The Commentary Box: Dundalk were simply the best

Dundalk and Cobh served up a pulsating game last Friday night, which saw the home side restore their four-point lead at the top of Division One after it had been cut to one with Monday night's defeat at the Ballybogey when Finn Harps won by a single goal.

There were many who wondered how Dundalk would react to that defeat. Well, Dundalk fans need not have worried. They were simply the best. It was a magnificent display. It took just a single goal to win the game.

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But it was top class. The goal came on 13 minutes with 17-year-old Luke Mulligan pumping a high cross into the box. Eoin Kenny had slipped the ball to Mulligan for the cross.

In the penalty area, he was involved with the ball getting to Arubi along with Dean Ebbe. Gbemi simply turned on the ball with his back to the goal.

He fired home an unstoppable shot to the net, to give Dundalk the goal that would give them the points, that would ensure the Oriel Park men would get a win and stabilize their position at the top of the table.

Cobh finished the game with 10 men. But that was only in the second minute of injury time when Cobh had no chance of coming back into the game. Dundalk were all heroes to a man.

Mayowa had an excellent game at centre-back. He was a real hero with four minutes remaining when a Shane Griffin blockbuster was blocked bravely by the Dundalk centre half.

He was only six yards out from goal when he made the block. Enda Minogue would not have stopped it. Mayowa was a hero. After the game, the block was what supporters were talking about.

They all agreed that had the centre half not blocked the ball, it would have been a certain goal. The media did not take much notice of the block. But it was the one that ensured that Dundalk took the points.

The news was not good before the game when it was confirmed that Leo Gaxha was out for the rest of the season. He picked up an Achilles tendon injury in the Finn Harps game the previous Monday.

Sadly his season is over. Dundalk are to sign  Declan McDaid as his replacement. The news was confirmed to me after the game by manager Ciaran Kilduff. He played with Athlone Town in the earlier part of the season.

He has also spent time with Bohemians and Shelbourne. Dundalk's signing of TJ Wilson as right full also makes sense. He strengthens the defence big time. He also adds more experience.

This is a factor which can sometimes be lost in all that is written. The two players were out training an hour and a half before the Cobh game. It's a very shrewd move by Ciaran Kilduff.

It was thought that Aodh Dervin would not play, as he picked up a bad injury in Ballybofey on Monday. Aodh was so determined to be fit that he spent the week with physios and seeing the people who he knew would help him get his fitness back.

I saw him doing a late fitness test about an hour and a half before the game. The Dundalk manager confirmed after the match that he passed the test with flying colours.

That he did was so important as he was superb at the heart of the Dundalk midfield. Aodh was magnificent driving his team on. Nothing got past him. And he was all over the pitch when he had to be. He was in the key positions when he was needed. He defended and attacked. Had he not played one wonders would the result have been different.

Enda Minogue was his reliable self. He took off the save of the night when he saved a 30-yard effort from Cobh defender Jonas Hakkinen six minutes after the break.

The ball seemed destined for the top right-hand corner of the net. Enda got a hand to the ball which saved the day. Sean Keogh was terrific at left fullback. This young man looks set to have a great future in football.

He was unfairly booked in the dying minutes for a perfectly good tackle. Sean is an attacking left-back. He set up many Dundalk attacks throughout the night. But his booking was an absolute disgrace.

Indeed the referee and his two assistants had a bad night in their decisions for both sides. The officials are so important. A mistake could cost a club promotion.

Sean has not really been around Oriel, these past few weeks. That's because he has been doing his Leaving Cert for the past month.

The advice he got from the club was that his exams were the most important factor in his life. He got the time off. He trained by himself over the past month. His return to training last week was a great boost.

Another young player Vincent Leonard was immense at the heart of the Dundalk defence. The young centre half cut out so many Cobh attacks. It was vital Vincent was there at the heart of the Dundalk defence.

Dean Ebbe started the game. The striker seemed to be given a roaming role by Ciaran Kilduff. He was in defence at times, in midfield and performing his role as a striker.

He did have a number of chances which he could have converted to goals. Having said that, I was happy with the way he played in his role on different parts of the pitch. He gave his all. Nobody can ask any more of him.

Goal scorer Gbemi has been plagued by injury all season. He is a real talent. He reminds me of the great Georgie Best. With 20 minutes remaining, he had the confidence to take on the entire Cobh defence.

He weaved in and out past defenders. He set up a scoring chance for himself. His effort was just agonisingly wide of the post. John Fallon in the Examiner on Saturday says that Gbemi was a graduate of Damian Duff at Shelbourne.

John says that Gbemi at 21 inhabits the middle-age -scale across the Dundalk team. He says Vimmy Leonard turned 17 in March.

At the other end of the age spectrum is Keith Ward who is 34. Fallon says having 32-year-old Dartyl Horgan is vital in Dundalk's quest for a return to the top flight of the premier division.

Dean Ebbe should have converted a couple of Daryl Horgan crosses in both the first and second half. Dundalk were the better side in both halves. Arubi also came very close with fine efforts in the first half.

He had a 25-yard shot saved by Paul Martin. Just before the break, Sean Keogh had a great effort that was narrowly over. It had the Cobh keeper well beaten.

The closest Cobh came to scoring was when Jonas Hakinen had a great effort saved by Enda Minnogue. He had a busier second half. He denied Barry Coffey from an acute angle.

Luke Le Beveret got a cross into the Dundalk box. Barry Coffey headed over. Paraschiv was excellent when he came on as a sub on 58 minutes.

Cobh simply could not cope with his darting runs. Dundalk played out the six-minute injury time very well. They kept possession and were never threatened.

This was a huge win for Dundalk. The psychological effect of the win for Dundalk on Cobh may be nothing, but it could be significant.

They have huge experience in their team and their manager Mick McDermott from Belfast, has a vast amount of experience. He has done it all in Irish League football.

He has won cups, leagues and league cups. He has led Glentoran into Europe with some great results. Cobh have money behind them. They are expected to sign a number of experienced players in the window. Players that will win games.

How much that affects Dundalk, we must wait and see.TJ Wilson and Declan McDaid are expected to be the only signings Dundalk will make in the window. There may be more. We wait and see.

Dundalk are away to Kerry next  Friday. This will be a very tough game. Kerry will be hurting after throwing away a 3-1 lead to lose 4-3 against Wexford. Dundalk were pushed to the pin of their collar the last time they played them in T

ralee.

The win on Friday night will give Dundalk great confidence. But every game is different. To me, it's a game that is simply too close to call. The following week Dundalk play Sligo Rovers in the cup.

The week after that Dundalk take on third-placed Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds in Bray. Thus it's Kerry and Bray in the next two away league games. Dundalk will be doing well to get four points out of six from those games.

Friday night's game was the best one seen at Oriel this season. Both sides played good open football. It was the first time in weeks where I saw both teams play open football.

Cobh had to come out and look for a result. A point was not of much use to them. If they had won, they would have gone top of the table for the first time this season.

But Dundalk were determined to win this game. They went at Cobh from the start. In the end, Dundalk just shaded it. But their performance was excellent. The reason was that they were not playing against a seven-man defence.

It was the best competitive game I have seen a Dundallk team play in for years. They were up for it. They showed they have the mettle to get automatic promotion and finish top of Division One at the end of the season.

Dundalk boss Ciaran Kilduff says it felt like it was a big game like past ones in the glory days, coming up to Oriel Park, "On Friday. I felt the atmosphere was electric, even though that was not matched by the attendance.

"We needed the atmosphere. It dragged us home. We sometimes determine the atmosphere. It was a great win. Losing our first game last Monday was not nice.

"Before that, we gave away a vital lead at the end against Treaty, which resulted in us dropping two vital points. Psychologically it is a massive win for us. They are our closest challengers. If someone goes up between us it could be Bray.

"We all wanted to win tonight. There was a reaction needed from the team and we got it. The furthest we have been ahead in this league is seven. It has been four points. Tonight we went into the game by the lead of a solitary point.

"For me personally, I am really delighted for the lads. Everything went wrong on Monday night. We have lost Leo Gaxha for the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury.

We also lost Aodh Dervin in that game through injury. We also dropped three points. We had so much adversity the past week. To come out the other side and beat our closest challengers tonight was terrific.

"We were down to the bare bones squad-wise. Harry Groome was very sick on Monday night against Finn Harps. I just could not start him tonight. I put Wardy into the centre of midfield, to freshen things up and it worked.

"We had two empty seats. Luke Mulligan is a kid and was playing fullback. Vinny is just a kid as well as Sean and Andy are. Gbemi is also terrific as well.

"He scored and assisted down in Cobh. He scored a late equaliser against Bray here. It felt like a winner. Getting him on the pitch is the most difficult thing.

"Gbemi has not played since the break. His goal was sensational. It was instinctive as well. It usually takes a bit of quality to win a top-of-the-table game. The goal was fitting for the win.

"We attacked them in both the first and second halves. Attack is the best form of defence. We did use the long ball during the game. Aodh Dervin had a late fitness test before the game.

"You saw that yourself. He went to every specialist himself this week to try and get the injury sorted. He did not train on Thursday.

"To put his body on the line like he did during the game was unreal. He drove us to victory this evening. Himself and Daryl are doing this week after week with a young group.

"Sean Keogh was immense tonight. The only issue we had with Sean, this past four weeks, was his Leaving Cert. Education has had to be his priority. To come back tonight and put in a performance like that.

"What can I say? He has so much quality. He also links up so well with Daryl. He is only going to get better, now that he has his Leaving Cert out of the way. He has not had a week's training in the past five, because of the exams.

"Sean Keogh can only get better. Sean McHale is going to be a massive player for us. He did not start, because I did not want to be making any major adjustments to the defence.

"I also told Sean in front of the other players that he has a key role to play for us. He is still recovering from a serious injury. He has not trained as much as the other players, as a result.

"We have JR Wilson signed in the past week. He will be able to play against Kerry next Friday if needed. Declan McDaid looks like he will be joining the club. He is here tonight.

"Declan is a huge signing for us. We need him. He is a winger. He is an attacking player. He can also probably play in the number 10 position as well.

"He has spent the past week training with us. Hopefully, we will get him nailed down in the next few days and then there will be an announcement.

"We are away to Kerry and Bray next. We also have Sligo in the cup here. I have given the lads tomorrow and Sunday off.

"They need the weekend to relax, as they have a big week of training ahead next week. Away games against Kerry and Bray will be tough. The cup game against Sligo in the cup here will be a nice distraction for us."

Goalscorer, Gbemi Arubi was very happy after the game and had every right to be. For the goal, "I just saw the ball in the air. I went for the overhead kick, as I  have scored a number of those types of goals in training.

"I just decided to try it again tonight and the attempt struck gold. I was surprised to see the ball hit the back of the net. But I know I can do it. I was really happy to get it done in the actual game.

"That goal has given me a little boost. As you know I have been struggling with injury. Anytime I am in the team, I am doing my best to stay there. I try to do what I can do on the pitch.

"I want to show the fans, the manager and myself that I am a creative player. I think I can fulfil the role of striker that Dundalk are looking for. My first training session in two weeks was yesterday.

"I have had problems with a groin injury. I am feeling over the moon with the goal, so I have no pain at the moment. I am trying to perform on the pitch every week so that we can pick up the points we need for promotion.

"I am just 21. Last season I was with Waterford. But I did not get much game time. The manager Ciaran Kilduff called me in here and told me that he wanted me in Oriel this season.

"The injury has been frustrating for me. It has been on and off. I just need to keep my head down and keep working. I have to keep doing my stretches. We have a very young backline.

"That's from the defence to the forward line. But we have the mentality of men, even though we are so young. The win tonight takes us another three points clear at the top.

"It was a massive game to win. We took the loss against Finn Harps on the chin. We have to keep on building for the rest of the season."

Dundalk left-back Sean Woods has been having a great season. He broke into the first team in the second half of last season. He was a regular with the Republic of Ireland under-19 team last season. He has just finished his Leaving Cert.

He studied at the Marist for the past six years. Sean says the game against Cobh was a real top-of-the-table clash in which Dundalk came out on top.

We were never really under pressure for the entire game. I always thought we were quite comfortable in defence. Tonight's match was a real game of football.

For the past two months, most of the sides have just crammed their defences and have gone out with just one aim which has been to try and ensure we did not have a proper game of football.

"Tonight, Cobh came out and treated the match as a proper game of football. They did not have a wall of ten players back. Tonight, we had two good footballing teams playing each other.

"We are going to have to win those games where we just play a wall of players in defence. We are going to have to get the full points from those games as well. Otherwise, we will not get the automatic promotion spot.

"Gbemi's goal was so important. Every day that he trains with us, he bangs them in as well. We have comfort when he is in the starting eleven.

"He has been very unfortunate with injuries. The injury he gets on a regular basis is not serious. It's one of those small ones, but it has kept him out of a lot of games.

"But coming straight into the team when he can play he is scoring. And we could have scored more goals than we did. I thought Eoin Kenny played very well tonight. He had a number of efforts saved so well by the Cobh keeper.

"When the defence came under pressure tonight, we did the job we are used to doing. They brought two big physical players off the bench at one stage tonight.

"I really enjoyed the challenge. I embraced it. Mayowa and Vinny dealt with the challenge. They were able to just simply soak it all up. Luke Mulligan and Sean McHale also did so well at the back. We call Luke Mr Consistency.

"It's an absolute massive relief to have the Leaving Cert off my back. It's a massive weight off my shoulders. Coming into training, I am feeling so refreshed now.

"Obviously, I was not training a few weeks before and during the Leaving Cert. Finn Harps last Monday was my first game after the Leaving Cert. I just want to improve from here.

"No excuses. As to my future career after the Leaving Cert, I have to give football a go. I have been playing for the Republic of Ireland under 19's. Now I am looking to get into the under 21s as soon as possible.

"Football can take you anywhere. I personally want to aim for the highest level. I want to play for the senior Republic of Ireland team. I go to all the Republic's senior games at the Aviva.

"I would be so proud to represent my country at this level. I signed a two-year extension to my contract with Dundalk last season, which takes me to 2027. I know nothing about any approaches for me. That has been left to my agent.

"I have no idea why I was booked midway through the second half tonight. That was the one big damper for me after the game."

I have to agree with Sean on this. His tackle was excellent. It was clean. It had no ill intent or malice. It was a dreadful decision by the referee.

There was a minute's silence before the game, held to remember Dundalk teen Kofi Jackson Owusu. Kofi drowned tragically after getting into difficulty in the water at Laytown more than two weeks ago.

Kofi was only aged 15. He was a highly valued player with Redeemer Celtic. A minute's applause was also held at the Cobh game as a tribute to Kofi.

Have a safe week. Please remember to look after each other and to be careful out there.