Dundalk goalkeeper stands tall in Belfield thriller

Enda Minogue was the undoubted saviour for Dundalk FC on Friday night, delivering a superb penalty save in the dying embers of the match to ensure a vital 1-0 victory over UCD in Belfield.

Dundalk had edged in front during first-half stoppage time, when captain Daryl Horgan confidently converted from the spot—his goal ultimately proving decisive, thanks in no small part to Minogue’s late intervention.

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With just a minute remaining, a UCD delivery into the area appeared to deflect off the arm of Mayowa Animasahun, and possibly Horgan as well, with referee Mark Houlihan pointing to the spot and handing The Students a late lifeline.

Yet Minogue stood tall, denying Adam Brennan’s penalty with an outstanding save using his feet, and while Louis Dignam did find the net on the rebound—sparking momentary celebrations for UCD—the goal was swiftly chalked off for a handball in the build-up, securing Dundalk’s slender advantage and confirming Minogue’s place as the hero of the hour.

Reflecting on the incident with The Democrat afterwards, Minogue said: “I don’t even know who it was—was it Mayowa, was it Horgs? It flashed across.

“The way I saw it, it’s taken a nick off someone about four yards away, and then it’s just a shout. When you put pressure on those decisions—it’s a tense game, and we’ve already had a penalty.

“Horgs walked up to me before and goes, you have this. Funny enough, Horgs practised penalties with me yesterday; I didn’t get to one of his,” he laughed.

“That’s a great sign, having that leader that has the confidence in you. All the boys were telling me I had it, and I started to believe in myself and said, look, I’m going to pick my side, and I’m going to go with it.

“He’s gone down the middle, I’ve thrown a leg, and then it’s pinball. Obviously, it’s come off his hand, and I thought there was going to be murder after that. Any other night, we might not get it, but tonight, we got it.”

Minogue’s heroic display took on even greater significance in light of the evening’s high-stakes drama elsewhere: second-placed Cobh Ramblers dispatched Longford Town with a 3-1 victory, while third-placed Bray Wanderers snatched a stoppage-time winner to edge past 10-man Treaty United 3-2—leaving Dundalk still six points clear at the summit of the SSE Airtricity League First Division at the time of writing.

Not only did the outstanding 23-year-old Knocklyon native deny a penalty, but earlier had conjured a sublime fingertip save to divert Adam Wells’ goalbound effort over the bar, while moments later, his sharp reflexes spared his side blushes again, instinctively preventing Conor O’Keeffe from inadvertently turning the ball into his own net.

In a light-hearted nod to O’Keeffe’s near own-goal, he quipped, “I don’t know what Chief was trying there, but luckily he’s found my chest,” before adding, “Sometimes you get away with that. It feels like, over the past few weeks, that might have nestled in the top corner. Tonight, it felt like all the pieces fell in the right place.”

Minogue’s stellar performance between the posts came just a week after his error five minutes into the second half against Wexford at Oriel Park—a match The Lilywhites eventually won 3-2—had handed the visitors a route back into the contest.

“I felt like it was important for me to really kick on tonight and put in a performance to be proud of,” he admitted. “The lads—Luke (Murphy), Sammy (Safaei), Peter (Cherrie)—around me, they’ve been absolutely incredible.

“They know it’s been a tough week, coming from the Wexford game, but the main thing is last week we didn’t lose; the main thing is this week we went again. It was fresh, it was a clean slate, and it’s all about getting around each other.

“It’s a result that we needed tonight,” he added. “I personally really needed this one tonight. In the past few weeks, I don’t think I’ve been at my best.

“I spoke with the gaffer, and we called it as it was. I have full trust in the gaffer—he says it as it is—and when I need to go again, I’ll go again. But that one was big for me tonight.”

Following their tonight's clash with Longford at Oriel, Dundalk will host bottom-placed Athlone Town this Friday night (kick-off, 7:45pm)—a side where Minogue spent two and a half seasons before joining promotion-chasing Dundalk earlier this campaign.

“For me, anytime I’ve been playing football, it’s the next game,” he said, turning his focus to Dundalk’s final 10 matches. “If we’re going to do this properly, it’s one game at a time. If you put all the blocks in place, you’ll, hopefully, end up where you want to be at the end of the season.”