The Commentary Box: This is the best young Dundalk team I have seen since 2014

Dundalk and Derry City fought out a thrilling two-all draw at Oriel Park last Friday night. It was a night of drama, which culminated in former international James McClean being sent off in injury time for two yellow cards.

Dundalk played without their captain, Daryl Horgan, who was serving a one-match ban after getting sent off in the Pats game yesterday week. That decision to send Daryl Horgan off for allegedly wasting time was a disgrace.

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Vice captain Aodh Dervin was surprisingly left on the bench. He was introduced in the second half and had a strong influence on the game in the centre of the park.

Dundalk were much the better team. However, they had to come from behind twice to get a point. This should not have been the case. They should have got all three.

This is a team that has the potential to beat any team in the league. They have scored twenty goals. This is more than any team. Yet they have the second worst record of conceding goals. The defence has yielded 15 goals.

This is way too much, given Dundalk have only played 11 games. There is a problem here, and it is one that the manager and his coaching team must look at.

They are a very talented group of defenders. Yet the goals are being conceded. It should not be happening.

This is the best young  Dundalk team I have seen since 2014, when they won the double under Stephen Kenny. That team had players like a young Daryl Horgan, Richie Towell, Pat Hoban and many others.

Today, the manager has a rich vein of young players, who play with a never-say-beaten attitude. An example of this was when Gbemi Arubi and Eoin Kenny put in a marvellous one-two run together.

It ended with Kenny's shot that cracked off the left post. It looked a goal all the way. Yet it took a turn on its way that changed the course of its direction and hit the post instead of going in. It would have been a great goal. It would have won the game for Dundalk.

Derry seem to be a team that are in some bother. They had nine players booked in the game, and one sent off. The player sent off was the former Republic of Ireland international James McClean.

He was only on as a sub, and within five minutes, he was booked and sent off. That was late in the game. Their manager told a reporter after the game that Derry had gone one-nil down.

But had come back to lead two one. He did not seem to realise Derry led twice and Dundalk came back twice.

Ciaran Kilduff made five changes to the team that beat Pat's eight days ago. Conor O'Keeffe picked up an injury in the Pats game and was sidelined completely.

Aodh Dervin was left on the bench, as was Sean Spaight and Shane Tracey. Daryl Horgan served a one-match suspension ban. The manager decided that TJ Wilson return to the first 11 as did Harry Groome, Declan McDaid, and Keith Buckley.

Robbie Burns was replaced by Aodh Dervin on 60 minutes. Keith Buckley was replaced by Ronan Teahan, also on 60 minutes, Shane Tracey replaced Harry Groome at the same time. Dundalk lined out as follows.

Enda Minogue was in goals, Robert Burnes and TJ Wilson were the two full-backs. Mayowa and Harvey Warren were the two centre halves.

The five midfielders were Tyreke Wilson, Keith Buckley, Harry Groome, Declan McDaid and Eoin Kenny. Gbemi Arubi was the sole striker at times.

Mayowa was presented with a jersey marking his 100th appearance for Dundalk. It had the number 100 on the back. It was a fitting tribute to a player who improves game by game. He is an excellent player.

I thought Robert Burns and TJ Wilson played very well in defence, as did Harvey Warren, and of course, Mayowa were excellent. Eoin  Kenny was superb on the wing and as a striker as well.

Declan McDaid had a good game, as did Keith. Buckley. Tyreke Wilson was superb. The Derry defence could just not contain him. He was man of the match.

Harry Groome had a quieter night in comparison to his recent performances. Keith Buckley was excellent. The former Bohemians captain continues to defy his injury history.

He is also a real leader on the pitch. He was a former Bohemians captain. He has proved himself to be a gem of a signing.

Tyreke Wilson is yet another signing by the manager, who is proving himself to be a gem. He scored a sensational goal on Friday night.

The Derry defence could just not deal with him. Declan McDaid did what he always does. He worked hard. Battled well in midfield and prevented many potential Derry attacks.

Enda Minogue had a quiet game against Derry. I feel the manager must take a look at the goalkeeping position again. I did not think Conor Kearns was the right choice as a number one keeper.

But the injury Conor picked up was horrific, and I feel awful for him that he is out for the rest of the season. Enda was brought in to replace him. I do not want to be hard on Enda.

He has served the club well since he was signed at the beginning of season 2025. I just do not think he is the answer as a regular first-team keeper in the Premier Division for a Dundalk team that can qualify for Europe next season.

Enda took of some good saves on Friday night. But he just did not seem to have a command of his penalty area, that he needs to have. When a ball is placed into the Dundalk box, it's not being dealt with in confidence at times.

The two goals that Dundalk gave away should never happened. It was a mix-up in the Dundalk defence that should have been cleared. They failed to stop  Derry getting in for two soft goals.

The goal was conceded by a defence that was all over the place. The fault does not necessarily lie with the keeper for both goals. But as I said, I feel the manager has to look at this position again.

This game was a pulsating one. Declan McDaid had an early shot on goal. It was just wide. Arubi came close with a header. TJ Wilson got his cross in. Again, Keith Buckley was close. Derry were ahead on 15 minutes.

Ben Doherty got past Enda Minogue from a Brandon Fleming pass. He passed to Jamie Clarke, who cracked the ball home. The Dundalk defence had been in disarray.

Mayowa had a header that looked bound for the top left-hand corner of the net. Beach took off a great save once more, denying Dundalk a leveller.

But Dundalk were so dominant that they were not so long getting back in the game. Tyreke Wilson blasted a terrific ball goalwards from 25 yards out. It gave the Derry defence no chance at all. It was his second goal in two games.

That goal came on 35 minutes. It was a magnificent goal. Tyreke has turned out to be a very good player for Dundalk. Derry restored their lead in injury time in the first half.

Ben Doherty latched onto a loose ball from a rebound free. His second effort came off Derry's Afolebi Akinemi and went into the net. It caught the Dundalk defence on the hop and ended up in the net.

Dundalk piled on the pressure. The deserved equaliser came 11 minutes from time. A pulsating header from Tyreke Wilson put Ronan Teahan in. The youngster headed the ball to the net.

Dundalk were very unlucky not to get a winner just minutes from the end. Gbemi Arubi placed a good pass to Eoin Kenny 30 yards out.

He tore through the Derry defence with ease. 15 yards out from goal, he unleashed a blockbuster that came thundering back off the Derry post. Derry were so lucky.

James McClean was sent off in injury time for a second bookable offence. The 37-year-old never offered anything to Derry's cause in the short time he was on the pitch.

McClean has yet to really get going at Derry. But I am sure that he still has a lot to offer the Foyle siders as the season progresses. But these are worrying times for Derry manager Tiernan Lynch.

They are having a very poor season, considering the money they have spent on their 10 new players at the start of the season. Tiernan Lynch has spent big. He is one manager who is under considerable pressure at the moment to start delivering.

Dundalk boss Ciaran Kilduff felt that Dundalk had been involved in a game that just got away from them. He felt the performance was good enough.

But that it was one where there was disappointment that they should have won. He agreed that it does show how far his team have come when they are so disappointed for being held by a side like Derry.

He said that they had three games in seven games. The manager said that it had been a really tough week, but Dundalk had come through.

Kilduff was happy that Oriel Park had become a fortress for his team. They are unbeaten in 23 games going back to last season. He said that this was what they wanted when he arrived at the club. He was delighted with Ronan Teehan's goal. He said that Ronan was a player who had great potential.

The manager was confident going into the game that they would get the three points, as were the players. That was why they were disappointed to just draw. But he was adamant that they would take the point and move on.

Leo Gaxha will play for Dundalk in the Leinster Senior Cup against Shelbourne on Tuesday night. He has been out for a considerable time.

But he has recovered from his injury. Vinnie Leonard remains out as a result of a virus he picked up in his leg. He is about three weeks away from returning.

Danny Mullen is recovering from an injury. He saw a specialist last week. It was hoped he would be returning sooner. Now he could be delayed for about three weeks before he returns.

Dundalk's assistant manager, Ken Kierans, accepted that the game was a tough one.

"We knew we were going to get a tough test there this evening. Derry are a tough squad. They have some of the best players in the league. But we prepared really well for the game. We went one behind.

"I thought our players were resolute, which we knew they would be. We have character in the dressing room. We have character off the bench. We spoke about where we could hurt Derry during the week.

"We just felt we knew where we could hurt them. We were finding a free player on the opposite side of the pitch all of the time. The chances kept coming for us all the time. We knew a goal would come for us at some stage.

"The equaliser on 35 minutes from Tyreke was top class. His shot from 25 yards nearly burst the net. It was a class finish. I think everybody was just glad to get the equaliser and get us back in the game.

"I do not think Derry's Akinemi knew much about their second goal deep in stoppage time in the first half. Ben Doherty had a shot into the wall in a close-range free. He shot again, and the ball went in off Akinemi.

"It was unfortunate, and it was bad timing for us as it came three minutes into injury time. The goal came from the first free we gave away in the game. I just do not think their striker knew much about their goal.

"Our second goal was one where we work so hard in training. Tyreke got a great cross in from the right, and Rohan got his head to the ball in the box for a great goal. He was doing that in training yesterday.

"We had some really good passages of play during the game. You can see the identity in the group. They sat off us a lot tonight. They showed us a lot of respect.

"The big thing to take from tonight is that our group are in the dressing room there and they are very disappointed. It's a testament to what the manager and the group are doing.

"They have set such high standards that dropping two points is a disappointment to them. We put Derry under a lot of pressure tonight.

"And there was a lot of purpose to what they were doing. It is frustrating. We know that there were three points available. We probably feel there was two points lost.

"The view that is what is happening in the dressing room is that we want to win every game. We hurt when we drop points. That is a very good characteristic to have. We are the newly promoted team.

"I think that if we do not think like that and behave like that, you can slip if you get two or three bad results in the league. You find yourself in a difficult position if that happens.

"But the lads are hungry, as are the management team. It was a gripping game. All it was short of was Eoin's goal to give s the lead. It was a marvellous one-two between Eoin and Gbemi.

"Eoin's cracking shot crashed off the post. He was so unlucky that it did not go in. You see, Mayowa, who has played for the club 100 times after tonight. We are really, really proud of him, as are the fans.

"He grew a lot in confidence last season. Already this season, he has been so awesome. Against Pats and Shelbourne, he was magnificent. Everybody is so proud of Mayowa as they are of Shane Tracey as well, and others.

"Vinnie Leonard was back doing some light training during the week. Hopefully, we will see him back in the next couple of weeks. I am confident that we will see him back playing for Dundalk before he moves on to Norwich in June.

"Vinnie has been in hospital with this virus. He has also been on antibiotics. He has had to be careful and must continue to be so after developing that condition. He is just finishing his course of antibiotics.

"He is back running on the pitch. It's great to see him back around the place. Conor O'Keefe picked up a neck injury against Pats. It was just an isolated incident and was nothing to do with the bad head injury he got last year.

"The players will always review their performances. You can see the work that has gone in since the Pats game. And they know there is always room for more improvement."

Mayowa told me that the players were disappointed with the draw.

"We thought we could get the three points. Two lapses in concentration cost us the two goals. I was happy with my own game. But sure, look, we did not get all three. We have come a long way from the team that was relegated in 2024.

"We learned a lot in the First Division, and we have made great progress this year. We would like to see just how far we can take it. We do not really need attention from the national media.

"We just focus on ourselves and who we are and what we have here. We are just keeping our eye on the ball and the task in hand.

"I really do appreciate you telling me how much the team have improved since 2024 and how much I have improved so much as well."

Mayowa is one of the best players in this Dundalk team. Seeing how much the draw hurt him and the players shows how much ambition they have. I have already said they are a very talented group. Let's hope their good form can continue.

Aodh Dervin is suspended for the Galway game. He has accumulated five yellow cards. It was great to see Pat Hoban being awarded the Irish League player of the year title. Pat is still banging in the goals. He is the leading goal scorer as well.

Three clubs who are playing in Europe have submitted their 2024 accounts. Bohemians made a sizable profit in the tax year 2024. The Dublin club revealed a profit of one million five hundred and twenty-four thousand nine hundred and fifteen euro.

Derry City reported losses of 0.4 million euro. However, that loss was greatly reduced to 0.4 million after it was revealed that club owner had made donations of 2.4 million euro. This greatly reduced club losses.

Shamrock Rovers earned between five to six million euro from Europe. But they still lost 0.5 million euro in the tax year 2024.

Waterford cost owners Fleetwood nearly 1.4 million euro last season. If they had not got owners such as Fleetwood, Waterford would have a very high deficit indeed.

Next up for Dundalk is Galway in the league next Friday at Oriel. They played Shelbourne in the Leinster Senior Cup last night, (Tuesday). Kick off is at 7.45.

The Dundalk team will be made up mostly from the under-20 team, as the first team plays Galway three days later. Have a great week. Look after yourselves and each other. And please remember to look after each other.