The Commentary Box: Dundalk deserved three points against Derry

Dundalk came within thirty seconds of ending Derry's unbeaten home record when they were awarded a penalty nine minutes into injury time. The penalty was duly dispatched by a player who has done so much for Dundalk as a player in recent years.

But this time, Michael Duffy was a Derry hero as he fired the ball to the net and ensured the points would be shared. Derry have not lost a game at the Brandywell since May 2025.

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Dundalk had the victory snatched from their jaws in such a cruel manner. There was confusion as to why the referee had given the penalty. But referee Declan Toland was 100 per cent correct to give it.

The referee had said there would be six minutes injury time. Why he decided to play three additional minutes over and above that, only he knows.

But the key moment came when a lob into a crowded Dundalk goalmouth saw their defender, Rob Cornwall, pull the jersey of Derry substitute Henry Rylah. There was no need for the foul, and it cost Dundalk a deserved three points.

But Dundalk boss Ciaran Kilduff told the media after the game that if a team makes a mistake at this level, then they will be caught out badly. The Dundalk boss did not seem to know why the penalty was given. But he knows now.

Dundalk had heroes to a man on Friday night. John Ross Wilson was exceptional as a roving right back. At times, he looked like an out-and-out winger. He troubled the Derry defence throughout the night. Danny Mullen returned to his old stomping ground.

He was superb. He had a shot come back off the upright with minutes to go, with Dundalk winning 2-1. But he also cleared a Derry effort off the line as he covered in defence. Danny was super. Mayowa was doing a fine job at centre back as well.

He sniffed out the dangers of Michael Duffy and James McClean so well. Indeed, Mayowa cut out any menace that Derry threatened. I thought that he was immense in his duels with Michael Duffy. He won every one of them.

Mayowa was forced off with a hamstring injury four minutes to the break. This allowed Vinnie Leonard to replace him. Vinny is on the verge of signing a contract with an English club.

This was due to happen at the weekend. Dundalk will get 700,000 euro and add-ons should they arise. Ciaran Kilduff confirmed to me after the game that there will be moves.

Mayowa's hamstring injury is not as bad as first thought. It's hoped he will be out for only two weeks. Derry should have been awarded a penalty early in the game when Mayowa pushed James Clarke in the back in the box.

How the referee did not give Derry a penalty is beyond me. Derry dominated the early exchanges. Michael Duffy went on a great run down the right early on. His cross into the box had the Dundalk defence all over the place.

But there was nobody to finish the ball to the net. Daryl Horgan was exceptional. He seemed to have turned the clocks back in time. Daryl led his troops so well. He was everywhere. He covered every centimetre of the artificial surface.

Aodh Dervin was a real leader and shone like a beacon of light as he battled for the war in midfield. I was impressed with Robert Burns at left back. He cut out anything Derry tried on his side of the pitch.

Keith Buckley looks to be a very strong player. He was good in defence. But he likes to move territory deep into the Derry half. He caused City a lot of problems. Gavin Teehan replaced him on 62 minutes. Teehan is a fabulous prospect.

Believe you me, this young lad will feature a lot this season for Dundalk. I thought Declan McDaid was very effective. He nearly scored at one stage with a great shot that was saved by young Derry keeper Shea Callister.

Derry's regular keeper is out for six weeks due to breaking a bone in his hand. Rob Cornwall may have given away the penalty right at the end. But this man is going to make things very difficult for Dundalk's opponents. He had a good game.

Eoin Kenny was one of my men of the match. The Northern Ireland under 21 international scored a terrific goal on 21 minutes.

He cut inside in on his left and from 20 yards curled an unstoppable, bending the ball to the bottom left corner of the net.

There was nothing the Derry keeper could do. Eoin is a very quiet young man both on and off the pitch. He does not look for attention when he does something special on the pitch.

And my God, that goal was something special. The Derry keeper had a huge pain of agony on his face as he collected the ball out of the net.

I did notice something that caused me some concern. Conor Kearns is on loan from Shelbourne for the season. I have never seen him play before. Drogheda's goal in the Malone Cup three weeks ago was caused by his failure to come for a ball.

On Friday night, there was a period of about 25 minutes either side of the break when Derry found a weakness. High balls into the Dundalk penalty area at times saw Kearns fail to cut the ball out or gather the ball.

The Dundalk keeper had a very good second half. He is an excellent shot stopper. He took off a number of fine saves that kept Derry City at bay. But Kearns will have to come for a ball more often. He must dominate his penalty area.

Otherwise, all of his team's good work will be for nothing if a mistake is made. But perhaps to be fair, some of Conor's problems emanated from a dead leg he got midway through the first half.

It surely must have impacted on the hesitation he displayed for about 25 minutes. When Derry went looking for their first equaliser, Carl Winchester curled a great cross into the box.

John Ross Wilson was forced to head the ball over his own crossbar and out for a corner. Michael Duffy's corner saw Kearns drop the ball under pressure from both Darragh Markey and Josh Thomas.

Markey managed to get a shot on goal. The ball was cleared off the line by several Dundalk defenders. Derry came close early in the second half when Darragh Markey's volley beat the Dundalk keeper.

Danny Mullen cleared the ball off the line. Derry were level four minutes into the second half. James McClean's inswinging corner caused huge problems for the Dundalk defence.

Patrick McClean was there to head home the equaliser. A good defence must have good air protection. That comes from the goalkeeper. But it did not for the City leveller.

Dundalk grabbed a vital lead on 65 minutes. Daryl Horgan's quick thinking throw in caught Patrick McClean totally on the hop. Gbemi Arubi, only on as a sub for about two minutes, latched onto the ball.

He controlled it with great skill and fired to the net for a top-class goal. It was a great move by Horgan. But Gbemi was equal to the task to put Dundalk ahead again. The Dundalk support was massive.

The supporters screamed with glee as they saw their side go ahead again. Gbemi's goal was vital. It showed he has lost none of his skills. Ciaran Kilduff has given him the number nine jersey and says he had no hesitation in doing so.

The manager said that Gbemi was a proven goalscorer. He had proven that last season, and last night had begun where he had left off. He had come on for Declan McDavid in the 62nd minute. Within three minutes, he scored a great goal.

Dundalk continued to get at Derry. Danny Mullen annoyed the City defence all night. He was very unlucky not to put daylight between the sides when his shot came back off the Derry post.

Despite the bitter disappointment of dropping two points, this was a team that played with so much confidence. They reminded me of the Stephen Kenny team of 2013. Dundalk had just survived the play-offs the season before.

Stephen Kenny was brought in as manager. I asked him the day he walked into Oriel if he would be happy to just stay up in 2013. He told me he was going to win the league.

I was gobsmacked by his answer. Well, in 2013, Dundalk very nearly did win the league. They finished second.

I am not saying that Ciaran Kilduff's side are going to win the league this season. But if they can reproduce the form they showed on Friday night for the season, then they could well finish in the top four.

Ciaran Kilduff says he was gutted at the result because the penalty was a 50-50 decision.

"They are going to say it's not. But it was. I would not have minded if it had been a good goal. But it was a decision that was given in a packed penalty area. Our lead goal was top class from Eoin. He has that ability to create goals from nothing.

"It was a moment of magic, out of nowhere, and that's what it was. The two moments of quality in the game came from the goals that Gbemi and Eoin scored. We conceded off a soft goal and a penalty. That's the frustration.

"You have to respect the team we were playing. They are one of the favourites to win the league. To come up here and match them so well is a great tribute to our guys.

"We feel robbed and deprived of the game. That probably says how well we have played. We were a kick of a ball away from breaking their unbeaten home record. You can see this is a cauldron. where they will not drop many points.

"We came with a plan to win the game. We nearly executed it. I would not have been happy with a draw even before the game. I told the players that. We had a plan to win the game and to execute the win. We just fell short.

"JR Wilson was terrific. He kept Mickey Duffy so quiet for long spells of the game. He won player of the year last season. JR went one-on-one with Mickey, and he was terrific.

"That is why JR is simply gutted in there. Mayowa was excellent tonight. He added such stability to the defence. It's a great feeling when you have Vinnie Leonard to step in as well."

When I told the manager that there is an offer in for Vinnie, he looked on, waiting for me to ask a question. I told them there were two clubs interested in Vinnie.

That it seemed he was going to Norwich City on the Monday night when the window was closing. I said Fulham had come in with a late offer. The deal still stands between the two clubs.

Dundalk are guaranteed 700,000 euro for the transfer fee, whoever takes him, plus add-ons. The manager asked me if I was working for Sky Sports. I wish I was.

Vinnie is a highly sought-after player. My understanding is that if there is something to be done, it will happen in the next couple of days.

The Louth Derby against Drogheda next Friday will be some game. We have all wanted that fixture for a long time, especially since I came to the club. It's going to be a great game, with our new pitch and our lights.

This is a real Derby game involving two clubs who are now going after each other at the top level. There are 24 Dublin derbies this season in the league. There will be four Louth derbies. this season. And they will be special.

The Dundalk team will lift themselves again for the Drogheda game. But they must look at not making needless mistakes as a game heads to a finish.

Derry got their penalty because of a needless free given away seconds before the end, on the edge of the box. Michael Duffy's curling free came back off the Dundalk post. Mayhem followed in the Dundalk penalty area.

Dundalk conceded a silly penalty. Michael Duffy shot to the bottom left-hand corner of the net. There was not even enough time for Dundalk to kick off. The referee blew for full-time. It was a thoroughly enjoyable game.

But it was one in which Dundalk should have got all three points. Ciaran Kilduff's confidence in Eoin Kenny paid off. He was terrific. I think he will be another player who will be travelling to the UK as part of an advancement in his soccer career.

Gbemi says that Dundalk were happy to get the result they got against Derry.

"Yes, the goal they got at the end was like a sucker punch. But the great thing was we showed that we can compete against the top teams. We were happy to prove that. I thought we should have gone on and won.

"We were disappointed. But these things happen. We just have to keep our heads down until the derby on Friday. Daryl threw the ball exactly the right way I needed for the goal.

"I was able to control it, and it left me in no doubt what part of the net to aim for, which is what I did. It was great to get a goal coming off the bench.

"I can go on from here. We felt we should have held out for the win. I will have to watch the penalty incident. But these things happen.

"We would of course have taken a point on our way up here. But the way the game went makes it obvious we should have taken all three. We deserved to win. I am sure the people watching would agree. But look, it happened. We move on.

"Eoin Kenny was tremendous throughout the night. The kind of players we have can all produce scores like that in their own way. Our players are hungry. We are all determined to bring this club back to the top of Irish football.

When I had the ball to go for the lead goal, I was thinking the gaffer had shown me great trust to come on as a sub. I was just thinking I have to get a goal here. I saw the chance just a minute after I had come on. I was so happy to get the goal.

"I am really looking forward to the Louth Derby on Friday. It's the first one of the new season. I am looking forward to a big turnout. The fans have been magnificent. And I really want to get a good result for them. They deserve it."

Dundalk keeper Conor Kearns says it was heartbreaking to give up the lead right at the end.

"I think a lot of people would find it strange that Dundalk would be coming away with a 2-2 draw and be devastated. We limited them to scraps and were very unlucky not to get all three points. We were 2-1 up.

"And then Derry get a late penalty to level the game up. Eoin's goal was fantastic. He has so much energy. He is simply quality. I have been talking to him. He wants to put his own stamp on the league this season. I was not carrying an injury tonight.

"I did have to go down a couple of times. I got a kick in the back of the leg. It was just a dead leg. It did have an effect on me, but just for a few minutes. But I also was being cautious as it was my first time being back in a long time.

"Gbemi's goal was pure perfection, but listen. So was Eoin Kenny's. There was only one man who was going to change the game for Derry. And Mickey Duffy did that in the last minute of injury time.

"I am not sure what happened for the penalty. I have yet to see it back. I heard the whistle and thought that was the end of the game. But it was not. It was for the penalty that tied the game up.

"Nobody put up their hands claiming or looking for a penalty. I asked a couple of Derry lads after the game if they knew what happened. They had no idea.

"Dundalk belong in the Premier Division. We are here to show that Dundalk should not be anywhere else but the Premier Division. We were back here tonight.

"We were stable and solid. Coming away from the Brandyyell and should of got three points is some statement to make, showing how much potential we have.

"I am really looking forward to the Derby game next Friday. To me, it's our biggest game. It was the first game we all looked for when the fixtures came out.

"As the manager says, it's the best game we could have looked for after getting a kick in the teeth tonight with Derry's late equaliser.

"For me, it's been great to be back playing Premier Division football after being hit by injury. But tonight was really great to see Dundalk being back in the Premier Division and doing so well. There were so many positives to our play tonight. I think we can go from strength to strength."

After the game, a group of about five Derry supporters came up to the media area. They expressed dissatisfaction at the way James McClean was playing for Derry.

They pointed out how much his income from the club they believed he was getting and their belief the club was getting a poor return for him. They told the reporters they had not got the bottle to say anything or to rock the boat.

I thought they were being very harsh on James McClean. He did well in midfield and was always a threat. He also created Derry's first equaliser from a corner that saw his brother head home.

I know the reporters from Derry who the supporters challenged. They are not afraid to report the harsh facts when there are any. In the case of James McClean, there is nothing harsh to report about.

The reporters were professional and ignored the criticism. They continued their hard work to get a copy of the game in on time. The referee's playing of nine minutes injury time did not help.

Dundalk FC paid tribute to another great player who passed away during the week. The club say they were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former player Davy McArdle earlier last week.

Davy was a gifted right winger. He joined Dundalk as a teenager in 1960. Over four seasons, he contributed to one of the most memorable periods in the club's history.

He was part of the panel that won the league in 1963. Davy was a huge asset to the club, and he will be greatly missed.

It's the Louth Derby on Friday night at Oriel. It should be a great occasion. Drogheda are league leaders after two games. It will most certainly not be an easy game for Dundalk.

The new pitch and lights are being brought into action for the first time. It should be a great occasion. Mayowa will miss the game with a hamstring injury. Leo Gaxha is about four weeks away from returning from injury.

Have a safe week. Be careful out there, and please look after each other.