Heroic performance by Dundalk

Dundalk got an unexpected point at the Brandywell Stadium last Friday night when they drew with Derry City one apiece in an intense game that kept everyone glued to their seats from beginning to end.

Dundalk played very well against the title contenders and should really have come away with all three points. Jon Daly's men missed two clear-cut chances in the first half that should have been put away.

It would have meant that Dundalk could have returned home with all three points, instead of just the one. Having said that it was also a game Dundalk could have come away with nothing. Thus a point was a welcome result.

But Derry have now failed to win in three games. Friday night Dundalk threw a spike in their title hopes. They were very poor for title contenders. When one considers the amount of money invested in this team, mostly ex-Dundalk players, it was amazing to see how poor they were.

Dundalk played a very defensive game and let City come at them. Dundalk would hit them on the break and were creating clear-cut chances, especially in the first half.

Nobody gave Dundalk a chance of getting a result on Friday night, including myself. But Jon Daly's tactics worked especially in the first half. Jon Daly kept faith with goalkeeper Felix Goddard following his poor display against Galway at Oriel.

But he did make three changes to the team from the previous week. Robbie Mahon, Hayden Cann and Sean Keogh all came in. Ryan O'Kane, Mayowa and Jad Hakiki were all left on the bench. Norman Garbett returned from injury and was on the bench.

Dundalk lined out as follows. Felix Goddard in goals. Two fullbacks Sean Keogh and Daniel Pike. Two central defenders Hayden Cann and Andy Boyle. Two wingers Robbie Mahon and Daryl Horgan. Two centre midfielders John Mountney and Aodh Dervin.

Robbie Benson played behind Jamie Gullan. Gullan was once again the loan striker. Goddard had a reasonably good game. He took off a couple of good saves. But he should have prevented Derry's equaliser on 64 minutes.

He got down for the ball way too late as it trickled into the net from the boot of Derry sub Danny Mullen. The two fullbacks, Daniel Pike and Sean Keogh did well. The centre of defence looked much better with Hayden Cann partnering Andy Boyle.

They were both top-class. The midfield was much better than the previous week. John Mountney moved to the centre along with Aodh Dervin. They were very solid.

Daryl Horgan and Robbie Mahon were excellent on the wings. Robbie Benson was top-class playing behind Jamie Gullan. Gullan disappointed up front and fluffed a number of clear chances.

Dundalk did make substitutions, Benson was replaced by Scot McGill at halftime. He had picked up an injury. Such was Robbie's influence that Dundalk lost a grip on midfield. Scott McGill once again disappointed. Sean Keogh Was replaced by Koen Oostenbrink on 70 minutes.

Daryl Horgan was replaced by Norman Gartbett on 86 minutes. Jamie Gullan was also replaced by Eoin Kenny on 81 minutes. Ryan O'Kane replaced Robbie Mahon on 63 minutes.

Ryan caused problems for the Derry defence when he had the chance to, in the remaining time he was on. It was also his 100th appearance for Dundalk.

Derry City tore into Dundalk from the start. They completely dominated the opening period of the first half. It looked as if City were going to crush Dundalk. It was frustrating from a Dundalk point of view to see the team on the ropes. But it was a tactic that Jon Daly decided to use.

When possible they were going to hit the Derry defence on the break. For all their early dominance, it took Derry 11 minutes to get a clear chance.

Ben Doherty got a cross into the box. Michael Duffy missed a sitter. He was 6 yards from goal. He got a head to the ball. It hit the ground and crashed over the bar.

Dundalk were working the ball well as they grew into the game. It was clear too that Derry were producing the same poor performance they displayed in Oriel against Dundalk earlier in the season. Pat Hoban hardly got a touch to the ball the whole night.

He put in a below-par performance. Daniel Kelly, another former Dundalk player was also very poor. Neither of the former strikers in Oriel ever threatened the Dundalk goal at all. Andy Boyle and Hayden Cann were terrific at the back as well.

Dundalk opened the scoring on 21 minutes when Daryl Horgan swung a corner in from the left. John Mountney left his marker for dead and powered home a magnificent header from just inside the box.

Derry were shell-shocked. Dundalk should have gone further in front two minutes later when Robbie Mahon put in a great cross from the left. Jamie Gullan was in the clear. Instead of scoring, he could only shoot very weakly at the Derry keeper Brian Maher.

Gullan has been very disappointing as a striker this season. He has only scored five goals. To be fair to the young Scot he has been carrying an injury. But he needs another striker upfront with him. He just can not operate on his own.

Derry should have been awarded a penalty when Sean Keogh handled the ball in the Dundalk penalty area. Referee Rob Harvey waved away City's appeals for the penalty. Dundalk had survived a let-off.

Will Patching, another former Dundalk player, really impressed. He got a great cross into the Dundalk box five minutes from the break. Mark Connolly had the goal at his mercy. Amazingly, he missed a shot in front of goal.

A minute from the break Dundalk were hit by an injury that gave Derry a key back into the game. Robbie Benson was magnificent in midfield. He controlled everything. But he picked up an injury following a bad tackle by Adam O'Reilly on the halfway line.

Benson was replaced by Scott McGill at the break. He just never showed the same finesse or skill that Benson had shown. His injury was a massive blow to Dundalk.

Derry made two subs at the break. They were key, as one scored for City in the second half. It was Danny Mullen who got the goal. The other sub was Jacob Davenport.

Derry levelled on 63 minutes. Davenport put Mullen away in the clear. He made no mistake, shooting home from inside the box. It was a major disappointment for Dundalk. But nothing other than Derry deserved.

Felix Goddard appeared to have got down late in his effort to stop the ball from going in. It was an error in my eyes. But not in the eyes of everybody. Aodh Dervin had a very good game for Dundalk.

He worked so hard at centre midfield with captain John Mountney. Davenport fired in a shot that looked like a goal all the way. Dervin's block was magnificent. Will Patching amazingly blazed the rebound over the net.

With 8 minutes remaining Danny Mullen broke down the right. His shot looked good. Goddard produced a fine save. As the game entered into a six-minute injury time period, Derry nearly scored. The ball fell for Hoban.

Andy Boyle made a great block. Hayden Cann denied Mullen with another block minutes later. That was to be the last chance for Derry as the referee blew full-time. It was a heroic performance by Dundalk.

But one feels had Derry been on song, they would have won the game. Dundalk had a number of players booked. Aodh Dervin, Sean Keogh, Jamie Gullan and Andy Boyle all got yellow cards.

Jon Daly says there is not much difference between the teams in the league.''Had Derry won tonight they would have gone top and we are where we are. It's just about having that belief.

''Tonight, I thought we probably could have gone in two nil up at halftime. If this showed us anything it illustrated that we must be clinical in these moments when the chances arise. In the second half, they obviously get a goal, which takes a slight deflection.

''They had two other good chances where we relied on our goalkeeper. I thought he made two fantastic saves. He has taken a lot of stick in recent weeks. Tonight he really stood up and answered his critics.

''He dealt with a couple of corners that were on top of him as well. I am delighted for him, because as a goalkeeper, if you make mistakes it generally leads to teams scoring.

''Tonight he was excellent. The rest of the team also stood up to our opponents as a man. I am really proud of them. We showed a lot of character tonight as a new group of players. I am really pleased. It was a good point''.

The manager said that he was happy with the three changes he had made going into the game. ''Hayden Cann has not played in 2 months. Tonight at centre-back, I thought he was excellent.

''He has a real composure on the ball. He and Andy Boyle were excellent together. I see Hayden in training every day. He has been excellent. His attitude has been fantastic. He has waited for an opportunity to get into the team and he did so well.

''Hopefully, the partnership between Andy and Hayden can be built on. He is not a left-footed player. But he has been playing most of the season on the left foot. This will allow Andy to get a chance to go back to his normal right side.

''The frustrating thing is that we did not take our chances in the first half. If we had taken the chances, the game was done. It would have made it very difficult for Derry to play in front of their own crowd.''

Goalscorer and captain John Mountney says the team knew coming up to the Brandywell that they were going to have to defend a lot. ''We knew we would have to show a lot of fighting quality, which we do have if we were to get anything from the game.

''Dan Pike was excellent in his position at right full. He is right-footed but has been playing left-back since he came here. Dan was playing against the best left winger in the league in Michael Duffy. He was able to mark him out of the game. Sean Keogh was top-class at right full.

''Hayden Cann in his first start for the club was great. He has had to be patient. But he was a revelation tonight. Felix showed his class in goals. But we could have gone in two nil up at halftime. We had the chances. They got a goal back.

''But we worked so hard to ensure we got a result. The manager works a lot on the training ground on set pieces. This has not been reflected on the pitch as much as it should be.

''I was delighted to get our first goal from a corner this season. I was delighted to see the manager and assistant boss see their homework on the training ground finally pay off tonight.

''The loss of Robbie at halftime through injury, always meant we were going to be affected. Scott McGill did very well in place of Robbie and Koen Oostenbrink also did very well coming on as a sub. I think everyone to a man tonight were excellent.

''I am sure that all our supporters want to see that there is a fight for the badge. That could be clearly seen this evening. We do not want to be in the place we are in. We are going to do everything in our power to get us out of the position.

''We are approaching each game and tonight was the start of 10 games for us. We must show this first and foremost. We must try and come out and approach every game like this. We are where we are at this moment in time.

''The team and the fans must stick together. If I was a fan, the first thing I would want my team to show is fight. I would also want them to show that they care for the shirt. We have no game next week as we are out of the cup.

''It would of course be better if we were still in that competition. However, the blank weekend will give us the extra chance to gel as a team. The most important thing was that we got a result tonight.

''We can build on that. It would be more difficult going into next weekend with a bad result tonight. It was tough for fans and the team losing to Galway. The vacant weekend next week will allow us to prepare for two big home games in succession. They will be massive.

''Tonight I saw a meeting between the two ends of the table. They needed a result, but so did we. Derry has a big budget in comparison to us. They have signed really good players and have built over a number of years.

''We knew they would have a lot of the ball. It was just about making sure we were comfortable when they did have it. We did have a bit of quality going forward and were a threat to them especially in the first half.

''I do think we could have shown a bit more quality going forward in the second half. Look as I said we are a work in progress. We came out of here with something''.

John says the last run of games starting in 2 weeks' time is going to be all-important. ''We will be taking it one game at a time. We will be showing a good fight about ourselves.

''I would like to see us reflecting the fans on the pitch. We must go out and die for the cause. We do have quality right throughout our squad. We have good attacking players.

''If we can get the supply to them, it will make a difference. We are on the edge at the wrong end of the table. But we are looking forward to the challenge. And make no doubt we are up for this.''

Derry City boss Ruaidhri Higgins said that he had never underestimated the challenge that Dundalk would bring to the Brandywell. ''They had four experienced league winners in that team tonight. They obviously have good young players as well.

''Jon has also recruited very well since he has come in. There are no mugs in this league that is for sure. You can not take your eye off the ball for any period in any game. We did that in the period between fifteen and forty-five minutes tonight in the first half.

''But when you are playing against such quality as John Mountney, Andy Boyle, Daryl Horgan and Robbie Benson, Dundalk were always going to have an opportunity to score and come away with a result. We certainly in the build-up showed them the respect they deserve.

''I saw them playing Bohemians in Dalymount two weeks ago and they had the opportunity to win that game. Dundalk are a really committed team as well. We knew what we were going to face.

''Tonight they defended and attacked very well. But we did create enough space and opportunity to win this game. We were denied a clear-cut penalty in the first half. In the second half, we totally dominated.''

Asked if he thought if the Dundalk team would be relegated, Ruaidhri said he did not think so. He said that Dundalk will be fine. Well although Derry dropped two points on Friday, they remain very much in contention for the title as leaders Shelbourne were beaten 2-1 on Saturday night. Shelbourne have the game in hand.

There were fears of safety for Dundalk supporters going to the Brandywell on Friday when it was announced that anti-immigrants intended to stage a demonstration close to the Foyle Bridge.

This is where Dundalk supporters would normally use to get to the Brandywell. But the worries disappeared when the demonstration was called off. Such demonstrations have been causing serious trouble in Belfast over the past 8 days.

The loyalist Apprentice Boys staged their parades in the city the next day. There were even fears a tiny minority of them might have got up if there was any trouble. But there was none on the Friday.

On Saturday the Apprentice Boys marched through the city causing no trouble. But there was serious violence in Derry on the Saturday night in an area near the Brandywell.

Forty nationalist youths clashed with police. 10 police personnel were injured. The previous night as I drove away from Derry I could see fireworks light the night sky as the Apprentice Boys began their celebrations.

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