kenny replaced Gbemi Arubi.

The game was delayed for 15 minutes as a result of a bad road accident on the M14, to allow Dundalk supporters the chance of getting to the game.Dundalk hit the front on 15 minutes when Leo Gaxha volleyed home a good Dean Ebbe cross.

But Wexford were level within three minutes when James Crawford's low Cross into the box was dummied by Aaron Dobbs, allowing Levingston to smash home the equaliser.

Wexford took a grip on the game and were unlucky not to go in front when Crawford smashed the Dundalk crossbar with a blistering 20-yard effort.

They nearly got a second goal when Levingstown's powerful header was only inches away. It was Dundalk who came roaring back on 38 minutes when Gaxha's cross saw Ebbe failed to connect six yards out.

Dundalk were hit with an earthquake goal three minutes from halftime. Mayowa made a dreadful clearance out of his own penalty area giving Flynn the ball.

His cross from the eight when under the arms of Minogue. The ball came back to Mikey Rowe who had enough time to steady himself and slot the ball home, to give Wexford the lead.

The south eastern side went in at the break with a lead they scarcely deserved. But Wexford nearly got a third goal when Dobbs got past Mayowa and Leonard.

His shot from the edge of the box was saved by Minogue. The Dundalk keeper saved Dundalk three minutes later once more when as Levingston broke free in the Dundalk box.

His effort was saved by the legs of Minogue. The ball came to Wexford's Ryan Kelly. He fired the rebound wide. Yet another chance wasted Wexford would come to regret missing those chances.

The move that changed the course of the game came a minute after Kelly's missed chance. Ciaran Kilduff made three changes that swung the game for Dundalk.

Shane Tracey replaced Keith Ward, Eoin Kenny replaced Gbemi Arubi while Luke Mulligan replaced Harry Groome. Luke Mulligan was immediately deployed into his natural position of right full.

He was terrific. He set Ebbe up within four minutes of being on the pitch. The Dundalk striker wasted a glorious chance.
With 15 minutes remaining, Horgan got a cross in from the byline.

The Wexford keeper pushed the ball out for a corner. Daryl Horgan's cross found Dean Ebbe minutes later. He went close at the first attempt. But Dundalk's leading scorer made no mistake with the second attempt shooting home.

Dundalk were fully in control for the last ten minutes of the game. With three minutes remaining Luke Mulligan rose high in the box to head home an unstoppable effort that nearly burst the net.

Luke came to Dundalk when he was 13. He has come through the academy. He just got his summer holidays from school last Thursday. He was given a professional contract by former manager Stephen O'Donnell two years ago.

He is a great prospect. Luke's goal was simply top-class. It finished off a Wexford side that wilted badly once Kilduff made the three substitutions. But Dundalk keep their unbeaten record and lead the division by six points.

They may be favourites to get the automatic promotion slot. But there's still half of the season to go. Cobh had a good win on Friday as did Bray.

They are both still very much in contention for top spot. Dundalk are where they are. But they must keep winning when the season resumes.

Manager Ciaran Kilduff revealed to the Commentary Box that he is hoping he can sign three experienced players when the window opens for July.

He knows who they are. But he will naturally not say who they are. The big question will be if Dundalk have the budget to sign any new players. It's very costly to run a League of Ireland club.

But supporters must remember that the club survived its existence by a whisker. Ciaran Kilduff and his managerial team have done an excellent job.

How the current owners have kept the club afloat I do not know. They have taken large footsteps forward to restoring Dundalk's place at the top table of Irish soccer.

Ciaran Kilduff says the win was a big one. "It's probably because it was not perfect for large periods. I remember playing down here when we were in the Premier Division in the Stephen Kenny era we were one all.

"I actually scored late and we won 2-1. It was three points and you could move on. I think though tonight the character of our younger players was outstanding Luke Mulligan coming up for the header for the winner is what dreams are made off.

"Before that we were tweaking things and trying to get things right. To figure out a way and come away with a win, I could not be any prouder of the group, it's obvious for all to see over the past few weeks that we have never seen so any of our younger players so tired. y

"They have played so many consecutive games every week. I am asking them and the staff are asking them for a win. They know nothing else will do. You can see the tiredness creep in.

"Look, to go to the depth of the well and still get the points is a huge achievement. Leo Gaxha is in great form at the moment. He was in front of me there earlier tonight.

"I was looking for him to do more. I fancied him for a goal today. I could see him in training and the way he plays that he could hurt Wexford. He could not  have hit his shot any sweeter.

"We did start so ell .But then we had the old adage of dropping back into our shell. It's a bad trait that we have got. We did address it .Again I am putting it back to tired bodies. The team changed today.

"We had a couple of illnesses in the camp. Andy Paraschiv did not travel as he was sick. Sean Keogh was not feeling well either, but he did travel and play. He did not train all week. There were a couple of other lads in there who had also been sick.

"So we probably have had a bit of a  few tough weeks. We knew we were a bit flat against Kerry. We wanted to react. We picked up the three points in the end. Yeah, we could  be better.

"We tried not to panic when we went behind in the game, just before half time. I had some harsh words at the break as none of us liked to have been behind. But we did not panic.

"I fancied for us to finish the game strong. We did. But they could have got a third right at the start of the second half. We were trying to react then. The three subs I brought on were only 19,18 and 17 years of age.

"I turned to them and asked them if they could spin the game on its head. Luke Mulligan has only played two games in the last two months. You are kind of asking him if he could go out there and help us.

"Luke Mulligan was excellent at right full. We were talking about him playing further up the pitch. That's what he wanted. Luke is excellent at right full.

"But it's no problem if we have to play him further up the pitch. We will always need him at right full should Conor O'Keeffe be injured.

"Conor got a bad concussion down in Cobh and some other symptoms. He was quite ill. But today he got some good news. He saw the specialist.

"The news is that he will be missing for weeks rather than a matter of months which is great. I think he will be out until the end of the month.

"Sean McHale was there tonight. I would say that he will be back fully training by the end of the month. On Dean Ebbe, I thought he was excellent. He assisted in Leo's goal. We had two up front at times, with Dean leading the charge.

"It was kind of like plugging holes with personnel. We were trying to get the senior lads in. I thought Dean was excellent tonight. He had one effort that came straight back off the post and then of course he scored with an all-important equaliser.

"As a striker, Dean has already got seven goals so far for us this season. He is our leading goalscorer. On Luke Mulligan's goal, there is no doubt that it was his.

"It was not an own goal as some members of the media have been saying. We worked on the type of goal that Luke got last night in training.

"We practised with Luke where we wanted him in the hole when the frees or corners come in. He has made the run and he has made the contact for the goal.

"Luke has been credited with the goal. He fully deserved it. Luke fully deserved to score. On the age dynamic of the three substitutions, Eoin Kenny was saying to them, let's make a big impact here.

"They probably have no right to be that far along in terms of their careers playing for a big club like Dundalk. But there are expectations and demands on all of our young players all the time.

"I was delighted with our three young subs tonight. The opportunities the young players are getting at Oriel are shedding a big light on them.

"In normal times we would not be seeing too many of them at this stage of their careers. Look, Luke only trained for the first time since I came to the club two weeks ago because he could not get a lift to training.

"These are young lads, who are not even driving and who are going through such things as exams and getting ready for everything.

"It's a privilege to coach them. It's a privilege to be able to give them the opportunities. But it is also so rewarding for me to be able to help them take the opportunities.

"I have a couple of players I am hoping to sign in the window which is coming up soon. We are talking to a few players. I am hoping to bring in two or three. They are experienced players.

"If you look at us there tonight. I know we were missing a few players. We could not even fill in the bench. We even had two keepers on it. We are going into the business end of the season.

"We would like to strengthen our hand a little bit. We are just trying to add to the group. When you go through the first half of the season, it has nothing to do with what we have got.

"We will take it to the next level. Hopefully, if the right players are available and they fit the right way with what we are trying to do here, we will definitely have some new additions."

Luke Mulligan was the hero of the hour, getting the winning goal in the 90th minute. "We did well to get the corner. There was a wee bit of a pause in taking the corner. Paul has told me to get in the box.

"Sure whenever I am in the box I have the best chance to score. I was going to make sure I was going to do everything I could to get my head to the ball. It was a great corner kick-in by Sean.

"I did everything I could to get my head to the ball and I did. The team really pushed on when Dean got the equaliser in the last 20 minutes. That's the good thing about this squad.

"It's not just one man who is a go-to man when we are in trouble. You can go to anybody in the team. That's why I think we are unbeaten so far this season. We are such a great squad and everybody works so well together.

"The three substitutions made a difference. But it was the entire team that won the game. The manager could have brought three other players on as subs and I would still say we would have won the game.

"When Dean equalised we smelled blood and went for the kill. That's the way I would put it. I thought I did well at right full last week. That was the manager's decision.

"That was to slot Aodh into that position. I fully respect the decision. I am just happy to help this team to get the result in whatever way I can. I have come up through the academy at Dundalk right since I joined the U13s.

"I joined when Covid hit the country. I am still at school. I am only in fifth year. I just got my summer holidays yesterday. I am a student at Ballybay Community College. I train in the evenings. In the mornings I am at school all day.

"Sometimes I leave school early to get the bus down to training. But I am a full-time student. It's definitely not a fifty-fifty split between school and football.

"It can be hard to concentrate on my schoolwork at times. So I will be improving on that for sure next year. I have to keep my mother happy.

"Football is still definitely my main priority. School will also be very important to me. As far as my future career in soccer is concerned, I will just be taking it game by game. Not too long ago I was still playing Gaelic football.

"I was not playing for Monaghan but for my club Latton. I am just going to take things game by game for the next couple of years at Dundalk. Then I will see where I am.

"I was originally going to stay playing for Cavan Monaghan. But then Thomas McShane got me up to Dundalk. It was a sort of a no-brainer. But I found it very difficult to quit Gaelic at the time.

"I only quit Gaelic when I got offered the pro contract by Stephen O'Donnell. That was a couple of years ago. I will always give Stephen good praise in the help that he gave me as far as my career is concerned.

"I really praise my parents for taking me up to Dundalk and letting me commit to the game. It's just as hard for them as it is for me. I have not had any contact from clubs who are abroad.

"Right now my focus is with Dundalk at the minute, to make sure we win the league. There is a good chance we will have Premier Division football back at Oriel next season.

"But we will not think or go that far yet. We have the week off and then we will have UCD on the following Friday. My winning goal tonight was definitely not an og.

"I will dispute that with anyone, who says that goal was an og. It was me who got it. I definitely got that goal. And I will take that to my grave."

Luke is 100 per cent correct to say that he got the goal. At least two of the media present gave the goal as an own goal.

They said that it seemed to come off Ryan Kelly. It did not. I was glad to be there and to confirm that it was a Luke Kelly header that won the game for Dundalk.

You can only but be amazed at the maturity shown by the young players Ciaran Kilduff has got in the Dundalk First team. Luke Mulligan got huge praise on his first game against Kerry.

That was not only from the media. It was from the supporters who attended that game. The praise Luke has been getting after last Friday's game has been magnificent as well.

Kilduff's youth policy is working so well. Last season we were told that the club had to go abroad to get players as the talent was not here in Ireland that would suit Dundalk.

I am not saying all of the current young players would have slotted into the first team last season. But certainly, some would have.

It says it all when the different managers had Peter Cherrie on the bench all season when he is streets ahead of any of the four keepers they did bring in.

I was very impressed with Wexford. They were also without two key players who were suspended having got red cards after the game against Bray the week before. They won that game.

But I was so impressed with Dundalk and their battling qualities. Ciaran Kilduff is doing a great job at protecting his younger players with some squad rotation.

When Dundalk looked to be in trouble he dug deep into the small squad he had and brought on three subs that changed the course of the game.

I could also see the extra fitness that Dundalk had over Wexford. As their team began to weaken, Dundalk just got stronger. In the end, it was that strength and fitness that saw Dundalk over the line.

The supporters were magnificent. There was an attendance of just over 890. I would estimate that over 450 were from Dundalk. It was as strong as the support that Stephen Kenny's teams would get in the glory years for away games.

The draw for the FAI Cup second round takes place next Thursday. The draw for the senior women's FAI cup will also take place at the same time. I'd love to see Dundalk get Saint Pats or Bohemians at home.

It would mean we would see the return of Stephen Kenny and Brian Gartland to Oriel. If Dundalk get Bohemians we would see the return of former manager Stephen O'Donnell and Alan Reynolds who was also on the managerial staff for a short time.

Best of luck to all the young students who are sitting their Junior and Leaving Certificates starting tomorrow. To everybody please look after each other and remember please be very careful out there.