In Form Dundalk travel to Shamrock Rovers chasing three wins a row
Dundalk FC could make it three SSE Airtricity League wins in a row for the first time in over a year when they take on Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium on Friday night.
The Lilywhites are unbeaten since Vinny Perth returned to the club, with a 1-1 draw with Longford Town being followed by wins over Drogheda United (1-0) and Derry City (2-1).
Not since the start of the 2020 season have Dundalk won three consecutive matches in the league, but form is on their side coming into Friday’s game, having picked up 14 points from their last eight fixtures; in comparison to Rovers’ nine from their last eight.
Perth isn’t getting carried away despite the upturn in form which has seen his team go within three points of fourth-place Bohemians and possible European qualification.
“I thought we played really well against Longford a week ago, but just didn’t take our chances,” he said after last Friday’s win over Derry at Oriel Park.
“There was certainly intensity to our play. Together as a group, we’ve had three games and four training sessions in eight days. We’ve a long way to go. I don’t want it to be a false dawn.
“We will have difficult moments because we’re chasing our tails a little bit because of the start we had. I’m very proud of the players’ performance tonight. I think their work rate was phenomenal. I’m just proud of the players tonight. It was a really strong performance.
“I think we played together as a staff. I’ve had eight days here, three games and four training sessions. People had spoken about the sporting director (Jim Magilton) here and myself and they spoke about different things, but he was a big help for me over that time, over them eight days.
“The work he’s doing in the background is phenomenal. I think it’s a togetherness about us. There’s a group mentality. But, we’re not there yet. We’ve a lot to do, a lot to fix and it will take time. If we do it as a group, we’ll get there.
“Wins change moods and I don’t want to be disrespectful of anyone that’s been at this club. They had different beliefs than me. It doesn’t mean I’m right or they’re right.
“Players are happier when they win. When you get positive performances like after we came in against Longford, it was a draw against a team who are currently bottom of the table, but they knew there was improvement there and they knew that they were getting better, so that keeps them happy. It’s pretty simple in that sense.”
Dundalk are sweating over the fitness of Andy Boyle and Sonni Nattestad ahead of tomorrow’s game, while Brian Gartland and Daniel Cleary are definitely out injured.
Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe and Jesus Perez have departed the club, but Will Patching has returned from his loan spell at Derry City and is available for selection on Friday night.