Kilduff insists Dundalk’s victory over champions Rovers was no fluke

Ciaran Kilduff insisted his side were worthy winners after Dundalk FC brought Shamrock Rovers’ title celebrations to an abrupt halt at Oriel Park, with the Lilywhites’ manager believing their 3-1 victory provided a fitting end to a difficult season.

A week after Rovers secured the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division title, Cian Dillon’s second-half brace, following Daryl Horgan’s equaliser, ensured Dundalk finished their campaign with an impressive victory over the champions.

For Kilduff, however, the significance extended beyond the result, with the performance offering a reminder of his side’s potential after a difficult run of form heading into the final fixture.

“We deserved to finish on a positive. We were excellent,” Kilduff said.

“There was a lot of celebrating for Shamrock Rovers, guards of honour, trophies, but we wanted to leave with something. We wanted a positive end to our season, and we got that.

“We were brilliant in the first half and second half. We could have scored more goals. The jeopardy for them wasn’t exactly on the line, but for us it was all about finishing as strongly as we could.

“We didn’t enjoy their celebrations or anything like that. We wanted to have our own, and we were worthy of leaving everyone in Oriel Park on a positive note.”

Kilduff was adamant that the fact the champions had already secured the title should not diminish Dundalk’s achievement, pointing to their previous meetings this season as evidence that the Lilywhites were capable of troubling Stephen Bradley’s side.

Dundalk had already beaten Rovers 1-0 at Oriel Park in May, while also drawing 1-1 at Tallaght Stadium in February despite playing with 10 men. Their August meeting in Tallaght ended in a narrow 3-2 defeat.

The Dundalk manager also drew on his own experience of title celebrations, having scored in a 4-1 victory over Galway United in the final game of the 2016 season, when the Lilywhites were celebrating another league triumph.

“We’ve beaten them here already this season when it wasn’t all over, so you can only approach the game. I’m sure Stephen himself would’ve liked to have won the game,” Kilduff said.

“But I know what it’s like. I’ve been there before. I remember we won a league and we played Galway here on the last day, and we did win 4-1, but I remember it was a bit flat or whatever, and it’s hard to switch it on and off. But we’re happy to finish our season on a high.”

The emphatic nature of the second-half display was particularly striking given that Dundalk had won just once in their previous 14 matches before the encounter, leaving Kilduff to reflect on why such performances had not been more consistent.

He rejected the suggestion that the result was simply a consequence of Rovers’ circumstances, highlighting Dundalk’s record against the champions and the fearless approach his side had adopted throughout their meetings.

“Where did that performance come from? To be fair, we played like that against them a lot of times this year and caused them a lot of problems,” he said.

“I know everything wasn’t on the line for them. If it was, it probably would have been a different game, but that’s who we play against. We get after them. There was no intimidation. We pressed high. We were at home.

“We’ve beaten them here. We’ve drawn in Tallaght. We were unlucky to lose 3-2. We’ve picked up seven points from 12 against the champions as a newly promoted team. We’re the only team to beat them twice.

“There was nothing lucky about tonight. I take it that they were all here to celebrate, but there was a game of football that we wanted to win, and we did.”

Attention will now turn to strengthening the squad ahead of next season, with Kilduff keen to build on the attacking philosophy that has defined his tenure while adding the quality required to deliver more consistent performances.

Horgan’s contribution has been central to that approach. His goal against Rovers was his 12th in the league this season, his highest return in a single campaign, while his 22 goal involvements have strengthened his case for the PFAI Player of the Year award, which will be announced on November 21st.

“He deserves it if he gets it. The players will vote, and he’s not easy to play against,” Kilduff said.

“It hasn’t been easy for him. It’s been hard for him in the last couple of weeks as well because we’re not as free-flowing as we were there. But you can see when we are, the freedom I like to give the attacking players. We are rock and roll.

“We concede more than we should, but we score a lot more than we should, and I’d rather watch that every week.

“I don’t like setting up and just sitting off and slow death or anything like that. I’m not a purist or anything like that, but it is the philosophy here. We’d have a go against anyone.

“We lost 4-0 to Pats when we had the same approach, and maybe it was the wrong people in the wrong holes, but when we’re like that and I have the quality that I have, we can hurt anyone.”