The Commentary Box: Dundalk didn't take their chances
The Commentary Box | The Gerry Malone Column
Dundalk slumped to their third defeat in five games, and their second home defeat in a row, when they were well beaten by three goals to one at Oriel Park last Friday by Bohemians.
Stephen O'Donnell was making his first return to Oriel in a management capacity since his dismissal as manager of Dundalk just over two years ago. He is assistant boss at Dalymount.
His boss and Stephen guided their team to their first win in nine games as they ripped up the script in the second half to see their side run out winners at the end of a game they looked dead and buried at half time.
But the Phibsboro side downed a Dundalk side in a second half, which has sent them down to midtable and only six points clear of the play off zone.
For the second week in a row, Oriel Park witnessed some dreadful refereeing. Aaron Dowd sent Rob Cornwall off midway through the second half when he pushed Ross Tierney in the back on 68 minutes.
To be fair to the referee, he had no option but to award the penalty and sent Cornwall off. But the referee booked manager Ciaran Kilduff for what appeared to be very little.
He also booked a number of Dundalk players, some of which were very poor decisions.
This is the referee who sent Daryl Horgan off earlier in the season for very little, and Vinnie Leonard also red carded in another game at the start of the season against Shamrock Rovers for a trivial affair.
The standard of refereeing just astounds me. Last week, the refereeing was so poor. This week was again poor, especially in the second half. This referee has issued only three red cards this season.
He has also issued 33 yellow cards. Approximately 33 yellow cards were issued by this referee in the games he has been involved in. Six of these were given to Dundalk players.
There was also a yellow card issued to Ciaran Kilduff by the same referee. That makes it seven yellow cards in total. The three red cards were all Dundalk players. He has not sent off any other club player this season.
But I am making no excuses for this Dundalk performance. They had plenty of chances to kill the game off before the Bohs revival came about. That they did not take them is all the more worrying.
The defence continues to leak goals. They have now conceded eight goals in their last three games. They have also won only one game in their last 5, losing three of them.
Worryingly, Dundalk have the second worst defence in the league, conceding 26 goals in 16 games. To be fair, they are joint highest scorers with 27.
But this Dundalk side are leaking goals all over the place. Eight days ago, they were two-nil up against Waterford in the league.
I sent a text to a journalist colleague during the Waterford match and said they would concede at least two goals. He said no way. They conceded three and were lucky to get a point with a three-all draw.
On Friday night, Dundalk put in an outstanding display in the first half. But it was not good enough, and at the end, it was another night of dismay, conceding too many goals too easily.
Goals: Keeper Enda Minogue has conceded 16 goals in 10 games this season. This is not a good record. However, any keeper must have a good defence in front of them.
The Dundalk defence is gifting goals at will. Manager Ciaran Kilduff has every confidence in his keeper. I do not share that confidence.
When I suggested to the manager that he would need a new keeper in his window shopping basket, he was emphatic that he did not need one, as he already had a keeper.
The Dundalk boss also said that he would have Conor Kearns returning from injury as well. But this will not happen until the latter end of the season, if at all.
It emerged that Mayowa may miss a considerable part of the season as he has a grade three hamstring injury. Mayowa has had hamstring injuries before. He missed part of the season last year with hamstring injuries.
Scan results that came back to Oriel on Friday were bleak. Dundalk will now be without their top centre half for some considerable time.
Conor O'Keeffe has suffered a relapse in his concussion problems. He picked up the injury against Cobh last season. News on his immediate future is not good. He will be out for some time.
Vinnie Leonard has played his last game for Dundalk. Vinnie has been out of the team since early March with a virus that hit his leg. The Dundalk youngster was seriously ill at one stage.
He is now well on the road to recovery. The Dundalk manager confirmed that Vinny had more than likely played his last game for Dundalk.
He will be linking up with English Championship club Norwich City in mid June. Thus, any hope there may have been that Vinnie could play a couple of games for Dundalk appear to be gone.
The Dundalk captain, Daryl Horgan, was superb on Friday in the first half. But I picked up an illness and was not well before the game. He bravely lined out in the first half. It was a half where Dundalk wiped the floor with Bohs.
They were that good. But Daryl was too ill to come back out for the second half. This put a major dent in the Dundalk engine.
Aodh Dervin was superb throughout the night. But he was devastated at losing the game. His goal to put Dundalk ahead has to go down for a nomination for goal of the season.
But Ciaran Kilduff should get the club's cheque book out and sign players to strengthen this side in the window. If he does not, I fear for hopes this side will survive in the Premier Division.
They were doing so well. But since I asked the manager if he thought he had a side that were doing as well as Stephen Kenny's 2014 double winning team.
The manager warned me at the time that people should not get carried away. He said the team were bound to hit a rough spell. He was right as Dundalk have now not won a game since.
Ciaran Kilduff needs a goalkeeper, two centre halves and a striker. If he does not, then I am afraid that this club will be looking at the relegation play off gates or even relegation itself should Waterford put a good run together.
Supporters and those who are running the club may think I am being over-alarmist. I am not. Dundalk are only six points off the play off spot and are 16 points clear of the automatic relegation place.
A continuation of this very poor form could easily place them in the second-from-bottom place. If second from bottom, Sligo were to suddenly start winning, they could catch Dundalk, no matter how much the club is ahead of them.
Teams can get used to losing. Dundalk need to strengthen the team if they are to stop the rot. Make no mistake, the loss of Mayowa, Conor O'Keeffe and Vinnie Leonard is very serious. Dundalk just do not have the players to replace them. Dundalk are reported to be receiving an initial fee of 700,000 euro for Vinnie Leonard. If that money comes in by next month, Dundalk must buy. Failure to do so makes it unthinkable what could happen.
Supporters should be given a knowledge how much the club are getting for Vinny. This should be made clear to them in a most transparent way.
I am sure that knowing how good the integrity that there is among the owners and the committee running the club, this will happen. The money must also be spent in a most transparent way.
I have no doubt that it will be. Some must go to the manager. The club needs to spend on infrastructure, and the rest used to pay off club creditors.
I am sure that add-ons have also been inserted in Vinnid's transfer agreement with Norwich. Dundalk will get money from Norwich if he plays a certain amount of first team games with them.
If he is transferred to another club at any stage, Dundalk will get a cut of the transfer fee. If he makes it to the senior Republic of Ireland team, Dundalk should be entitled to another fee as part of his transfer deal with Dundalk.
There was a lot of wastage of money at Oriel since the good times rolled in. This must never happen again. By wastage, I mean too much money wasted on players' incomes and bonuses, and too many people hired in jobs not needed.
I am sure the owners will keep a firm control of the spending. Never again should the massive wages and bonuses paid out in the successful years be allowed to happen.
I would also like to see the Dundalk FC Supporters Trust call a meeting as well. I think they should meet with members and indicate to them how their relationship is with the owners now.
The Trust effectively saved the club just before the start of the season. They provided the money needed to draw down the grant for the new pitch and floodlights. Had this not happened, Dundalk would never have got their Premier Division licence.
But to the trust committee, I ask that they meet with members to let them know if they have been involved in any other expenditure with the club owners for the benefit of Dundalk FC and, more importantly, that they actively inform members on their plans of continuing to attract more members to the organisation.
Dundalk starting 11 and subs with marks out of 10 for performance. Goals Enda Minogue (3). Right Full Tyreke Wilson(8). Left Full Bobby Burns (7) Centre halves. Rob Cornwall (3) JR Wilson 6 Gaxha 82 mins 5) Midfield. (Daryl Horgan (7) Groome 46 Mins 5) Dervin 8. (Buckley 4 Warren 58 mins 5. (Teahan 6 McDaid 58 5) Striker Arubi 6.
Dundalk totally dominated the first half. Gbemi Arubi forced the Bohs keeper into an early save. Aodh Dervin had a half volley saved by Choraska minutes later.
Daryl Horgan hooked a great cross into the box. Eoin Kenny failed to connect. Bobby Burns and Eoin Kenny went on a great two-run. Burns' snapshot was saved well by the Bohs keeper.
Dundalk deservedly were in front on 34 minutes. There was a great pass from Arubi. Dervin hit it on the volley to the net from inside the box.
The game swung Bohs' way totally with their subs at half time. Douglas James Taylor came in for Vaughan. Darragh Power came in for Morihan. Diallo came on for McDonnell. Rob Cornwall and Keith Buckley were booked on 60 minutes.
Eoin Kenny was booked. Boh's levelled on 50 minutes. Colm Whelan's effort was blocked. It came to Douglas James Taylor, who set up Ross Tierney. He shot past Enda Minogue from the edge of the box.
The Dundalk defence was in disarray. Bohs were ahead on 68 minutes when Ross Tierney broke clear in the box. Rob Cornwall pushed him in the back. The referee gave him a second yellow card. and sent him off.
Douglas James Taylor put the penalty away with ease. The Dubliners were now in front. Bobby Burns nearly levelled for Dundalk right at the death when Bobby Burns shot forced Chorazka into a great save.
Three minutes into injury time, Bohs put a comprehensive stamp on their win when Zane Myers was set up to fire past Minogue. So Bohs ended their long wait of going nine games without a win.
This was a big victory for them. Dundalk fans left Oriel knowing their side's form dipped very badly in the second half. The attendance was 3,600. 23,000 people have attended home games at Oriel so far this season.
After the game, I asked the manager for the latest on Mayowa.
"It's not good. We got the results of a scan, and it's not what we hoped for. It will be well after the break before we see Mayowa playing again. It's a hamstring injury. The results are not perfect.
Conor O'Keeffe has suffered a recurrence of his concussion. He got bad concussion in Cobh last season. Every time he gets an impact there it all flares up. We have a duty of care to look after him.
It has not been easy. We have been missing Vinny obviously, in the centre half slot. He is on the way back after his virus. But he was hospitalised.
It is unlikely that Vinny will be back for us. It's not for want of trying or effort. The circumstances have just been against us and Vinnie for him to make a comeback.
"We played well in the first half tonight. But you do not get any points at half time. We put ourselves in a position to win the game by our first half performance. You can not perform like that in the second half and hope to get away with the win.
We did not. They got the three points. We are now playing at the highest level of football in Ireland. We are the newly promoted team.
I think you are just going to see deficiencies in performance at times. Most teams in the Division have gone through a bad period this season. We are not going to accept that.
"We are very frustrated. We were leading at half time tonight. We were leading at half time on Monday. And we got no points. It's not good enough at this level of football; we are just going to have to improve.
We lost Daryl at half time. He was ill. I think he was ill even before the start of the game. He indicated at half time that he was unable to continue. On bringing in new players, it's clear that we do need reinforcements".
I asked the manager did he not think he needed a new goalkeeper.
"Listen, we have two goalkeepers. Hopefully, Conor Kearns might see some part of the season as well. Look, it's not one position we need, Gerry. We do need a centre half and a striker, possibly. I am very frustrated. I am very disappointed at this moment in time.
"This weekend last year, we were playing Treaty in Limerick. Now, tonight, we are finding out how difficult things can be at this level. We will dust off. We will go again.
In terms of our points tally that we have now, we would have taken them at the start of the season. We have Shamrock Rovers here in Oriel next Friday. The following week it's Drogheda away.
We will definitely make an honest account of ourselves in both games. We will have rovers here on Friday. Hopefully the will make a bit of noise. It's live on TV.
We could not ask for anything better to motivate us. We will have a newly promoted team against the defending champions. It will be a great incentive for us."
Aodh Dervin played his heart out for Dundalk on Friday night as he always does. His lead goal for Dundalk was magnificent.
But to see all the hard work of getting Dundalk to half-time, go down the drain so quickly in the second half was heartbreaking for the Dundalk vice-captain.
Anybody who spoke to Aodh after the game could see how deeply disappointed he was with the result.
"I am just gutted with the result. We had worked so hard to put ourselves in front. To lose it then, I am gutted. A game is never won at half time. It was a game of two halves.
In the second half, we were just not good enough. We have not lost two games in a row at Oriel since the manager came here. I do not want this to happen. The games are going to get tougher and tougher. We lost that game in the second half.
"We need a positive reaction for the Shamrock Rovers game here, next Friday."
Former manager Stephen O'Donnell, who is now assistant at Bohs, said that Dundalk deserved to be in front at the break. "We needed to make a couple of changes at half-time to tweak the system.
We were much better in the second half. We were in a tricky spot at half time. But I was delighted with the response I got from the players in the second half. Oriel is a very tough venue to come and play in.
We always talk about how effective substitutions can have on a game. Our changes tonight had a significant impact. The three subs at half time gave us a huge boost.
Douglas James Taylor was magnificent tonight. He took his own goal very well. He put a great pass through for the second goal. We made offensive changes at half time. I am always delighted when it pays dividends, like it did tonight.
"It was a bit strange being in the opposition dugout tonight. The good memories came flooding back. The pitch surface is lovely now compared to when I was here.
"I must say also that Dundalk are a real enthusiastic team and are and will be a massive handful for any team. Dundalk did play us off the park in the first half. Daryl, Gbemi and Eoin are very dangerous strikers.
All three can equally cause a lot of damage to any team. They create a lot of chances in all of their games. We were under no illusion that we were going to get it very tough up here. Dundalk are a good side.
I know Dundalk have gone four games now without a win. But they are not in any trouble. This is a league that goes in rounds. It's such a competitive league. Not many teams are finding it easy to get consistency.
Tonight, we got our first win in nine games. I was very happy at the way we responded when Dundalk were down to ten men. We were all delighted to come up here tonight and get the win."
The town of Dundalk lost a soccer icon on Friday when news of the sudden death of Gerry Gover, the Honorary President of the local Schoolboys league. Gerry was aged 86. He was Mister Soccer for decades.
Gerry gave over fifty years of his life to the Dundalk Schoolboys League. He also set up and managed the very famous schoolboys club, Rangers FC.
Gerry gave his whole life to the young people of the town. He played such a positive role in the lives of so many of the youth of Dundalk.
Gerry consistently pushed and promoted the game in the area. He gave so much time and energy to the benefit of so many young people. He was such an inspiration to anybody he came into contact with, when it came to football.
He taught the value of teamwork and sportsmanship to anybody he came into contact with. Gerry stood down from his role as Chairman of the Schoolboys League in 2017 at the age of 77.
Gerry was a man who always shunned publicity for himself. He always tried to make life better and more enjoyable for others. At the time of his departure as chairman, there were 85 teams with over 1,000 players in the league in Dundalk.
Outside of sport, Gerry was involved with the scouts, brownies, dance, first aid responders and tidy towns groups. The list goes on.
Gerry was a community hero of Dundalk. The people of Dundalk, I am sure, would like to thank Gerry's family for everything he did for the benefit of people. Rest in Peace, Gerry. I am sure you have already organised your own team in Heaven.
Have a great week. It's Shamrock Rovers on Friday in Oriel. Look after yourselves and each other. And remember to always be careful out there.