Kilduff savours ‘sweet’ Dundalk victory after finally breaking Drogheda hoodoo

The hoodoo is finally broken, but Ciaran Kilduff was not going to pretend Dundalk FC had produced their finest performance of the season.

A 3–2 victory over Drogheda United at Sullivan & Lambe Park on Friday night was nevertheless a hugely welcome result for the Lilywhites, ending a run of seven SSE Airtricity League Premier Division matches without a win and, at the fourth attempt, giving Kilduff his first victory over their local rivals since taking charge.

It was a game Dundalk had led, lost control of and then wrestled back, with Ronan Teahan’s second-half equaliser followed by Daryl Horgan’s superb 89th-minute free-kick.

“It’s lovely,” Kilduff said. “I thought we played better last week, and I’m not doing that for a sound bite. That was a battle and I’m so happy for the lads because we showed a different side of us there.”

Dundalk had surrendered their lead before recovering to level through Teahan and, ultimately, win the game through Horgan’s late intervention.

“We threw away a lead again and took it back, and this division is so hard. It’s so unforgiving.”

The victory brought Dundalk to 40 points, a significant internal milestone, while also ending a sequence in which they had failed to beat Drogheda in three previous meetings this season.

“When a bad run of form followed a good run of form, it felt a little bit more dramatic maybe on the outside. We knew we weren’t a million miles away.

“We hadn’t lost a game in a long time by more than a goal, with a couple of draws in there as well. But a win tonight against Drogheda, the way they’ve hurt us three times this season, of course it feels sweet.”

Cian Dillon’s first Premier Division goal since joining Dundalk last month had given the visitors the lead, while the 20-year-old came close to adding a second when he turned Horgan’s low cross narrowly wide with five minutes remaining.

“He’s only going to get better. He should have had a second. He really should have, and he knows that, but I just hope he continues to kick on.”

Kilduff pointed to Gbemi Arubi’s development as an example of the time young players can need to adjust to senior football. Arubi spent last season with Dundalk in the First Division before making the step up following promotion.

“I’ve said it a few times: if you remember what Gbemi was like at the start of the season in the First Division, it takes time for these young players. We went after young, hungry players, and I think there tonight we could take a lot of positives.”

The defensive side of Dundalk’s game remains the concern. Their 46 goals are bettered only by Bohemians, but they have conceded 45, with only the bottom three sides having shipped more. Drogheda’s two goals in three first-half minutes provided another illustration.

“That’s the worry. I don’t think that was perfect by any stretch there tonight. That’s us. We do create chaos. We can beat anyone on our day, and we’re a dangerous outfit, but the other side of it then just needs to be better.”

Kilduff believes the attacking freedom that has characterised Dundalk’s season was necessary for a newly promoted side, even if it has contributed to their defensive vulnerability.

“There has to be a moment of composure — clearing your lines, game-management experience — just to put the ball out of play and take the sting out of it. When we go, we look like we go. That’s a naivety, even from me, from young manager to young players to new players.”

He accepts that there is a balance to be found between ambition and control.

“At the start of the season, we felt the only way that we could accrue a lot of points this season was to play with freedom and go after teams.

“We could have sat off every week and fought for draws and slow deaths. The amount of goals we concede is carnage, but the goals we score for a newly promoted team is also carnage.”

The approach has brought Dundalk into the top four, but Kilduff knows there is still work to do in managing games.

“We saw that last week: 26 shots to five and lost. We were 2–0 down with five minutes to go. We deserved to lose because they managed both boxes, but we’ll get better at all of that.”

Teahan was introduced at half-time with Dundalk trailing 2–1 and subsequently scored the equaliser. Kilduff had left the young Kerryman on the bench as part of an attempt to freshen up his team.

“Ronan is a star. He’s got a lot of football of late. He’s a young kid. It’s no disrespect, but he’s never played at this level consecutively. There’s pressure building.”

The decision ultimately produced the reaction Kilduff wanted.

“I wanted to make more changes tonight, if I’m being totally honest. I just wanted to freshen it up and spark the whole place into life, and it didn’t work because we came in 2–1 down.

“In the second half all of a sudden you’re unleashing annoyed, unhappy, frustrated players with a point to prove. Maybe that’s something that I’ll take from tonight as well.”

Then came Horgan, whose extraordinary contribution to Dundalk’s season is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook.

The captain had already supplied an assist before curling home the free-kick that decided the derby. It was his 10th goal and 10th assist of the season, giving him 20 direct goal contributions — more than any other Premier Division player this season and a return that surely places him in the conversation for individual honours.

“It scares me. He’s the man. I spoke to him before the game in front of the lads. I won games playing with Daryl when he did it on his own.”

Kilduff joked that the opportunity might not have fallen to Horgan had Trevor Clarke still been on the pitch.

“I do have nightmares because if Trevor was still on the pitch, I’m thinking he probably bullies him off that one. It’s just fine margins.”

For once, those fine margins went Dundalk’s way. Kilduff, who is in his second season as Dundalk manager, was prepared to acknowledge that his side had finally received a little luck after some painful late disappointments.

“I’ve never, in my two years doing these interviews, quoted luck, but we needed a little bit of magic, or maybe a little bit of luck. One just to go in a game that you needed it the most, and we got hurt so many times.

“We’d loads of hurt last year: Longford, Athlone with a free kick late. Maybe this week we did a bit of the hurting ourselves, and it’s refreshing.”

The win leaves Dundalk fourth with 40 points, with plenty still to improve upon, but the relief of finally getting one over Drogheda was unmistakable.

“Tonight just emotionally feels great. There’s a lot to work on, but Christ almighty, we’ve played better and lost, so I’m going to take that one.”