Shelbourne defeat leaves Dundalk to reflect on ‘fine margins’
The Dundalk manager believed his side merited at least a point
Dundalk FC manager Ciaran Kilduff admitted his side were left to rue a costly spell before half-time after surrendering an early lead in Friday night’s 2–1 defeat to Shelbourne, insisting his players deserved more from the contest.
Having gone in front through JR Wilson’s early header, Dundalk were pegged back by two Shelbourne goals in the space of three first-half minutes at Tolka Park, a turnaround that condemned the Lilywhites to a second successive SSE Airtricity League Premier Division defeat.
Kilduff felt the game slipped away during a frantic spell before the interval. “I think 10 minutes of madness just before half-time took the game away from us,” he said.
“I thought we did enough to get something out of that tonight. We could have got a second, but when we didn’t, they have quality and they reacted, especially from the two balls into the box.
"I thought, in the second half, we reacted quite well as well but ran out of time in the end. It was a difficult night for us.”
The Dundalk manager believed his side merited at least a point after creating the better openings and seeing Shelbourne’s equaliser arrive amid controversy, with television replays on Virgin Media’s live coverage appearing to show the ball striking the hand of James Norris in the build-up before Daniel Kelly finished.
“We definitely deserved to get something out of the game,” Kilduff said. “I think that’s what makes it difficult in there because you know those lads have given everything.
"Fine margins are what took it away from us tonight, but such is the level. Maybe on a different night, a couple of decisions go our way, but they didn’t either. There’s a lot of frustration in that for us.”
Kilduff also pointed to the disruption caused by losing substitute Mayowa Animasahun after bringing him on midway through the second half.
“You bring Mayowa on, and then you lose him again after eight or nine minutes. It’s not ideal either,” he said.
“There are a couple of variables, but overall, we felt like we could have won that game. It got away from us, and to get nothing from it is very disappointing.”
The defeat came just a week after Dundalk surrendered a two-goal advantage in a 3–2 loss to Waterford at Oriel Park.
They have now dropped 19 points from winning positions this season, although Kilduff felt Friday’s display represented an improvement.
“I think when you look at that game, maybe last week, at times, we never hit the heights that we did tonight,” he said.
“We felt like we played well tonight, better than we did last week, but still come away with the same result. That’s what leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
"There’s obviously frustration, but when you zoom out, we’re having a great season. We’ll pick what we can from tonight and get ready for next week.”
Despite successive defeats, Dundalk remain in the top four ahead of Friday’s Louth derby against Drogheda United at Oriel Park (kick-off, 7.45pm), with Kilduff eager to put matters right against the only side they have yet to beat this season.
“They’re the only team in the division we’ve yet to beat this season, so that’s a little bit of motivation for us,” he said.
“But you don’t really need any more motivation than having a Louth derby. You know what it means to the supporters.
"We brought some great support again here tonight. We’ll need all of it again next week.”