“Dundalk should have won,” Kilduff on spirited Brandywell draw

There was no hint of hard-luck stories in the Dundalk FC dressing room at the Ryan McBride Brandywell after the side produced a spirited display to earn a 2-2 draw with Derry City, one of the favourites for this season’s SSE Airtricity League Premier Division title.

Only recently promoted from the First Division, Dundalk twice took the lead against The Candystripes, only to be pegged back each time, and were denied all three points in the 98th minute after conceding a late penalty.

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While many would have regarded a point on the road as a solid result, manager Ciaran Kilduff did not share that view.

“No,” he replied when asked by The Democrat whether he would have been content with a draw ahead of the game. “I told the lads before the game we wanted to win it.

“I thought we had a plan to do it. We did, we executed it, and we should have; that’s probably the underlying feeling, and the lads are fairly deflated.

“Of course, there’s the realisation of it, where there’s a level head going, ‘That’s not a bad result, lads; that’s a great performance.’ We know all that, but when you set your stall out to win the game and you come within the last kick of the ball from winning it, it’s going to feel a little bit deflating.”

Dundalk had held a 2-1 lead until the final moments, when defender Rob Cornwall was penalised for tugging the shirt of Dipo Akinyemi in the box. Former Lilywhite winger Michael Duffy stepped up to convert the resulting penalty, rescuing a point for the hosts.

“It feels a bit like that,” Kilduff said when asked if the penalty award may have been harsh. “I’m so proud of them. I thought it was an excellent performance. I thought we deserved to win the game, but we didn’t, so that’s what makes it hard.

“You would’ve loved it to be a moment of quality to equalise with you and take it away from you. When it’s not, you’re gutted. It’s a 50-50 call. They’re going to say it’s a penalty. I’m going to say it’s not. That’s football.

“You have to respect the team we’re playing as well. They’re a team with aspirations of winning the league, and to come up here and match them for such large periods of the game, to feel robbed or deprived of the win probably tells you something about how good the performance was.

“It hurts because you’re a second away, a minute away. You can see that this is a cauldron, and they’re very passionate. Their support is great here. It’s a great place to play, but we obviously came with an idea to win the game and nearly executed it, but we didn’t.”

Particularly aggrieved by the late equaliser was JR Wilson, who, in addition to providing the assist for Eoin Kenny’s opener, produced a colossal defensive display throughout — just one day after his brother Tyreke had signed for the club.

“He was fantastic, and JR is dealing with Mickey Duffy, the Premier Division Player of the Year last year, and we let him go one-on-one with him.

“He did an unbelievable job, and he’s probably one of the ones hurting more than anybody, because when you give everything and you feel like you deserve to win and you don’t, it turns into frustration.

“I thought he was outstanding, and he has all those capabilities. I played with JR when I was at Shelbourne. He was only a kid. I know how high his ceiling is, and he’s got more in him.”