Kilduff sees green shoots despite Dundalk’s defensive failings
Lilywhites boss Ciaran Kilduff believes there were encouraging signs in the defeat against Derry City
Ciaran Kilduff believes there were encouraging signs in Dundalk FC’s performance against Derry City despite another defeat in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division, but admitted his side’s defensive shortcomings remain a source of frustration as they look towards next season.
A 2-1 loss at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium brought little in the way of consequences for either side, with Derry having one eye on their upcoming FAI Cup final against Waterford.
However, the hosts still named a strong starting 11, providing Dundalk with a stern examination against one of the league’s more talented squads.
Kilduff was relatively satisfied with what he saw, particularly in comparison to the criticism he levelled at his players following the previous week’s 1-1 draw with Sligo Rovers. Yet, once again, it was the manner of the goals conceded that troubled the Dundalk manager.
“We got the best Derry City team, I feel, on paper. We wanted a good test and a good game. We got that,” he said.
“I know the jeopardy for both teams wasn’t huge tonight in terms of Europe or titles or relegation, but we wanted to make a good account of ourselves. We did at times; we also shot ourselves in the foot.
“They’ve so much quality. You can see they’re on a positive trajectory now over the last couple of weeks and months as well. We made a good account of ourselves, maybe two moments. The quality in those final moments hurt us.”
Derry’s second goal, scored about 20 minutes from time, proved particularly costly, leaving Dundalk with too much to do despite finding the net themselves with about 10 minutes remaining. However, it was the ease with which Derry exploited their mistakes that left Kilduff frustrated.
“Of course, we came back into it with a good goal of our own, but maybe a little bit of frustration in terms of the ease of the goals,” he said.
“We’ve had possession of the ball for the first one in our own box, failed to clear it; it’s a goal. Second one, we’ve given it away, and the ball’s in the net within 10 seconds. And that’ll frustrate us, but we’re looking to 2027 already.”
The defensive concerns are difficult to ignore. Dundalk have conceded 58 league goals this season, surpassing the 50 they shipped in the campaign that ended in relegation. With one game remaining, the figure underlines an area that will require considerable attention if they are to build on their return to the Premier Division.
That defensive vulnerability has been particularly damaging during a second half of the season in which results have failed to reflect the attacking intent Dundalk have generally shown. Only the top three have scored more goals this term, but the return in the table has been disappointing, with just one victory in their last 14 matches sending them tumbling from the top four to seventh place.
For Kilduff, the contradiction between the quality of his side’s performances and their inability to turn them into wins has become an increasingly familiar source of frustration.
“Rarely this year, as the newly promoted team, have we felt like we were out of the game or out of our depth. We haven’t been. We’ve competed well in every game. We competed really well again here tonight, but we lost the game,” he said.
“That’s the real frustrating part because we’re sick of not winning. We’re sick of losing. We lost tonight, and there are reasons for it. We know them. We’re getting better.
“We’re happy with the season we’ve had in terms of the outcome, but maybe not in the last couple of weeks. We have to call it for what it is. But there tonight, it was definitely green shoots against a good team.”
There is, nevertheless, a sense that Dundalk’s performances against Derry offer grounds for encouragement. Across five meetings in league and cup competitions this season, Kilduff believes his side have shown they can compete with opponents operating with significantly greater financial resources.
“Without being disrespectful to Derry, they’ve had a great second half of the season. But at the start of the year, I remember coming up here on the opening night as the newly promoted team against a team I’d seen the week before win the President’s Cup against Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght and probably expected to be challenging,” he said.
“And the fact that we’ve come on that much and kind of matched Derry in a lot of the games this year, I think we can be proud of that.”