Cup progress offers Dundalk chance to reset
The victory also came against the backdrop of significant change within the Dundalk squad
Ciaran Kilduff believes Dundalk FC’s passage into the last 16 of the Club Orange FAI Cup can provide the platform to revive their league campaign after three successive Premier Division defeats.
The Lilywhites’ 3-1 victory over St Mochta’s at Oriel Park ensured they avoided a third consecutive first-round exit in the competition, having fallen at the opening hurdle in each of the previous two seasons. Attention now turns to Tuesday evening’s third-round draw, which takes place on RTÉ Radio One from 6pm.
For Kilduff, however, progression was always the priority, regardless of the quality of a contest that was never likely to become a spectacle against non-league opposition.
“It’s all that ever mattered: winning the game. We won it. There’s nothing easy about winning football matches,” he said.
“Last year, we didn’t get to the last 16 of the cup. We had Sligo at home. So we’ll take as many positives as we can. We got minutes into players that needed them, gave some players a bit of a rest and freshened them up where needed. You’d hope that we’ll realise we’re in a better position than we were maybe a week or two ago.”
With several regular starters rested and others returning to action, Kilduff viewed the evening as an opportunity to manage workloads while maintaining competition for places.
“No more injuries and we’re into the next round,” he said. “I think there was a lot of positive play. Players who badly needed that game got it. Players who badly needed a freshen-up week got it.
“It was a balancing act, a very hard one to navigate, because any of those players coming on had a point to prove. We’ve lost our last three league games, so there were opportunities out there.
“I’ll watch it all back again, like I always do, but there was a lot of positive attacking play. I’m disappointed to lose the clean sheet. That was something we really wanted. But there were a lot of changes, a lot of subs coming into the game, a couple of debuts and stuff like that. So we’ll take as many positives as we can.”
The victory also came against the backdrop of significant change within the squad. Dundalk have continued to evolve since winning last season’s First Division title, with leading scorer Gbemi Arubi completing a move to Burton Albion, following Eoin Kenny’s recent switch to Portsmouth.
Kilduff believes those transfers underline the progress being made behind the scenes as the club adapts to full-time football.
“It was funny. Someone said to me a few weeks ago, after the Pats game at home, when we beat them 2-0, that I think there might be nine or 10 players from last year’s First Division-winning squad still here,” he said.
“It shows how far we’ve come, but it also shows how the club has matured.
“Last year we weren’t full-time; we were training in the evenings. Now you can see the difference. Even the players we’re losing are benefiting and going to the next level. Eoin and Gbemi have gone to the next level because of the full-time environment that we’re able to offer them, which wasn’t the case last year.
“We weren’t training in the mornings or doing double sessions like we are now. We’re beginning to progress as a club, and I think the fruits of that are starting to come through.”
Dundalk’s immediate focus now switches back to league action with a difficult trip to St Patrick’s Athletic in Inchicore this Friday, a match that will be broadcast live on Virgin Media Television.
Kilduff hopes their cup win, allied to the opportunity to rest several first-team players, will prove to be the tonic his side need after their recent dip in form.
“What a game. You get an opportunity to go to Inchicore. This time last year we would have been desperate for that opportunity, to get to that stage. We’re on the telly next week as well. This is the stage we’ve set for ourselves,” he said.
“I think the big positive for me is that we’re in a better position this week than we were last week. Forget the result – I just think lads needed a break. There were lads playing last week against Drogheda and you could probably see from the stands they were on one leg, carrying injuries.
“We needed it. I’m very good at controlling the emotions. I didn’t get too high when we were beating Shamrock Rovers here, and I’m not getting too low now that we’ve gone through a difficult spell. We are where we are. It’s one game at a time. We wanted to win tonight. We did. We’ll want to win next week if we can.”