Dundalk's fighting spirit can't be questioned as recent results showcase

A late injury time second half goal from John Martin gave Dundalk their first League win in six games and their seventh in all competitions.

It's been a series of poor results so far this season, since mid March when Pat Hoban was injured in the last Louth Derby. Since then Dundalk lost three league games in a row and drew two.

They were also hammered by Shelbourne in the Leinster Senior Cup at Oriel Park. Once again for the second time in a row, Dundalk could not put away a 10 man team.

This happened when Drogheda lost their captain Gary Deegan  after 53 minutes when he was given a second yellow card and then a red for a foul on Johannes Ylo-Kokko in the middle of the park.

At that stage Drogheda were 2-0 down from two first half goals from Pat Hoban and Ryan O'Kane. But within 18 minutes Drogheda levelled the game up, with goals from Dale Rooney and Freddie Draper. The equaliser came with 18 minutes remaining.

Drogheda did indeed have chances to win it before John Martin stepped up to give Dundalk the win late in the game and put a rather false impression on the result. 

It has to be remembered that Dundalk are a full time club while Drogheda for the moment are part-time. Dundalk's wage bill is quite a good bit higher than Drogheda's. Yet you would never have thought there was such a gap between the sides for much of Friday's game.

The ease with which Drogheda tore holes in the Dundalk defence particularly in the second half was mind boggling.
Why could Dundalk not put Drogheda away totally when they were 2-0 up and Drogheda were down to ten men is another worrying sign.

Drogheda were able to find Dundalk's weakness in defence. It was through the centre of the backs. To me it was a bad night at the office for that part of the defence, as they were caught for one if not two of Drogheda's goals.

Someone said to me after the game it was a match between two sides equal in ability. It was just that Dundalk were lucky to sneak a late winner.

A Drogheda supporter said to me that he was surprised how much Dundalk's form had dipped. I have to agree.

This Dundalk team yet again failed to inspire. It's unforgivable as well to give away a 2-0 lead to 10 men and almost blow the game in the end.

Maybe I am being hard on this Dundalk team as they were still without five of their first team regular players.

For the second week in a row, Dundalk had at least four vastly inexperienced players on the bench. However to be fair to Dundalk they did at times look much more dangerous, particularly in the first half.

Their fighting spirit and determination can not be questioned either. It took a lot of courage to get the late winner having seen their two nil lead disappear to 10 men.

Pat Hoban and Ryan O'Kane started. They were excellent. Hoban's work rate was phenomenal and O'Kane's skill and pace on the flanks was outstanding. His opening goal was sublime.

Dundalk were the better side in the first half beyond doubt. They deserved their two goal lead at the break.

I was very disappointed to see an attendance of only 2,825 at the game. I was guessing an estimate of around 3,400. But when the attendance did come through it showed there was a poorer than expected crowd for a Louth derby.

These derbies should be attracting crowds of up to 4,000, when one looks at the huge increase in turnout at most league games around the country.

For example the sold out signs were up at the Belfield bowl for the game between UCD and Bohemians on Friday.
Attendances were up earlier in the season at Oriel. But they have slipped back recently. This may be reflected in the recent slump in form of Dundalk. 

Keith Ward was superb for Dundalk throughout. He had a hand in the creation of two Dundalk goals. He was a pain in the side of the Drogheda defence throughout. His runs from the centre of midfield were outstanding.

Rayhaan Tulloch once again had a superb game. It was his strength on the flanks in the last 15 minutes of the game that injected the dose of self belief the home side needed that inspired them to battle for a late winner.

Tulloch came close on 20 minutes with a shot that was narrowly over. Throughout the game his skillful runs down the flanks had the Drogheda United side on the back foot for much of the night.

Dundalk broke the deadlock at 23 minutes. Keith Ward played a neat ball to the half way line to Pat Hoban.
Hoban found Ryan O'Kane with a great through ball. Suddenly the Dundalk youngster was in the clear. He cut in towards the penalty area.

Seeing a gap in Colin McCabe's goal, the Dundalk youngster fired home. The Dundalk supporters were in jubilation. It was even better on 28 minutes when Johannes Yli-Kokko had a shot blocked in the Drogheda box. Pat Hoban was on hand to crash the rebound to the net.

It got worse for Drogheda eight minutes after the break when their skipper Gary Deegan was sent off for a foul on Johannes Yli-Kokko. He was given  a second yellow card by referee Neil Doyle. But instead of Drogheda melting away out of the game, it was Dundalk who had a total relapse.

Who would have guessed, that within 17 minutes of the sending off Drogheda would have been down to 10 men and recover the two goal deficit. The Dundalk defence were woeful in their attempts to clear a ball into the box from a Ryan Brennan header to Dale Rooney.

He looked up and with the coolest of heads shot past the unprotected Nathan Shepherd. Six minutes later Drogheda were level when Freddie Draper was put in with a great through ball in the box. He shot past Nathan Shepherd from close range. Drogheda went close to taking the lead.

It was then that Rayhaan Tulloch began to again torment the Drogheda defence and change the game . His ever increasing runs into the Drogheda box drained away the South county Louth side's strength.

As one Drogheda supporter said to me after the game, Tulloch was a step above the rest when he was on the ball. 
And so it came to pass, that a cross into the Drogheda box with three minutes of injury time gone. Dundalk had got their winner.

The cross came in from the right. Drogheda desperately tried to clear. Up stepped big John Martin to fire the loose ball to the net and give Dundalk their win. It was John's second goal of the season. Last time he scored was against UCD at the start of the season.

I think on the balance of play Dundalk deserved their win. But they should not get carried away with the victory. It was a far from impressive win.

Flares

Once again the people with flares were able to get them into Oriel with seemingly little or no problem. Dundalk supporters in the shed let off flares at the start and during the game.

They did not let them off as much as I have seen. But smoke did billow up into the TV gantry when they were let off at the start of the game. RTE cameras have not been back in Oriel in nearly seven months. This was when flares caused a lot of smoke to circle in the ground.

The RTE cameramen told me after that game they would not be back until something was done on the issue. Drogheda United fans let flares off much more frequently on Friday night.

Thankfully the smoke did not get into the stand. But it's not good enough that the Drogheda fans almost continuously let smoke billow from their end of the ground.

To me I think there is very little any club can do about this issue. It seems it's impossible to keep flares out of any ground. But do these fans not realise that if anyone gets caught by smoke from the flares, that it can cause serious respiratory problems for people with conditions like asthma?

The flares can also burn a person or persons. It's a very serious issue. The FAI must take a stronger stand on this issue.

Stephen O'Donnell

Stephen O'Donnell said after the Drogheda game there was sheer jubilation in the dressing room that Dundalk had got a late winner. He said that it was Dundalk's perseverance that got Dundalk over the line.

The manager says he was delighted for John Martin who got the winner. He kept going until the end, and it all paid off for him in the end. O'Donnell was delighted with the win as it was a great boost to all the players.

The manager said that Pat Hoban had a great game. Hoban was out for six weeks and in his first full game back he got a goal and also created one.

Robbie Benson

Robbie Benson said it was great to get the three points. He says it did not look like a win was going to come with five minutes remaining. But Benson said that Dundalk deserved the win and that it was a massive boost. He said that before the Drogheda game that things had not been going Dundalk's way losing three games in a row.

But draws against Derry City and Shelbourne showed how good Dundalk were. Benson said that in those draw games Dundalk could not have played any better. He added that the win against Drogheda should steady things at Oriel now.

Robbie was full of praise for Dundalk's first goal. He says Keith Ward got involved in the initial move for it. Pat Hoban dropped back as he does and then darted into the Drogheda half. He said Pat looked up and put Ryan O'Kane away.

The Dundalk youngster showed great skill and placed the ball in the net from 20 yards. Robbie said O'Kane showed great pace to get his goal. He says it was great to see Pat Hoban get his goal seven minutes later.

Johannes Yli-Kokko had a great shot cleared in the box. The ball came to Pat Hoban who put Dundalk two goals to nil up.
Robbie said the side were excellent for the rest of the first half. But he says he was disappointed with the second half and the way they blew a two nil lead.

Robbie said Drogheda really offered little else, but for the two sloppy goals Dundalk gave away in the second half.
But he said that what mattered was that Dundalk were able to come back and win the game and get the points.

Robbie again said that it was just a bit of sloppiness by his team that allowed Drogheda back in. Drogheda hit Dundalk for two after they lost their captain Gary Deegan, when he was sent off. Robbie was emphatic that Drogheda rarely bothered Dundalk in the game.

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He said the two goals they got were freak incidents. He says the opposition rarely troubled Dundalk. Robbie said the winning goal was top class. He says Archie Davis created the goal with a great dribble. He said he got the ball and played it back out to Keith Ward.

The Dundalk midfielder made the crucial cross at the far post. John Martin met the ball and shot home with a ball that nearly burst the net. Robbie said that John Martin will score goals and that he is a great option to have.

Benson believed it was vital Dundalk got the win on Friday night, as they have a very busy schedule in the coming weeks.
He said that hopefully Friday's win will be the kick start Dundalk need to get their season going.

Benson felt everything is going well for him fitness wise. He said it was unusual that he had to play the last two games at left full rather than his usual midfield role. He said the game is a lot different in defence than at midfield. But he said he will always fill whatever role Stephen O'Donnell asks him to fill. He will never shirk away from that.

Robbie said that with the injuries Dundalk have had, the players can be asked to play in different roles. But he says that the players in Dundalk will never cry about this. They will he says just get on with the job.

Benson said it was great to see Pat back on Friday. But he says Hoban was one of the best players in the history of the League.
He says it will not be long before Pat is up in the golden boot scoring race. Indeed, it will not be long before Pat breaks the great Joey Donnelly's all time leading goal scorer record with Dundalk.

Ryan O'Kane

Ryan O'Kane, who got Dundalk's first goal on Friday, said local derbies against Drogheda are always difficult. Friday's game was no different according to Ryan, who like Pat Hoban made his first start of the season.

Hoban made his first start since he was injured six weeks ago. Ryan told me to come away with a win in a derby game like Friday was huge.

Ryan feels the whole team has shown great courage over the past six weeks and he is confident  the team will kick on from Friday. He says it is taking time for the players in the team to get the right shape.

O'Kane thins it was clear to all at Oriel on Friday that the communication between the players was top class. He said that his goal came about when Keith Ward sent Pat Hoban away. Ryan explained that as soon as Pat gets in to a position, he knows where to run to O'Kane.

He said he saw the gap between the Drogheda centre back and their full back. He says he latched on to Hoban's pin point pass and shot home. Ryan says the goal was a great boost to him.

The Dundalk youngster says Pat Hoban took his goal as only Hoban could on 59 minutes with a great effort. Ryan said that when a team goes two down like Drogheda were along with a player down, they were always going to out Dundalk under pressure.

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But O'Kane says the two goals they got were probably the only two chances they had. He says that Dundalk probably gifted Drogheda the chances. He believes their goals came from mistakes and not from good play by Drogheda.

Ryan says he had no problem with being taken off by the manager midway through the second half. He says that in fairness Friday was his first start for Dundalk. He emphasised he is now back to full fitness and hopefully a lot of good will come from that.

Next Saturday Dundalk are away to Sligo Rovers in the Showgrounds. That will be a very difficult game as well.
Have a great week. Please look after each other and of course remember to be careful out there.