Frustrated O'Donnell left frustrated as Lilywhites struggle up front

A frustrated Stephen O’Donnell rued his Dundalk FC side’s missed chances in the aftermath of their 1-0 SSE Airtricity League defeat at Shamrock Rovers last Friday night.

The Lilywhites had the better of the chances at Tallaght Stadium, but it was Roberto Lopes who headed home the decisive goal for Shamrock Rovers in the 62nd minute.

Speaking afterwards, the Dundalk head coach bemoaned: “We should be going in a couple up at half-time, but we missed those chances. Even second half, it’s very frustrating coming out of here tonight, giving up the winner from a corner-kick.”

O’Donnell’s misery was compounded in the fifth minute of stoppage-time, when he received a yellow card from Neil Doyle for his reaction to the referee’s decision to penalise Patrick Hoban for a foul on Daniel Cleary as Dundalk were on the attack.

“The free-kick at the end obviously was a really poor decision to make, two players going at it, but that was an isolated incident.

“But I was very happy with the way we played. I don’t think many teams will come here and make as many chances and have so many good passages. It’s just very frustrating, the goal we gave up.”

Dundalk’s best openings on the night came through striker John Martin, who was preferred over captain Hoban, and spurned four opportunities either side of half-time.

“You live and die as a frontman,” said O’Donnell. “You’re going to miss chances. You’re going to have nights where you do miss chances. And other nights, where if you keep putting yourself in that position, and playing with real intent, you score.

“That’s just the life of a frontman. You’re going to have those games that you play up top. The key is to look threatening. It would be worse if we were picking frontmen and racking our brains to see if they got half a chance throughout the course of the game.

“He’s dangerous, he’s getting in really good positions, and he’s come forward as well with his previous form before tonight.”

The defeat saw The Lilywhites drop into the bottom half of the SSE Airtricity League over the weekend, four points off a guaranteed place in Europe with eight games left.

“There’s no guarantee, but I’m happy with the way we played, and we’re at a stage where we’re just focusing on ourselves, saying can we improve? And that’s the best we’ve played since we’ve come to Tallaght, by far, from a penetration point of view.

“We need just to carry that form forward and see where it takes us. League table wise, I think that’s us 11 behind (the top) now. But we’re in a good vein of form from a performance point of view.

“It’s just frustrating. We want to turn those chances and performances into definitely not defeats anyway, that’s for sure.”

Currently occupying that final UEFA Conference League berth are third-place Derry City, who Dundalk will be hosting at Oriel Park this coming Friday night (kick-off, 7.45pm).

“We’ve eight games left” stressed the Galwegian. “We’re going to play everyone. If we do our business right, we’re going to be competitive in it.

“It’s not going to be the defeat here in Tallaght with eight games, 24 points to play for, that’s going to cost us. So we just need to focus on those remaining eight games and obviously the Cup in a couple of weeks’ time as well, the quarter-finals.

“It will be a tough game (versus Derry). We’re looking forward to it. Just disappointed with the result tonight obviously, but it’s a game we’re looking forward to next week.

“We’ll recover over the weekend and get good preparation, and then we sort of have an international break before we come back for the Cup quarter-finals.”

Gallery: The best action shots from last weekend's Championship tussles

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The FAI Cup Quarter-final draw has paired Dundalk with First Division leaders Galway United – a game that will take place at Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday, September 15th.

“It’s a good buzz,” said O’Donnell, who returns to his hometown club.

“I got a lot of messages and that. Obviously they’re having a near flawless season. There’s a really good buzz around town, Cup quarters, so that will be a good occasion when it comes around.”