Large number of loan signings may soon start hurting Lilywhites

Dundalk served up a game of two halves in terms of quality at Oriel Park last Friday night when they were held to a 2-2 draw by 3rd placed Bohemians.

Stephen O'Donnell's team served up their best performance of the season in the first half when they led 2-0. They were totally dominant. Yet in the second half they were a completely different team and allowed Bohemians to score two goals in the last 13 minutes.

Dundalk made two changes from the side that were heavily beaten at the Brandywell last Monday night by Derry City. Out went Darragh Leahy, who was injured in the Brandywell game, and also Paul Doyle.

Ryan O'Kane and Pat Hoban came in for Dundalk. Robbie McCourt started his first game of the season for Dundalk at Oriel. He also started in Derry.

Dundalk were without the injured Darragh Leahy, Andy Boyle, Greg Sloggett, Rayhaan Tulloch, Robbie Benson and Louie Annesley.

Wasiri Williams is the latest Dundalk player to possibly pick up an injury. He appeared to be in difficulty in the last 13 minutes of the game, but was just replaced in the 90th minute. Stephen O'Donnell thinks Wasiri did not pick up an injury but was suffering from fatigue. 

Dundalk lined out with Nathan Shepperd in goals. Archie Davies and Robbie McCourt were the two full backs. Wasiri Williams and Hayden Muller were the two central defenders. On the two wings were John Martin and Ryan O'Kane. Conor Malley and Johannes Yli-Kokko were the two central midfielders. Pat Hoban played up front.

Johannes was replaced by Daniel Kelly 10 minutes into the second half. Keith Ward and Paul Doyle replaced Alfie Lewis and John Martin on 69 minutes. Cameron Elliott replaced Wasiri Williams on 90 minutes.

Bohs dramatic comeback happened on 77 minutes when a Jordan Flores corner was headed in by Krystian Novak. The goal in the 89th minute came from a free into the Box by Ali Coote.

At first it seemed as if Flores had got a touch to the ball to score. But the goalmouth was so crowded that Coote's effort went straight in from the start.

But it all started so differently for Dundalk. Technically, they were very good in the first half. They hit the front on three minutes when Robbie McCourt's corner was headed to the net by Pat Hoban. It was Pat's second goal in 3 games and brings him to within just a few goals of Joey Donnolly's all time scoring record with Dundalk.

The Lilywhites were just cutting Bohs apart at this stage, in front of a home crowd of 2,473. Disaster struck for Bohs on the half hour when Conor Malley unleashed an unstoppable shot from 20 yards that came down off the underside of the crossbar. It struck keeper James Talbot and went into the net.

The home team were denied a definite penalty. It happened straight in front of referee Neil Doyle in the box on 43 minutes when Yli-Kokko had his jersey pulled from behind and he went plummeting to the ground. Neil Doyle amazingly waved play on. It was among the first of a raft of very poor decisions that Doyle made.

A minute later Ryan O'Kane swung in a corner, Pat Hoban was again unmarked as he headed goalward. The header was destined for the net. Somehow it was dramatically cleared off the line.

This was to be the turning point of the game. Bohs upped their game considerably in the second half and yet found it hard to get through a Dundalk side that retreated to their own half.

Bohemians played a much more direct style of football in the second half. Yet it was 77 minutes before they got a goal back and 12 minutes more before they got the leveller.

Dundalk can only have themselves to blame. They allowed Bohemians to come at them in the second half. Bohs overran a poor Dundalk midfield and the way the two goals were conceded was shocking.

It's clear Derry City and Shamrock Rovers will be battling it out for the title. The battle for Europe as I see it will be between Bohemians and Pats, with Shelbourne and Dundalk battling it out in mid-table. This team under Stephen O'Donnell is a good bit weaker than last season's team who finished 3rd.

Personally, I do not think Dundalk will make Europe this season. Given their long injury list, and the fact that the club could lose their 4 on loan players at the end of June, then it's very difficult to see how they will.

Stephen O'Donnell rightfully pointed out that his plethora of on loan and newly signed players meant it takes time for the team to blend together. But his midfield and defence are a serious cause of concern.

Yes, they have lost only one game in their last eight. But just a few weeks ago they went six games without a win. They have not really been playing well, even in games where they picked up points. I honestly do not think this Dundalk team are good enough to get the European spot this season.

O'Donnell told the waiting media the performance was as dominant as one could get from a Dundalk team. He said that his side had 10 shots on goal, while Bohs had only one.

The manager said that Bohs only looked dangerous from set pieces. But this is no excuse. Dundalk were terrible dealing with the set pieces and they should be able to deal with this.

They have a top-class keeper who can. But his defenders, and others supposed to be covering him, let him down on the night. Yes, Bohs got two chances. One was a freak chance. But they took advantage and got themselves a point. And they deserved it as they never stopped believing in themselves.

Stephen O’Donnell

O'Donnell says he has a very young team and that it's a matter of speeding up the process and seeing the games out. He signed four players in January and took more on loan players in less than two weeks before the start of the season.

How can he hope to develop this team when the four on loan players could go at the end of June? I have already raised the question with him about the quality of some of his new signings and loan players. He got understandably annoyed with me at the time.

But I was only saying to him straight what others in the media are suggesting. Yet they seem reluctant to bring it up. I have no problems expressing my opinions to the manager.

O'Donnell says it was him who brought the players in. That's fine. But I also believe he had a fairly restricted budget. 

It's the first time in a long while the club have failed to bring in any quality League of Ireland players. Yes, there has been a shortage of stars. But other clubs have signed the few available. Why not Dundalk? The answer seems to be a shortage of money.

Stephen says he got the players he asked for. It's hard to imagine why not even one domestic player was signed. No matter what anyone from within Oriel says, it surely has to do with the issue of finance. Dundalk lost €1 million in 2022.

The manager in response to my question agreed that the two goals were very soft to give away. He rightly told me that any goal given away in a set piece is obviously preventable. He said his side were dominant in the first half, having ten shots at the Bohs goal to only one of theirs.

He also said the incident where John Martin was pulled down in the box was a stone wall penalty. The manager noted how Dundalk seemed to be coming out the wrong side of some decisions.

Asked if he thought the referee had a poor game, the Dundalk manager said that from his point of view he felt that Dundalk did not get the marginal decisions. But he added that was not glossing over the game, because had Dundalk dealt with the set pieces they would have won.

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Heated Debate

I asked the manager how many points he saw the team getting over the next two games against Pats next Friday and the following week against Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght.

Stephen replied by saying what did I expect he was going to say. I said I was simply asking him. He replied that Dundalk had come up against a Bohemians side who were in third place in the table and played them off the pitch.

Amazingly the manager asked me where I was judging his team at the minute. I was judging his side by where they were in the table at the moment. I told him such. Again, he asked me where I think Dundalk should be from an expectation point of view.

I said supporters had huge expectations of his side climbing the table and qualifying for Europe. O'Donnell says he would agree with that. Dundalk had one defeat in eight games.

O’Donnell said the Derry game was disappointing on Monday, but they had played good stuff against Bohemians. He said that a year ago seven of the players were not at the club. He told me his young players were doing very well and he believes they just need to manage the games better.

I said to him that I did not know how he was able to manage things as they are at the moment, given all the injuries. His reply to me was that he still has good players available.

I suggested to Stephen that the fact four of his players are on loan and that he could lose them at the end of June, that this would affect progress. He said that this was where Dundalk were as a club.

I said that this was not where Dundalk should be and the Galwegian stressed he had good players. I said I was not questioning that.

I asked him about the pitch and the number of injuries it had caused. He told me that Darragh Leahy's injury was a contact one. The manager says the pitch is the pitch. I suggested to him that most of the injuries the team had sustained had been at Oriel. O'Donnell says that it is what it is, but that he was just referring to Friday's performance.

Dundalk now face Pat's away and Shamrock Rovers away also. I just cannot see this Dundalk team getting much from these games. Hopefully I am wrong. Despite having had such a good run recently these ties will be very tough.

And again, I ask the question how can a manager be expected to plan ahead for the coming months when he could lose all of his on loan players at the end of June? This is simply just not good enough for a club like Dundalk nor for any manager to have to put up with.

I've seen many Dundalk teams go on good and bad runs over the years. As one supporter said to me, they are lucky that they have had few decent results behind them. It's put space between them and the fight to avoid the play off place.

I do not think that will happen. But neither do I think Dundalk will qualify for Europe. My view is that the squad is just simply not good enough to make it through to Europe next season. They will finish mid-table.

Johannes Yli-Kokko

After Friday's game I also got to talk to 21-year-old Johannes Yli-Kokko, Dundalk's 21-year-old on loan midfield player from HJK of Helsinki. Johannes has played 15 times for the Lilywhites this season. He has scored twice so far.

I was surprised when he was taken off in the game against Bohemians. Johannes was understandably disappointed with the result after Dundalk's great first half display. He was delighted with the two goals Dundalk got in the first half. But he said they just could not put the game away.

He revealed that Pat Hoban's goal that came from a Ryan O'Kane corner was a set piece the side practices a lot in training. He says the feeling was good in the dressing room at half time. But the team were fully aware that the second half was not going to be easy.

Dundalk kept going in the second half and tried to put the game away. But Bohs got their first goal back from a soft set piece. The disappointment doubled when Dundalk gave a second easy set-piece goal away.

The Lilywhites did come back at Bohs in injury time. Sadly, there was to be no repeat of the game against Cork or Drogheda when Dundalk put on a late show to win.

Johannes only arrived in Dundalk at the end of January. He says he is getting along very well with the rest of his teammates and has settled well in the town of Dundalk.

He’s found the atmosphere friendly at Oriel and that he has really good fun with his team mates. Johannes says Dundalk is a nice cosy little town and added he is very happy where he is living.

The Finn noted that he got himself up and running very quickly, adapting to the Irish way of life compared to what he was used to at home. It really helped him to find himself living with other teammates at the very start, before he moved out to find his own place.

Johannes was full of praise at the way the club helped him to settle in. He says they have been very good. He said that Brian Gartland in particular has been really helpful to him. He helped to sort everything out. The coaching staff are really good people as well.

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I think this is fantastic to hear a young player like Johannes say he was very happy at the club and that he has been helped by so many people. Very often reporters and supporters easily forget how difficult it must be for a player to settle into a new location and club.

For a young man aged 22, it cannot have been easy for Johannes to move from a big city like Helsinki to a small town like Dundalk. Nor is it easy to move from one country to another.

Johannes says that it only took a small amount of thinking when word came through that Dundalk were interested in him. With the help of his family and his agent, he made the decision to head to Louth.

He agreed with me that he was starting to settle into the side, which has helped his performances. I can see this myself at the way Johannes is improving week by week.

I was actually surprised Stephen O'Donnell took him off with a half hour remaining as he was certainly contributing a lot at that stage.

Johannes says he is looking forward a lot to playing in Europe in July. The fact Dundalk were playing in Europe was only a small factor that attracted him to the club. He says his own club in Helsinki have played a lot in Europe and he has been part of that too.

When asked was there were any standout differences between Ireland and Finland, Johannes says the mobile phone service is better at home than it is here in Ireland. The Dundalk midfielder says there is no big difference between the two countries.

He stressed that he really likes the town of Dundalk. He adds the people of the town are really nice. He adds with a smile that in a good way Dundalk is quiet, but yet not so quiet.

I think it's fantastic again to see the club looking after its young players. And when one looks at the age profile of the team, most are in their early 20's. This can only be good. But with so many players at the club on loan, it's impossible for the manager to plan for the long term.

Final Thoughts

Finally, I have to say one player I would have a lot of sympathy for after Friday night's game is Nathan Shepherd. He pulled off some fine saves in that game.

But the slack marking at the back saw all his good work come to nothing as the defence gave away so many easy goals. The same happened at the Brandywell on Monday night and during other key games this season.

Next up its Pats in Inchicore. Have a great week. Please remember to look after each other and be careful out there.