Disappointing result at Oriel Park as Galway defeat Dundalk in the first home game of the season

After Dundalk's brave display against Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght in their first league game of the season I felt fears that Dundalk would struggle this season were way off target.

But in the 48 hours coming up to the Galway game last Friday night, those concerns reappeared. Sadly, Dundalk's performance against Galway United confirmed to me that this could be a long hard season for the Oriel Park club. Galway's 2-0 win was well deserved.

Dundalk were poor and could have been beaten by more. Looking through statistics over the weekend I discovered the last time Dundalk lost by two or more goals at home to a side that had been newly promoted was the 8th October 2011. That was against Derry City.

To rub salt into the wounds the two-goal margin that Galway won by was their largest ever Premier away victory against Dundalk at Oriel. The last and only previous time that Galway beat Dundalk at Oriel in the topflight was a 3-2 win on 31st March 1987. John Mannion scored twice for Galway, one from the penalty spot. Stephen Lally got the third goal.

It was such a comfortable win for the Tribesman that at one stage a repeat of last August's heavy defeat when Dundalk went down to a 4-0 defeat against Galway at Eamonn Deacy Park always looked a possibility. John Caulfield's men were at one stage cutting the Dundalk defence open at will.

In Tallaght Dundalk played a very defensive game and got a result. In Oriel on Friday, they played an open game which allowed the visitors the opportunities to attack at will. Stephen O'Donnell said after the game that he would always play open football at Oriel. But if I am right and I fear I am right, Dundalk must play ugly this season to get the results they need to stay out of the dreaded relegation zone.

Both newly promoted sides were in Louth on Friday night. Waterford hammered Drogheda United by four goals to one while Galway announced a declaration of intent that they will not be returning to the First Division at the end of this season. The results on Friday confirmed that this season's league will be the most competitive one in many years.

It was ironic that Dundalk's Scottish left full Jamie Walker had another difficult night while his predecessor Darragh Leahy was starring for Waterford against Drogheda. He also got two goals in the process. I just could never get my head around why the

Dundalk management team allowed the Irish under 21 international to go to Waterford while he still had a year left on his contract.

Dundalk also rarely looked like getting back into the game when they went behind although they did have chances. I kept looking to the bench thinking Pat Hoban would be brought on to save the day as he often did. But he is now gone, and Dundalk were bereft of any natural goal scoring ability up front.

If I were Stephen O'Donnell I would be using academy player Eoin Kenny a lot more. He looked good in the pre-season. He is sitting his Leaving Cert in June and care has of course to be given to that. But Eoin will get you goals. Cameron Elliott was poor when he came on as a sub while James Gullan was not much better when he started.

Next Friday night Dundalk go to Dalymount Park to play Bohemians. They had a great win over St. Pats at Inchicore on Friday. Dalymount will be like a cauldron. Dundalk must play ugly and try to grind out a result.

Stephen O'Donnell named the same team that played against Shamrock Rovers. George Shelvey was in goals again. He was not as self-assured as he was in the Tallaght Stadium.

Archie Davies was my Dundalk man of the match; the right full back did cause Galway problems all night with good runs down the flank. The other full back was Jamie Walker. Mayowa and Andy Boyle were the two centre halves. Neither was as self-assured as they were in Tallaght. Ryan O'Kane and Daryl Horgan were the two wingers.

Zak Bradshaw and Scott High were the two centre midfielders. Robbie Benson also operated around the middle. James Gullan was the lone striker. Cameron Elliott came on for Zac Bradshaw at half time. Sam Durrant and Ciaran McGuckan replaced James Gullan and Ryan O'Kane on 65 minutes.

Paul Doyle and Robert Mahon replaced Robbie Benson and Mayowa on 77 minutes. Galway always looked to be a much stronger side physically than Dundalk. This worked for John Caulfield's side throughout the night.

John Caulfield got his tactics right, organising his team in a 4-4-2 system. Galway's wide midfield tucked in narrowly, setting traps for the Dundalk defence as they tried to build from the back. This tactic of launching attacks from the back just never worked for Dundalk. Dundalk nearly conceded an early goal on five minutes.

George Shelvey misplaced a pass from a goalmouth clearance. Karl O'Sullivan's effort was deflected out for a corner. David Hurley took it and it eluded everybody crashing off the Dundalk post. Aodh Dervan and Colm Horgan were superb at the back.

It was these two players who were the bulwark of a solid Galway defence which gave nothing away. They left Dundalk looking toothless and lacking ideas and showed very little initiative.

It only took Galway 10 minutes to go ahead. Aodh Dervan's ball split the Dundalk defence apart. David Hurley's cross was slotted home at the back post by Ed McCarthy. He was one of the players who scored against Dundalk in the FAI Cup last August.

Galway threatened to increase their lead throughout the first half. They got it on the half hour.
Regan Donelon swung a cross deep from the left. Aodh Dervan got a glancing header to the net. Again, many questions could be asked as to just how Dundalk conceded such an easy goal.

Jamie Walker must bear some of the responsibility for the goal as he failed to track Dervan's run across goal. It was a poor mistake. But Dundalk should have levelled 5 minutes from the break when Robbie Benson found Daryl Horgan 8 yards out. His effort was saved by Brendan Clarke.

Colm Horgan nearly turned the ball into his own net when his back pass was saved by Brendan Clarke. Ed McCarthy could have increased Galway's lead a minute into injury time when his 25-yard piledriver beat George Shelvey. Luckily for the Dundalk keeper the ball crashed off the post.

The Dundalk defence was once again caught minutes into the second half. Karl O'Sullivan broke clear. He managed to get straight through. Shelvey did well to save his effort on a one to one. But the move again showed just how porous the defence is. Cameron's Elliott's sole effort of the game came on 60 minutes when Daryl Horgan's cross found him yards out from goal.

His header was saved by Brendan Clarke. Elliott should have scored. Archie Davies came at the Galway goals from the right. His shot flashed across the penalty area.

Both Galway and Dundalk did have efforts as the game wore on. But Dundalk will be deeply disappointed with such a performance after the highs of the Tallaght performance. It's a sober warning that everything is not going to be all right on and off the field unless they can regroup and reorganise.

Stephen O'Donnell and Brian Gartland have a huge amount of work to do. Supporters pouring out of the ground at the end said they thought it was a shocking performance. They said to me that Oriel is no longer the fortress that the manager has spoken about frequently.

Stephen O'Donnell accepted that the team only had themselves to blame going behind. He says Dundalk did have chances in the first half to get back into the game and ten minutes into the second half also. He accepted that his side just did not show enough urgency or belief to get back into the game.

The defeat to Galway has erased a lot of the positivity that came from Dundalk's opening game in the league against the champions. Galway had a commanding lead after 30 minutes in which it looked that Dundalk would never come back. They did not.

The team failed to engage the crowd of 3,122. Stephen O'Donnell was particularly unhappy about this fact. The manager said that the team only has themselves to blame for the defeat. He accepted the team's buildup play was so deep from the edge of the box.

This, he said, created triggers which invited Galway to press them. He says it gave the Tribesmen a little bit of confidence and a little bit of hope. He says Dundalk could have scored near the end of the first half. Again, he says the team showed little urgency in the second half.

They also showed little or no urgency or belief that a goal can turn a game. But the manager has to take some responsibility for all of this. Coming back from 2-0 down was a huge ask of what is basically a young team. One has to ask had Pat Hoban been on that team could they have got the goals back.

Had Darragh Leahy been left full would they have been as vulnerable on that side of the pitch? The manager let go two good players who would have least steadied the ship among the rest of the team.

Dundalk faces a very difficult trip up the road on Friday when they take on Bohemians at Dalymount Park. The Phibsborough venue has not been a happy hunting ground for Dundalk in recent years.

Last season they threw away the lead late in the game to concede two goals. The manager must line out his side in a similar formation as they had in Tallaght. They must be prepared to be very solid at the back, flood the midfield and support their lone striker. The defence has got to be quicker to every ball.

On Friday Galway used the long ball over the top that had an unusual lack of pace and the Dundalk defence were unable to deal with the attacks that came their way. The result was that Galway scored twice when they could have got more.

The game will be a sellout. The atmosphere is electric and intimidating for away teams since Bohemians started to get full attendances again. Dundalk can get a result on Friday.

But they will have to up their game considerably from what they displayed last Friday. There was a crowd of over 3200 in Oriel last week. Next Monday Dundalk take on Sligo Rovers at Oriel. Thus, the team has a very busy league programme over the next 6 days.

Dundalk supporters unfurled a banner before half time wishing former skipper Joey Malone the very best as he deals with a serious illness. Joey captained Dundalk to their second league and cup double in season 1987/88.

Joey was a great battler and leader with Dundalk. Everybody at the club and supporters wish him well. Many supporters, including myself, did not know that Joey had suffered a recurrence of the illness. Thus it was a great gesture by fans to Joey and to make others who were not aware he was ill again.

John Murphy has missed commentating on his first two league games on Dundalk FM. John is recovering from a bad flu and the good news for listeners he can be expected back very soon. Former goalkeeper Alan O'Neill is mourning the loss of his mother-in-law who died recently.

His wife's mother sadly passed away towards the middle or end of last week. Alan was one of the best goalkeepers the club ever had on their books. On a par with the great Richie Blackmore, it's too difficult to separate the two. Ironically Alan was on the great 1987/88 double winning side.

It's been Alan who has kept a significant number of the team together to meet on a social basis occasionally. They have been honored by the club in recent years at Oriel.

Former Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny gave his first public interview to the media since he left the Irish job last November. In an exclusive with Daniel McDonnell of the Irish Independent Kenny revealed how he has been keeping since he ceased as manager of the Republic of Ireland team. Stephen is a very private person. He lives just over a hedge from me in Blackrock.

I was shocked to read his revelation of his wife Siobhan being involved in a very serious road accident last month. It happened on the M50 as she was travelling home to Blackrock outside Dundalk. The accident happened on the inside lane between the Blanchardstown and Lucan exits when her car was involved in a collision with a 16-foot truck.

Her car was pushed 150 yards up the M50. The former Dundalk manager told Daniel McDonnell that his wife was very lucky to escape alive. But he says it was a horrifying ordeal. Thankfully Stephen's wife escaped with no long-term injuries. The main impact had been mental rather than physical.

Kenny's friends say his wife has been a rock to both him and his family. Stephen says she has been a consistent presence amid all the uncertainties that accompany his profession.

Kenny told Daniel McDonnell that he has been with his wife since they were teenagers. He revealed they have had 10 different houses in their lives in Ireland and the UK. It's an enthralling interview and a must read for all Irish and especially Dundalk supporters.

As the heading promoting the interview said. Kenny describes the tears during his final days in charge of the Republic, the snobbery he faced because of his background, and how there are several chapters left in his own personal story and he explains why it's a good time for the next man to take on the challenge of managing the Republic.

Derry and Sligo played out a scoreless draw on Saturday night. It means that no team in the Premier Division has a one hundred per cent record after two games. Drogheda are bottom while Dundalk are second from bottom. Both teams have only a single point. Waterford are top with four points.

The last time they had that position was on the first of April 2005. That was also after just two games of the season gone.Let's hope Dundalk can get a good result on Friday. Have a safe week and please everybody look after one another.