O'Donnell admits European qualification out of reach for Dundalk FC following defeat to Shelbourne

Dundalk FC head coach Stephen O’Donnell admitted that European qualification is out of reach for his team in the aftermath of last Friday night’s 1-0 defeat at Shelbourne.

A fourth-minute goal from Hull City loanee Will Jarvis was all that separated the sides in Drumcondra as The Lilywhites, after failing to register a single shot on goal, remained sixth in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division table with three fixtures remaining.

Dundalk’s first defeat at Tolka Park since 2012, their ninth loss on the road this year, leaves them four points behind fourth-place Shels, and three points off Bohemians in fifth, with The Gypsies playing their game in hand against UCD in Belfield this Thursday.

If, as expected, Bohs claim a victory in that match, Dundalk would fall six points behind a fourth-place finish, and a possible place in next season’s UEFA Conference League.

After keeping his players in the dressing room for just over an hour after the full-time whistle, O’Donnell cut a dejected figure when addressing the waiting media at Tolka.

“Yeah, definitely,” he replied when asked if a place in Europe was now unattainable.

“We have three games left and there are probably too many teams ahead of us. Ultimately, when you have our away record and the goals we have given up throughout the season, you can’t expect to get Europe.

“(Conceding an early goal) has happened too many times this season. It goes beyond the point of being an accident or being unlucky.

“I thought the game was stretched. We had lots of possession and lots of good opportunities, but we just weren’t efficient enough in the final third.

“In the areas we got in, we should be getting a lot of attempts on goal, but we didn’t. Again, a bit of a middle third performance, a lot of possession, we concede on the counter and we don’t get enough chances away from home and that’s been the story of our season.”

When asked if Dundalk’s current predicament was hurting the players, O’Donnell added: “I should hope so, sure how am I meant to know? What sort of question is that? I’d like to think it is.”

That Jarvis goal, the result of slack defensive play, represented the 22nd time in 33 league fixtures where Dundalk have conceded first in 2023, with The Lilywhites picking up just two points on the road against teams positioned in the top half of the table.

“Very frustrating,” bemoaned O’Donnell.

“We knew they were a threat on the counter and we didn’t defend it well. Go 1-0 down. Second half, we huffed and puffed, a lot of possession, but didn’t create enough.

“We are porous at the back, on counters and turnovers and then not efficient enough in the final third to get our shots away.

“Link up play – we get into enough good areas, but tonight, we were very reliant on crosses in when there was enough space to go and have a little bit of clever interplay and get strikes away.

“There was enough space to do it. We got into the final third enough times.”

With no game this week due to the international break, Dundalk are next in action against Sligo Rovers at The Showgrounds on October 20th, with their penultimate game versus Bohs at home on the 27th, before ending the campaign at UCD on November 3rd.

Victory in all three of those games is imperative if Dundalk are to retain even a glimmer of hope of returning to the continental stage next season, and even then, would still require both Shels and Bohs to drop a significant amount of points in their final fixtures.

“The quicker you are out, the better it is to go and rectify it. It’s just disappointing. We have a break now and three games left, so we’ll be giving our all for that.

“But tonight has probably been a snapshot of our season. We just need to be more efficient, we need to be slicker, we need to cut through them more when we’re getting in the areas. Just better quality. “We need to stop giving up goals on counters and turnovers, but it’s a recurring theme.”