The Commentary Box: O’Donnell’s win at all cost mentality fails to reap rewards

Dundalk’s European hopes hang by a thread following their 2-1 defeat to St Pats at Casey’s Field on Friday. The sides alarming dip in form continued as they blew the game three minutes into injury time when Adam O’Reilly scored in practically the last kick of the game.

Pats did not really deserve the win. But naivety by the Dundalk team and their manager in pushing forward looking for a winning goal so late in the game was cruelly punished by Pats. That goal sent the Dundalk supporters home stunned.

Once again Dundalk’s inability in defense was there for all to see. But it was the way they left themselves so exposed at the back at the end of the game that was shocking. The game was all but over when Dundalk looked for a winning goal Instead of knocking the ball to the corner flag and running down the clock.

They looked for the win. A draw would have been as good as a win for Dundalk as they would have remained four points clear of Pats with just four games remaining in the league.

But Stephen O’Donnell defended his tactics late in the game by saying he wanted to win the game. Yet by doing so they threw away three precious points at the death with these tactics.

The mistake came right at the end of the game when Ryan O’Kane was through in the box. While O’Kane was shaping up to score his second goal of the game, Sam Curtis made a razor-sharp interception.

He began a ruthless breakaway that would end in a goal and shake Dundalk’s European hopes to their very foundation.

Barry Cotter and Tunde Owolabi took advantage of the Sam Curtis clearance. They quickly broke down the flank with Dundalk badly exposed as their defence tried to regroup. But it was way too late.

Ben McCormack quickly latched on to the ball on the left. He scampered away down the wing. His pinpoint cross found the totally unmarked Adam O’Reilly only yards out from goal. O’Reilly finished the ball to the net and gave Pat’s European hopes a massive shot in the arm.

Dundalk can have nobody else to blame but themselves. It was a sickening end to a game that saw Dundalk the better of the sides. Yet both teams played some poor football throughout the 90 minutes.

The Lilywhites have now conceded 15 goals in their last eight games. Since Pat Hoban was injured in Dundalk’s away game against Bohs on 12th August, Stephen O’Donnell’s side have scored just five goals in six league games. This in comparison to scoring 35 goals in their 26 previous games.

The loss of Pat Hoban through injury and the move by Mark Connolly from Dundalk to Derry have been hammer blows to the club.

In their last six league games Dundalk have lost four, won one and drawn one. This is relegation form, not the that of a team chasing for a place in Europe. I am counting the 2-0 win by Sligo Rovers over Dundalk here as indication of how poor the side has been.

The result was rescinded and given to Dundalk as Sligo had played a player who was suspended. It is an illustration to show how badly Dundalk have slumped in form.

Sam Bone did not have a good night last Friday, as it was a mistake by the central defender that gifted Pats the first goal after 20 minutes for the opening goal. This came 20 minutes in to the game when Bone tried to get the ball to John Mountney.

It was a moment of madness, but also sheer carelessness. Pats wing back Anto Breslin intercepted the pass easily. He slipped the ball to Chris Forrester. The Pats player took one touch and then drilled the ball high into the top right-hand corner of the net.

It was a sickening goal for Dundalk to give away as they were the better of the sides up to that and indeed for the rest of the first half.  As the ball hit the net Bone held his head in his hands. But there was little sympathy for him from among Dundalk supporters.

Bone has made a number of mistakes in central defense since Mark Connolly left. One was against Waterford in the cup three weeks ago. It resulted in Waterford’s second goal and gave the impetus for the Munster men to go on and get a 3rd and knock Dundalk out of the cup.

Greg Sloggett nearly scored at the post from a corner eight minutes after the Pat’s lead goal. It was his last act in the game as he suffered a recurrence of a muscle injury he picked up in the Drogheda game last Friday week.

I was surprised he started. But as a scan came back clear during the week Stephen picked him. He was replaced by Robbie Benson, a player who has been carrying a pelvic injury for months. The Galwegian described Benson as a warrior.

But whether Robbie is or is not a warrior does not matter. He is carrying an injury. Why did the Dundalk boss not play Runar Hauge who starred for the lilywhites against Drogheda the previous week and scored from the penalty spot.

Dundalk were the better of the sides in the first half. Stephen Bradley, Greg Sloggett, Ryan O’Kane and Joe Adams all went close in the opening 11 minutes.

Stephen O’Donnell made one change from the starting eleven against Drogheda United the previous week. Runar Hauge dropped to the bench while Stephen Bradley came in.

The home side continued to dominate after the Forrester goal. The deserved equalizer came on the stroke of half time. Robbie Benson laid the ball off for Ryan O’Kane. He powered home a low drive to the net. The ball seemed to hit a divet on the pitch before it hit the net.

The second half saw both teams looking for the winner. Neither side looked capable of getting the breakthrough. But Pat’s got it three minutes into injury time as Dundalk lost their first home game of the season.

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O’Donnell Reaction

Stephen O’Donnell was very disappointed after the game. He said Dundalk did need to be more clinical and lacked a cutting edge. This he says was his main frustration. The manager spoke of where he wants to go with the club and that he was not thinking short term.

I asked the manager about Pat Hoban. He said he was still struggling with his calf muscle injury and is still hoping he will be back before the end of the season. O’Donnell confirmed to me he will miss next Friday’s game against Finn Harps.

I asked the Dundalk boss about Lewis Macari. He said John Mountney played well on Friday. But I suggested that Macari plays centre half at Stoke. He said of course fill that role which increases competition for places in this position.

I could not understand the managers reasoning here. He has an uninjured player who fills the centre half slot at his patent club Stoke and fails to even replace him for Sam Bone after Sam’s mistake.

When I asked him why he did not slow the game down in injury time given that a point was as good as three, he dismissed my point.

O’Donnell says his teams try to go and win the games at home. He said his tactics were not a mistake in this regard. He pointed out that Ryan O’Kane nearly got in for a second when Pats broke for the winner.

The former midfielder told me that when his club are at home, he will try to preach that they are Dundalk Football club and they will always want to go on and win the game. He did not want to hold out for a draw.

I asked him about Sam Bone’s mistake for the goal. He said that Sam did make a mistake, but then the manager felt he went on to play a good game. I would not exactly agree with this as Sam still looked a bit shaken after making the bad blunder for the goal.

I can’t understand Stephen O’Donnell’s philosophy of winning at all costs at home. He just does not seem to understand that a draw would have been as good as a win on Friday. It would have kept Dundalk four points clear for the third position.

Now as it’s down to just a single point, I think it’s Pats to throw away, not Dundalk, as in a way they seemed to have done just that.

The Dundalk manager’s emphasis that his side either must win all home games maybe does shed light at last as to why they have only won four league games away from home all season.

There is no doubting he wants to win all his away games. But the way he emphasized to me how important it was to win home games and was not prepared to go with the idea Dundalk should have slowed the games down for home games, that may suggest that he feels winning home games was ultimately vital.

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The Run In

Dundalk have two away games left this season and two at home. Next Friday night they play Finn Harps at Ballybofey. Harps are in huge danger of going down automatically. Given the Lilywhites recent awful run of form, Harps will see this as a game that they can win.

Dundalk are crippled by injuries. Greg Sloggett will hardly feature on Friday; thus Dundalk’s best hope may be to get a draw. They play Derry City away in the last league game of the season at the Brandywell.

Derry may be going for the league. If so it’s hard to see this Dundalk team getting anything from that game.

Their two home games are against Bohemians and Sligo. Sligo will go all out to win that game after losing the three points in a game at the Showgrounds that they won only to have the points taken away after it emerged there was a suspended player involved.

A win or a draw would set Dundalk on course for a place in Europe next season. If they fail to get the third spot, European football will be out of their hands. If only dropping to fourth and Derry win the cup they will qualify for the Europa Conference League.

They will also get €500,000. Dundalk would be far better going out themselves and getting third place. It would be a serious mistake to depend on Derry to win the cup. They may not.

Final Thoughts

The club were fined around €1,200 for their supporters letting off flares in the Drogheda game. Drogheda fans let off more than Dundalk fans. Presumably they were hit by a bigger fine.

On Friday night Dundalk fans let off flares once again. That will be another €1200 fine. Pat’s Supporters let off flares on a number of occasions. They face a heavy fine and for this and for their supporters encroaching onto the pitch after their side got their late winner.

A number of Dundalk season ticket holders contacted me last week incensed that the club would be fined again as a result of the actions of what they said were a tiny amount of supporters.

They said they have been paying good money for season tickets at the club for years and feel it’s a disgrace that their hard earned money, that they wish to see being used wisely by the club, is instead almost on a weekly basis used to pay fines for people who light flares.

Ireland’s fastest man Israel Olatunde was introduced to the crowd at half time. Israel, who is from Dundalk, set a new Irish record of 10.17 seconds in the final of the European Athletics Championships.

He finished sixth in the race and was the first Irishman to make an appearance in the 100 meter European Athletics Championships Final. Israel is a former student of the Marist secondary school in Dundalk. He is now studying at UCD.

I met former Dundalk centre half Mick Doohan at the game on Friday. Mick scored one of two goals for Dundalk on the last day of the season in 1995 to win the league for manager Dermot Keely.

Tom McNulty got the other goal. Mick now coaches Granada FC girls under 16 team in the Dublin and District Schools League.

Former Arsenal and Spurs goalkeeper, Newry man Pat Jennings, was a guest of honour at Oriel also last Friday night. He was introduced to the crowd from the stand.

Have a safe week everybody. Please look after yourselves and don’t forget to be careful out there.