Kilduff refuses to blame weather as Dundalk drop points

Ciaran Kilduff refused to attribute blame to the adverse weather after his Dundalk FC side were held to a 1-1 draw against bottom-placed Athlone Town, leaving their lead at the top of the SSE Airtricity League First Division at four points with just two games remaining.

Storm Amy caused widespread postponements across both divisions on Friday night, with only two league fixtures proceeding: Dundalk’s trip to Athlone and Cobh Ramblers’ clash with Bray Wanderers.

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Cobh’s 3-1 victory over Bray narrowed Dundalk’s cushion in the promotion race, as Kilduff’s side, for the second time on the road this season, dropped points against the League of Ireland’s lowest-ranked team.

“We haven’t beaten every team, actually, ironically, bar Cobh, every time we played them,” Kilduff remarked after seeing his side drop points for the fourth time in six matches.

“It’s frustrating, and there’s a lot to learn there tonight. You could see a team that are young, a lot of players who haven’t been here before, and what it takes—that was a night for grit, and we didn’t grit enough out. We missed opportunities, and we dropped two points.

“We said beforehand, they were playing in the same conditions we were. We drew a line, we knew it was going to be windy, but both teams had to play in the wind. It was down to character.

“I genuinely, at this moment, don’t know the Cobh result. I knew if we didn’t win, we couldn’t win anything anyway. We didn’t win, I’m assuming they did, so it’s down to four. Win next Friday against Finn Harps, you’re champions. Don’t, we go to Cobh.”

The Lilywhites appeared set to claim all three points in Athlone when Declan McDaid, scoring his second goal for the club since joining from the Westmeath club, put them ahead after just seven minutes.

However, the league leaders were unable to find a second and ultimately conceded an equaliser with less than 20 minutes remaining, as Aaron Connolly rifled home a free-kick.

“It was weird,” reflected Kilduff. “We were nearly thinking you’re better off against (the elements) in the second half because they’d overhit things, there were things running out of play.

“Again, I’m always repeating myself, you’re looking for street smarts tonight. You’re looking for a bit of guile, you get the early goal, you go and get the second one, you probably kill the game. You leave them alive, silly error on the edge of the box, a free-kick, and it ends up in the top corner.

“It was very, very frustrating, and we’re making hard work of this, but it’s all been hard work. The lads are giving everything, and it couldn’t set up a bigger game next Friday.”