Late goal adds to Kilduff’s frustration in back-to-back Dundalk FC draws

Ciaran Kilduff was left frustrated as his Dundalk FC side, for the second consecutive week, conceded a late goal to deny themselves victory in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.

Facing Louth neighbours Drogheda United at Oriel Park, The Lilywhites appeared set to secure a valuable win after Danny Mullen had put them ahead. However, they were denied in the 89th minute when Conor Keeley struck to rescue a 1-1 draw for the visitors.

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It was the second successive week in which newly promoted Dundalk seemed poised to claim their first significant scalp since returning to the Premier Division, having been denied by a stoppage-time penalty in a 2-2 draw with Derry City the previous weekend.

“Frustrating, but a lot of positives,” Kilduff said when asked for his reaction. “You just can’t see them when you concede late. We got hurt last week as well. We got hurt just as much this week in a different way because of the occasion and the stage, et cetera.

“But we were happy with large parts of the game, but the manner of the late goal hurts and overshadows a good few of the positives that we probably won’t see until tomorrow.

“It would be easier if we were rubbish and just got beaten, because now you’re going in to talk to a disappointed dressing room rather than one where you’re able to nail a load of things that weren’t right on the night.

“When it’s so close and it’s slipped out of your hands, it’s nearly more frustration than factual. It’s more we should have won, we nearly had it and we didn’t, and that hurts because I can’t really fault many of the lads in there. I can’t fault any one player individually. I thought we really made a good account of ourselves.

“We’re trying to find our way back, but in two games we are going into the 89th minute leading and you end up with two points. You would’ve been better off losing one and winning one than you would be drawing both in terms of the points tally.

“I suppose the other side of it is you’re unbeaten and you’ve made two good accounts of yourself, but we had two games that were there for the winning, and we thought we nearly had them, but we fumbled them late on. But maybe we’ll take a lot of learning from it.”

While Dundalk had been denied by a penalty in their opening match at Derry, it was indecision from goalkeeper Conor Kearns that allowed Drogheda to snatch a late equaliser, Keeley beating him to the ball in the closing stages.

“Sometimes there is a little bit of inconsistency with those ones,” Kilduff said when asked whether his goalkeeper may have been fouled. “Conor was brilliant all night. He made a brilliant save just after half-time. His handling was great, and sometimes it comes down to decision making.

“Could he have maybe punched it, maybe not, maybe it’s a free out, but Conor’s an ultimate competitor and has the same feeling as the rest of us. We’re all just a little bit disappointed for it to get away from us, to slip like that late on.”

An attendance of 3,819 marked the highest recorded at a domestic fixture at Oriel since 2019, with Kilduff expressing regret that he could not give the sizeable crowd the bragging rights ahead of the sides’ next meeting in Drogheda in May.

“That’s what makes it that little bit more difficult, is that the stage was set for a big win as well. We really wanted to play well tonight. I think we did that. We really wanted to also win the game, and we nearly did that.

“But there’s so many positives here tonight, from personnel performances to the stage we set, to the atmosphere, to the fact that we’re in the Premier Division. We know all of those positives.

“They were all priced in, though we felt we had an opportunity to have it all and win the game. Unfortunately, it slipped at the last hurdle, but maybe when the dust settles, all those positives will be more prominent.”