The Dundalk fans went home happy

Dundalk boss Ciaran Kilduff was not entertaining the idea of his side being favourites for promotion, after they defeated neighbours Drogheda United by one goal to nil, in the annual pre-season Jim Malone Cup game at Oriel Park on Friday night.

Kilduff says he pays no attention to being tipped as a shoo-in for promotion. He emphasized that in his first season as a player, he was in the UCD team that were given no chance of promotion.

UCD were 16-1 to make it back to the top tier. As it was they defied those odds and won promotion. The Dundalk manager was adamant that his side faces a long season which will be a tough one.

He is right. To dry and get promotion out of Division One is like trying to get out of a deep bog in which it is very difficult to climb out of. Dundalk have been relegated twice already.

In 1999 it took two seasons to return to the top flight. In 2002 it took seven seasons before they made it back to the Premier Division.

To his credit, though Dundalk fans are already seeing a side in the pre-season do what they failed to have done in the past two seasons. They look to have a strong defence and to be able to create goals out of nothing.

Last season they leaked goals at the back. They also simply could not score goals. This Dundalk side can do both of these things. They also have a good centre midfield whereas last season they were so poor.

Up front I wonder if another Kenny success story is about to be written. Stephen Kenny will of course be a legend forever in Dundalk.

But his son Eoin has already shown that he could be a serious driving force this season in the push for promotion. It was his second-half goal that gave Dundalk the win.

But throughout the night he was a constant threat to a Drogheda defence that found it hard to keep up with the Blackrock youngster. He came close on a number of occasions before he eventually got the precious winner in the second half.

Mayowa was another player who starred. He was an injury worry before the game. He could have been left on the bench. But his heart was set on playing against Drogheda. He wanted to play in Oriel.

Ciaran Kilduff gave him the nod and the Dundalk youngster was a force of steel in the centre of the defence. Mayowa was being strongly linked to Drogheda at the end of last season.

But good management skills by Ciaran Kilduff persuaded the former Colaiste Ris student to stay and try to help Dundalk make it back to the Premier Division.

Another player who stood out was Aodh Dervin. He was the engine that pushed the Dundalk team forward all the time. This player will score goals this season.

This is something that has not been seen from a Dundalk midfielder in some time. He created a lot of openings in the Drogheda defence at times during the game. He came close as well with a couple of attempts that could have ended in goals.

It was clear from early on that Dundalk with a strong defence, a midfield of iron, and a strike force that shows lethal potential, that it was going to be their night. It just took a single goal for the knockout punch that sent Drogheda reeling to the floor.

They never recovered. Even though this game was the usual pre-season friendly between the two Louth sides, it had more needle to it as Drogheda came as FAI cup holders and also a Premier Division team.

Dundalk came into the game, lucky to be still in football and relegated to Division One. 18 players departed the club in the close season.

With a new side and manager, Dundalk have the potential to re-emerge as a born-again force in Irish soccer. Only time can tell.

New keeper Enda Minogue made his debut for Dundalk at Oriel. He had little to do for the entire 90 minutes. But what Enda had to do he did well.

Once again Sean Keogh was excellent at full back as was Conor O'Keeffe. Conor is a very experienced fullback and came from Galway United in the close season.

His steadying influence was one of the reasons why Drogheda had little impact on a solid defence. Mayowa and young Vinnie Leonard let little come through the centre of the defence.

In midfield, Aodh Dervin was the shining light for me. Daryl Horgan was his usual reliable creative self. He was replaced by Andy Paraschiv at halftime.

Andy did very well in the second half. I thought Leo Gaxha was top-class for the job he had to do on the wing.

Eoin Kenny and Aodh were a tie for man of the match in my opinion, Kenny was once again placed just behind striker Ebbe.

The move worked well, as both strikers caused major headaches for the cup holders.Ethen Vaughan replaced Harry Groome on 86 minutes while Keith Ward replaced Eoin Kenny at the same time.

Muhamed Harris replaced Dean Ebbe with four minutes remaining. In the end, it was the superb Eoin Kenny's second-half goal that separated the sides.

Dundalk dominated the first half and was never put in any difficulty by their Premier Division neighbours. Aodh Dervin had a great effort in the first half which was just inches away.

Eoin Kenny playing behind Dean Ebbe found good space for himself. His creativity was there for all to see. His effort was not far away from breaking the deadlock.

Another chance came Dundalk's way when Daryl Horgan's corner was headed narrowly over by the superb Mayowa. This was a move from the training ground.

There is no doubt that this idea of Mayowa in the box for a set piece will yield huge dividends for Dundalk.It was Aodh Dervin's chance shortly after that. He went on a great run from his own half. He split the Drogheda defence in shreds.

As he approached the edge of the box, he unleashed a fierce shot that was just inches over the crossbar. Drogheda keeper Luke Dennison pulled off a great save from Eoin Kenny's effort. It looked a goal all the way.

The golden goal came eight minutes into the second half when Eoin Kenny finished from close range from Sean Keogh's free into the box. He looks to have a great future ahead of him.

Plucked from the academy by then-manager Jon Daly last summer, he could well play a key role this season for Dundalk in their chase for promotion.

Drogheda had only one real effort in the entire game. That was when Conor Keely's effort went harmlessly wide of Enda Minnogue's goal.

It may not have been the exciting derby that some supporters went looking for. But what's most important is that Dundalk contained Drogheda to just one effort on their goal for the entire night.

Ciaran Kilduff had done his homework on Drogheda and it worked. Friday night was the first time I saw a Dundalk team that has a strong spine. The defence never yielded.

The midfield was always in command. They had no difficulty raiding into Drogheda territory at will. They could do nothing when Kenny pounced for a goal early in the second half.

Drogheda would be very wary of coming to Dundalk again in the FAI Cup. I really hope Dundalk draw them at home in the first round. They would have a great chance of beating them.

In a matter of a few weeks, Ciaran Kilduff has put a good shape on his side. That is not to say they are going to have things easy.

But the manager has emphasized they will work as hard as they can to get promotion. Hopefully, they will be there or thereabouts.

TJ Molloy, Luke Mulligan, and Aiden Russell-Vargas were not used from the subs bench by the manager. However, their time will come.

The Dundalk manager was asked after the game if there were any more signings coming in before the window closes this week.

He hesitated before answering. Kilduff eventually says that he is finished dealing in the transfer market. Well, I don't know about that.

I have my suspicions there may be one more coming in before Dundalk are finished dealing with the transfer list.

Eoin Kenny said after the game, that last season the team were always standing in front of the fans being applauded even though they had not won a game.

He said it was great to give fans something back which was a win. The youngster says that the new players got a real taste of what Oriel is really like and what the town of Dundalk is like also.

Eoin says that the support the team got on Friday night was immense. He believed that it really inspired the new and older players to get the win.

''It was a really good performance. The energy we showed from the first minute to the last was immense. The will to win was also flowing through all of the players.

"The fans will see there was a real desire in our play to get the win. We combined all of this with real quality at times to create good chances.

"For my goal, Sean Keogh pumped a  free into the box. I pounced on it as it spun in the box and fired it home from my left foot.

"I was very happy with that. I am always happy to score a goal. Goals always help confidence and the two I have got in pre-season certainly helped mine. I was not only working on goals tonight.

"But getting one is always good. It really makes me happy for the team. Tonight's game was different from the Leinster Senior Cup games we have played here so far this season. For one thing, the fans were electric from the start.

''For the first time this year, it really felt like a real game. In the past, we have often taken a lead and then given goals away easily. Tonight we went in front and held that lead to the end.

"I believe that this is a sign of things to come. We did not concede anything in defence. It was great. The coaching has been really good here. We have learned not to give goals away easily.

"Last season I got the lead goal in this game as well. But Drogheda went on to win well. The First Division will not be easy this season.

"Everybody thinks that because there is no Cork City in the competition that we will have it easy. It's not going to be like that at all. It will be some battle to get out of this Division.

"UCD, Cobh, and Athlone will be competing all the way at or near the top. We will have a real battle on our hands''.

One thing is for sure. If Eoin Kenny can maintain his early season form, then he will be under the radar of the big Dublin clubs.

One wonders if could he even end up at his dad's club St Pats, who of course manages the Inchicore side at present. That would be a very interesting move.

Last season, Eoin scored one of the goals against Pats at Richmond Park which was Dundalk's only away win last season.

Eoin will stay at Dundalk this season in any case. And if Dundalk are able to get promotion this coming season, then he may well stay on at Oriel next season.

Ciaran Kilduff says he thought Dundalk were excellent. "We wanted to win the game. We set out to do that from the start and we did. We set our stall out for this game weeks ago.

"We said we wanted to treat this game for the proper game it was and we won. We limited a good Drogheda team to no shots on target. I thought we were well worth the win.

"I am delighted for the fans, delighted for the lads, and delighted for the club. Look it is, what it is, it's the Malone Cup.

"If you had offered me three points from the Athlone game in two weeks before tonight, of course, I would take the three points.

"But I am very happy with this win. It's always nice to beat Drogheda whether you are a Dundalk fan or player in whatever the game or competition is.

"Daryl Horgan had to come off as he had a bit of an illness. I was not going to take any risks with him, so I took him off at half-time. I have to look after him now.

"But he will be back in two weeks for the start of the league. He has a minor illness. I thought Eoin Kenny was excellent tonight.

"He stood up and was counted as he always does. He played in the role behind our front striker as he has done in our other pre-season games. When I came in I was told he was an out and out number nine.

"But in the number ten role, he has already proven he can play in this role. He also did great work out on the wing when he had to.

''I did not make as many substitutions as one would do usually. I wanted to see this game where we could put it all together as we are only two weeks away from the start of the season.

"We were missing huge players tonight such as Sean McHale, Keith Ward, and Norman Garbett as well as Sean Spaight. But our team did play so well.

"All of our squad will play key roles for us this season. And it's important that they know that. Vinny Leonard was excellent tonight. He is still only 16.

"Buy at centre half against the cup holders he played a key role in cancelling out the threat from Drogheda. The club has had a lot of dark days and bad days.

"To get the win and especially against Drogheda is a massive boost. The season also has to be about seeing the likes of young Vinny having a top-class game. There is a lot of hard work and the young lad is stepping up.

"I do not know what my first eleven is. I am a week-to-week man. I would be doing the players a disservice if I were to say that tonight's side are going to be the regular first eleven minus the more experienced players we were missing tonight.

"You are not winning anything with eleven. You can write tonight off as a friendly or as a good win and a good night's work. I am not reading too much into it.

"But we wanted to win and we did. We will gain a lot of confidence from the win. The size of the crowd too was so good. We set our standard that we can not let ourselves go below. If we can maintain this then I think we will be okay''.

Meanwhile, off the field, Dundalk were ordered to pay former ex-sporting director Brian Gartland 64,000 euro in an unfair dismissal case at the Labour Relations Commission this week.

Gartland was sacked from his position at Dundalk last May. The commission ruled in his favour this week.The official launch of the new League of Ireland season takes place tomorrow in Dublin at the Mansion House.

Dundalk are bound to grab the attention of the national media as they are the favourites to go straight back up to the Premier Division. But it will be the ten clubs from the Premier Division who will get the most attention.

Virgin Media Sports will be there. They will be showing at least one live game from the Premier Division each week. Sometimes two games will be shown live.

Highlights from other games will also be shown. The launch is always a great event. I am sure the contingent representing Dundalk will have a very enjoyable time along with the other club reps from across the country.

Last Friday's game at Oriel was the 25th Malone Cup game. Drogheda have won the trophy 15 times. Dundalk have now won it ten times.

It was presented to Dundalk skipper Daryl Horgan by Jim Malone's grandson Killian Moran. The fans went home happy. Next Friday Dundalk are in Dublin to play Shamrock Rovers in the final group game of the Leinster Senior Cup.

The death occurred of the former Glenavon Chairman Adrian Tier a number of weeks ago. I was interviewing Dundalk FM's John Murphy when the news came through at the time.

John used to play with Glenavon in the 1960s. He paid a glowing tribute to the late Mr Tire at the time of his death. This week he renewed the tribute.

John said the late Glenavon Chairman used always make him and his own wife very welcome every time he played and visited the club.

John also said this week that his one hope season that all associated with Dundalk FC are united and are singing off the same hymn sheet. He says this is so important if the club are to be successful. 

Have a safe week. Please look after each other and remember to be careful out there.