The Commentary Box: Dundalk came away with a comfortable win

A thousand people packed into Kerry FC's home stadium on Friday night, as Dundalk went in search of three points to keep them clear of Cobh Ramblers in the chase for the automatic promotion spot in the First Division.

They had a comfortable 4-0 win in the end. It was their biggest score win yet in the First Division. It was not as easy a win as the score suggests. Kerry were just behind by a single goal at the break.

READ NEXT: Inside Track: Have no doubt, there is life beyond the GAA

But they conceded two soft goals in injury time at the end of the game that perhaps does not tell the full story. Yet Dundalk should have been a couple of goals up at the break.

They missed a number of good chances in that first half. I was left with the impression that their failure to take advantage in that half would give Kerry a chance if they went at Dundalk in the second half.

But an Eoin Kenny super goal 18 minutes into the second half really killed the game off as a contest. Once again as they showed against Cobh the previous week, Ciaran Kilduff's men showed great skill in running the clock down.

And rather than concede goals they got two late goals in injury from substitutes Andy Paraschiv and Keith Ward for an emphatic win and maintain their four-point lead at the top.

Dundalk made the long 470-mile round trip to Tralee on Thursday. They stayed over on Thursday night in Tralee.

After the game boss Ciaran Kilduff was adamant that travelling the night before had played a major role in helping them to get ready for Friday night's game and played its part in his side getting the win.

Dundalk lined out with two changes from the side that beat Cobh the previous week in Oriel. New signing JR Wilson replaced Luke Mulligan as right back. Harry Groome replaced Keith Ward in centre midfield.

New signing Declan McDaid was not named in the first 11. Dundalk lined out with Enda Minogue in goals. Two fullbacks Sean Keogh and JR Wilson.

Two centre backs Mayowa and Vinny Leonard. Four midfield Daryl Horgan, Harry Groome, Eoin Kenny and Aodh Dervin. Aodh and Harry played in the engine room in the centre of the park. Both Eoin Kenny and Daryl Horgan played out on the wing.

Once again Dean Ebbe and Gbemi Arubi played as double strikers. In reality, Ebbe was once again given a roaming role all over the pitch.

And for the second week in a row, the move worked. He created a goal. He nearly scored and defended well at the back and was a key fifth man in midfield when needed. Gbemi was not as effective as he was against Cobh. But he still did well.

Daryl Horgan was his usual good self and worked so hard. Eoin Kenny was my man of the match. He was excellent on the wing and had the Kerry defence in real trouble all night. His second-half goal was top-class.

Eoin was the most creative player for Dundalk on the night. Harry Groome put Dundalk ahead after just twenty minutes, he is starting to score goals. This man could be used as a striker if needed.

But he was so influential in centre midfield that Kerry just could not settle. Vice-captain Aodh Dervin was very influential in centre midfield. At the back, JR Wilson showed how vital his experience will be in the weeks ahead.

Sean Keogh was once again so good at full-back. Vinny Leonard showed so much talent. It is frightening that at age 17 he is so talented. It's only a matter of time before Vinny goes abroad.

Mayowa was also a force of such strength at the back. And Enda Minogue took off some key saves. He was returning to the scene where he broke his finger against Kerry on their home ground which kept him out of football for ten weeks.

Declan McDaid replaced Daryl Horgan on 61 minutes. Ciaran Kilduff emptied his bench of 69 minutes, and Sean Keogh was replaced by Sean McHale.

Keith Ward also replaced Aodh Dervin on 69 minutes while Harry Groome was also replaced by Andy Paracshiv at the same time. Luke Mulligan replaced JR Wilson with nine minutes remaining.

Kerry came into the game on the back of throwing away a three-one lead the previous week against 10-man Wexford only to lose by four goals to three. So for the second week in a row, Kerry conceded four goals.

Dundalk's lead goal on 20 minutes, happened when Kerry defender Alex Dunne has his pass out of defence intercepted by Harry Groome. Harry picked his spot and unleashed a terrific shot that dipped under the crossbar and ended up in the net.

Eoin Kenny was very good on 29 minutes when he got rid of his marker. His cross into the box saw Horgan failing to connect. It was Eoin Kenny again six minutes from the break.

His cross into the box found Abemi. Gbemi's effort looked like a certain goal as it beat the Kerry keeper Niall Broolwell cleared the ball off Kerry's line.

The winning goal came on 58 minutes, Dean Ebbe Found Eoin Kenny on the right wing. Kenny beat the Kerry keeper at his near post with an excellent shot. Keith Ward got Dundalk's third goal in injury time.

His 35-yard free was not very good. Yet the Kerry defence stood watching. Sadly for the home side, their keeper was asleep as well. The ball hit the bottom right-hand corner of the net. Dundalk were not finished.

Andy Paraschiv found space on the edge of the Kerry box. His shot was unstoppable as Dundalk came away with a comfortable win. Next up for Dundalk is Bray Wanderers.

Dundalk comfortably beat Bray in their opening league game in Bray. But it was Wanderers' first home game of the season having played their first four away. This was because Bray were finishing off getting their artificial surface laid.

Bray nearly beat Dundalk at Oriel in the teams' second clash. It took a late goal for Dundalk to keep their unbeaten home record at Oriel. Bray are nine points behind Dundalk as things stand.

They must beat Dundalk on Friday night to prevent Bray from ripping open the chase for the automatic promotion spot. Dundalk never usually finds the Carlisle Grounds an easy place to visit.

But they did have one of their best-ever wins on Bray's home patch last time round. It will be a very tough game. I think the Oriel Park men may just edge Bray out with a narrow win.

Kerry's official maximum capacity for attendance at their home ground is 1,200. On Friday night they had an attendance of 1,000. At least 500 supporters were from Dundalk.

The prawn sandwich Shedside Army took the option of flying to Tralee. In all seriousness, it is a great way to get to Tralee. The airfare was 45 euro return for many fans that included the Shedside Army.

I drove to Tralee. It's not as far as people think and with the motorway straight to Limerick, it's just another 65 miles. In fact, St. Colman's Park in Cobh is nearly the same distance as Mounthawk Park in Tralee.

The major negative of the journey by road is the journey between Limerick and Tralee. It's a reminder of the old days of trying to drive through Dunleer, Drogheda and Balbriggan when there were no motorways between Dundalk and Dublin.

Travelling through Adare, Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale can mean the traffic delays can lead to the journey between Limerick and Tralee increasing to over two and a half hours in what should be at most an hour and a quarter.

But the Ryder Cup is being held in Adare in a few years' time. The building of bypasses around the County Limerick towns will go a long way to easing traffic hold-ups.

But having said that the stupidity of the government past and present in not building a motorway between Limerick and Tralee can be clearly seen.

The motorway from Limerick to Tralee will never be built. The motorway from Limerick to Cork which has yet to start will not be completed until 2035. Utter madness.

Ciaran Kilduff told me after the game in Kerry that everybody was delighted with the performance and the result. "We need to appreciate that this was our best win of the season.

We saw the last time how difficult it was to get a win in Kerry and at home as well. The game in Oriel was far from the perfect performance. I said that to you after that game, even though we won 2-0.

To get out of here with a 4-0 win tonight is a good result. Harry Groome's goal on 20 minutes was so important. It probably was the goal that got us on our way.

Eoin's goal at the start of the second half killed the game a bit. One-nil wins are always a bit nervy, so to get the second goal so early in the second half was huge.

Eoin Kenny was excellent for us out on the wing. He also got his third goal of the season. We can get a lot more out of Eoin. He is still only 19. People seem to think that as he is Stephen Kenny's son he is that bit further on.

Eoin still has a lot to learn. There is also the perception out there that Eoin is older than he is as he was involved a lot with the first team in the Premier Division last season.

Eoin has great potential. We have got to give him the chance to develop that and just allow his talent to progress. Eoin has loads to learn and he will learn.

"I was not happy at all at half time as our lead was just a single goal. But the lads are an honest group. We did not want to throw the toys out of the pram. In the second half, we just clicked into another gear and went on and won emphatically.

"When Eoin got the goal, we knew ourselves that it was probably the killing of the game. Dean was very unlucky not to score a third for us. It would really have been game over at that stage.

"He beat the keeper and it was cleared off the line. But all in all, it was a great night for us. Declan McDaid did really well for us. JR played at right full and was excellent.

"I told Luke at the meeting beforehand you can not say he was dropped. He is a big player for us now. We are so proud of him. And we trust him. Luke will have plenty of more starts this season.

"We are coming into a key part of the season. JR is a hugely experienced player and we will need that at times until the end of the season.

"Both Jr and Declan are hugely experienced for us. They have won trophies. We spread our squad out evenly. Luke came on midway through the second half. He is really establishing himself.

"The two experienced players were good. Do not forget that Keith Ward came up with a goal for us. I will let you tell him that he was a bit lucky, scoring his goal from the free. The way it went in.

"The two goals in the last two minutes was something we have not done before since I came. Look, we had a big win last week. We wanted to back it up with another big win.

"We got that with the score tonight. Do I think our performance was perfect? The answer is no. But with all the moving parts we had in the game, we did well overall, very well.

"Daryl Horgan was taken off as he has just been a little fatigued of late. Sean Keogh was taken off as he had already been booked. I just did not want to risk anything there.

"I think that tonight's booking was Sean's 10th. Tonight's booking does not mean he is suspended. He has two more until he gets suspended.

"Hopefully, there will be no more yellow cards, which will mean that he will not be suspended. We are travelling home tonight with the win. That is really something to look forward to."

Man of the match Eoin Kenny says he thought the win was a really impressive performance from the team. "To get four goals and our highest win of the season is really something to be really proud of.

"Harry is a top-class player and has the experience to go with it. He has scored three times in the last five games. It was only a matter of time before he started to score goals.

"He will push on and get a few more, before the end of the season. He is a player with a lot of class. Dean Ebbe was really excellent tonight. He is a player with a lot of class.

"He was involved in setting up three of the goals. He was all over the pitch. The manager has given him a really roaming role. And apart from being a striker tonight, he covered other areas so much as well.

"At the start of the season, people thought he was an out-and-out striker. But he quickly showed there was more to his game than that. It was a great pass by Dean for my goal.

"When the ball came to me, I was just thinking, get this out of my feet and have a strike. It was just great to see the ball going in. It's no secret that I would really like to have got more goals than I have.

"It was really nice for me to score after a run of games for me not to hit the net. The manager is always saying that when there is an opening to have a strike for goal.

"So that's what I did. I was really happy to see the ball go in. The manager is also always saying to never back away from having a go.

"With the addition of the two new players, we have a really competitive squad. It is only getting better. The addition of the two just pushes us all on. It's friendly competition.

"Now it's a push for all of us to get in the first eleven. I really enjoy that aspect of things. I really want to be pushed. You saw tonight we were fresh. That got even better as the game went on.

"I like to pride myself on having good fitness. That is an asset to my game that I am really proud of. I just try to help the team.2-0 is never a safe score.

"The Treaty game at Oriel was the fourth game of the season. We lead two nil with only a few minutes remaining. They pulled it back to 2-2 in injury time.We learned a hard lesson that night. We must never take anything for granted.

"We were still pushing Kerry in the last couple of minutes when it was 2-0. Even at three nil, we pushed them. I think it's a great attribute this team has. We just keep going until the end.

"We were very strong at the back. In Vinny and Mayowa we have two top central defenders. Sean McHale never puts a foot wrong when he plays. Sean Keogh is an excellent fullback as is Luke Mulligan.

"You feel secure with them. Declan McDaid saying he can't get over how much talent there is in the squad just shows you. And Declan has been top-class since he came.

"He is another addition coming in. So there is competition coming in everywhere. It is a talented young squad. I am only 19. Yet I feel old in the team as there are so many younger than me.

"I feel old even though I am still a teenager. But it's a great squad. We all get on so well together. The two draws and then the loss was a real blip for us.

"But now we have hit form again, it's fantastic, Daryl Horgan has been great for us along with Ken and Liam Burns. To beat Cobh last week and then to put four past Kerry tonight makes it a real joy to be part of this team.

"There is a great spirit in this team and now we are adding really something in the middle. We stayed down in Tralee last night. It's a real privilege to be with the squad.

"Some of us on the team have been playing together a long time. So we are real friends. We play Bray next Friday. They have only got better as the season has gone on. We had a good win in Bray earlier in the season. Hopefully, we can do that again."

Vice-captain Aodh Dervin was delighted with the result. "It's always a very difficult place to come to. It was a tough game. There are still places where we can improve. It was great to get a 4-0 win.

"Some people are saying we do not get as many goals as we should. It's great to get that monkey off our back. Aodh was having a humorous go at me as I am always saying the team are not getting half as many goals as they should be. Aodh said to me with a very happy face.

"What can I say tonight Gerry? Eoin Keny's goal was outstanding. He has been playing really well in the past few weeks. We also ended the game very strongly. Pre-season was so tough.

"But we are driving things on now. We will enjoy tonight. But then preparations will start for the Bray game. We are in a scrap for the automatic promotion spot.

"Now we have Bray on our radar. They have picked up so well since we played them in the first game in Bray. We will have to meet Bray in a scrap. If we do not put the effort in, we will be turned over.

"The club is in a great place now. The manager has instilled it in us, that it's a place where everybody wants to be. I want to be with Dundalk for a lot long time. In fact, I want to be here for many years to come."

New signing Declan McDaid says he was delighted to be back playing football. "Tonight's result was great. We scored a lot of goals. It was great for the team.

"When Eoin scored the second goal, it did ease the pressure on us. Tonight was my first game in a while. I need to get sharper. But it was great to be back out on the pitch.

"When I came on as a sub in the second half. I got on the ball a few times and tried to make things happen. I came to Dundalk, because of the project that is there.

"We are going for a league title. You do not find too many of those in football. Going for the league you have the competitiveness of having to win a game every week. I want to play to try and help Dundalk get back to where they belong.

"I knew I was coming to a team where there are some very young players. I am hoping to help bring on their talent. They are amazing young players. They are some of the best I have ever seen for their age.

"To see talent at the ages of 17,18 and 19 being so strong is frightening in one sense. I have never seen anything like it. They are all doing so well and do not look out of place on the first team.

"I am aware that there have been games this season where we have not killed teams off. Well, at least we did that tonight. We were able to play with that little bit more freedom, once Eoin Kenny got his goal.

"Bray are a good team. We face them on Friday. I played against them when I  was with Athlone. It will be a tough game against Bray. But we will be going down there to win."

One of Dundalk's best supporters Jimmy Lally lost his wife last week. Catherine was so well-liked and so popular with the people of the town. Jimmy's world is shattered.

The people of Dundalk are with him in their hearts and thoughts. The Lally family run the well-known electrical business near the centre of Dundalk.

They have provided much-needed sponsorship for the club in the really bad times and the really good. To Jimmy and all his family, I wish to pass on my deepest sympathy.

I also wish to pass on my sympathy to Catherine's brothers and sisters. Michael Mathews is a great supporter of the club. He is Catherine's brother. I know how much family love there was between the two over many years.

Catherine fought her illness so bravely. Michael's wife Toni and Catherine were inseparable friends. Toni herself has fought the brave fight against serious illness for many years. To both of them, I wish to extend my sympathies.

Dundalk also lost a great fan who has been living in Canada for years. Frank Malone passed away last week. He was a nephew of former Dundalk FC president Jim Malone.

I would be in contact with Frank over the years. The first thing he asked was how did Dundalk do. With the advent of the internet, he did not have to do that anymore.

Frank was married and has a family in Toronto. To his family, I wish to express my deepest sympathy. When Frank came home to Dundalk, he would always go to Dundalk games. Frank worked as a detective in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

His brother John used to own a hairdressers in Dundalk. His dad Barney played Gaelic football and died suddenly on the steps of Saint Patrick's cathedral at the age of 46. He died many years ago.

Finally, I would like to thank the Dundalk and Kerry FC staff for all of their help when I took ill in the Kerry grounds last Friday.

I also wish to give a special thanks to the Dundalk backroom staff, manager Ciaran Kilduff and all of the players for their kind help. It would restore anybody's faith in humanity.

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