The Commentary Box: Dundalk gave as good as they got against Pats

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Dundalk had been so poor against Waterford, Bohemians and Drogheda in recent games. Yet Friday's Dundalk were a team who were back to their best. They were able to soak up the pressure so well.

They pressed high up the pitch and caused Pats a lot of difficulty. Pats beat Dundalk 4-0 the last time they played in the league at Inchicore earlier in the season. That was never going to happen on Friday.

Pats went into the game having drawn their last two games in a row. A crowd of 4,500 people went to see the Dubliners get a fifth win. 300 were from Dundalk. They soon let Pat's know that they were not going to be easy pickings.

At half-time the Oriel Park men thoroughly deserved their lead. But once again Dundalk were unable to maintain a lead. A Sean Hoare goal early in the second half brought the Dubliners back into the game.

Pats did have the best of the pressure in that second half. They should have got a second goal. But so should Dundalk. In the end, the draw was the most deserved result.

But Ciaran Kilduff must be asking himself what he can do to ensure that when Dundalk lead in a game that they can keep it. Most of the goals that Dundalk are conceding in all of these cases are from set pieces. And so it was on Friday.

Pat's won a corner out on the right. Aiden Keena floated the ball to the outer edge of the box. Hoare's blistering header gave Minogue no chance in the Dundalk goal. It was a well-worked move from the training ground.

It was supposed to be Egor Vassenein's job to watch out for Hoare. But to be honest, I thought it was hard to lay any blame on the 18-year-old's shoulders.Vassenein had replaced Rob Cornwall, who was booked in the first half.

Ciaran Kilduff replaced him as there was the fear that he could easily be sent off, being on the yellow card. Vasselin is only 18. He is on loan from Shamrock Rovers. I think he played well in the second half.

Yes, Hoare was left completely unmarked for the equaliser. I doubt if anybody could have stopped him powering that ball to the net. He came from nowhere to score. If anyone has to take the blame, maybe it's the manager.

He obviously had not organised his defence to be on the lookout for Hoare. And for me even to say that is ridiculous. A manager can not anticipate every move from the opposition. To be honest, the more experienced defenders should have picked up Hoare.

Even then, they would want to have been at their very best to stop the ex-Dundalk centre half from getting the goal.There were six changes to the Dundalk team that beat non-league side St Joseph's the previous week in the cup.

Enda Minogue lined out in goals. He came back in for Peter Cherrie. Enda had a decent game and took off some fine saves. He did not make any mistakes, as he is sometimes prone to do. He gets a rating of 7.

Robbie Burns played at full back in an attacking role. He was excellent. He did have to go off through injury on 75 minutes. Robbie enjoyed getting up and down the line. He played well. He gets a rating of 7. Shane Tracey came on as a sub replacing him. He gets 6.

He was not on long enough to get a bigger score. Mayowa was top class and was one my men of the match. He gets 9. He was always back covering. But he liked going forward as well and nearly got the winner in the last kick of the game.

He got the SSE Airtricity man of the match award. He deserved it. One of the Virgin Media Sport panellists said that Mayowa was from Dublin and that he had come up through the Stella Maris club scheme in Dublin. Rubbish.

Mayowa came up through the Dundalk academy and Glenmuir. Vinny Perth was clear to correct the error. He said that Dundalk's academy system was thriving and that this was where Mayowa came from.

He said that Mayowa was a Dundalk lad who came from Muirhevnamor. Mayowa also played schoolboy soccer with local school Colaiste Ris.Dundalk can get a transfer fee for Mayowa even if he does not go in this window.

Once they have a transfer reserve of him, the club must be paid.Rob Cornwall got an early booking. He played well and got a seven. I was really surprised he was taken off at half time. He was replaced by youngster Igor Vassenein at the start of the second half.

I thought he did well. Some of the Dublin media argued that he should have picked up Sean Hoare for the Pats Goal. I do not agree. He gets a grade 7. He is a good player. Tyreke Wilson was superb in his attacking left full position.

He covered back when he had to. He nearly scored. And his last-gasp clearance off the line at the death ensured Dundalk got a precious point. Aodh Dervin was also taken off at half time by Kilduff. Again it was for the same reason as Cornwall.

There was a fear he would get a second yellow. It would have meant a suspension for upcoming games. Aodh was magnificent in midfield. He was a man of steel. He gave everything for the cause. He gets 8.

Keith Buckley replaced him in midfield. I thought Keith was magnificent. He gets 7.Harry Groome made the difficult things look simple. Although his side were under much pressure, he was the calm one on the Dundalk team.

His passes were accurate. He helped Dundalk get a good grip on midfield. He had a couple of good efforts on goal. He gets 7. Daryl Horgan yet again starred for his team. He gets 9 and is my joint man of the match.

His runs on either wing put the Pats defence under pressure for the entire night. Daryl must have been under a lot of pressure when running up to take the penalty on 33 minutes. Anto Breslin, when going for a ball on 36 minutes, used his elbow.

Unfortunately for him, it hit Dundalk's Trevor Clarke in the face. Referee Kevin O'Sullivan had no hesitation pointing to the spot.Daryl Horgan, as cool as you like, stepped up and put Dundalk in front.

Annang in the Pats goal never had a chance of getting to the ball. Trevor Clarke had a great game for Dundalk. His runs at the Pats defence caused them many problems. He hit the inside of the post with one effort.

It was his persistence that forced Anto Breslin into conceding the penalty. Trevor gets 8. Looks like Kilduff may have found himself another gem. Trevor was replaced by Declan McDaid on 69 minutes. He gets 6.

Ronan Teahan was outstanding in the centre of midfield. He is another great Kilduff signing. He halted many of the Pats' attacks coming through the middle. He was excellent going forward. He gets 7.

Cian Dillon was making his debut for Dundalk last Friday. It will take him time to settle and to get totally match fit. Cian is only 19. His work rate was excellent. His passing and the laying off of the ball was very good. He gets 7.

Cian was replaced by Leo Gaxha on 78 minutes. Leo had a good last 12 minutes and is continuing to improve from his long term injury that kept him out for 12 months. It was a bad result for Stephen Kenny and his assistant Brian Gartland.

Pats have now drawn their last two games. With it goes the advantage of closing the gap on leaders Shamrock Rovers. Pats are simply not good enough to win a league title. The quality of their play on Friday clearly showed that.

Dundalk gave as good as they got last Friday. They deserved the point. They deserved the first half lead after scoring from the penalty spot and also hitting the Pats post.

Enda Minogue took off a fine save in a one-on-one with Pats' Ryan Edmondson's effort in the second half. Dundalk were put under a lot of pressure by Pats in the first twenty minutes of the game.

From there, Dundalk took over and finally got the breakthrough they deserved. Pats were by far the better side in the second half. But the only time they managed to breach Dundalk's lines was when Sean Hoare scored.

Indeed, Dundalk were the better team in the last 10 minutes of the game when it seemed as if the Dublin side were running out of steam.Horgan caused problems all over the field for Pats.

Harry Groome and Ronan Teahan were constant menaces as they moved forward. Trevor Clarke had a shot pushed onto the Pats post after he got a great pinpoint pass from Groome.

The biggest scare Dundalk got of conceding a goal in the second half was with 12 minutes left when Keenan's free was headed on by Turner. Enda Minogue was beaten. Somehow Tyreke Wilson was able to prevent the ball going over the line.

Minogue jumped on the ball, covered it and cleared it away from danger. Ciaran Kilduff says it was a good point to get in Inchicore. But he did say he was disappointed that they did not get all three.

"Leading at half-time and conceding from a set piece so early in the second half was so disappointing. We had to replace Rob, and Aodh, I suppose Vassenein had to watch out for the Sean Hoare threat for their equaliser with Rob off.

“I am disappointed about their goal, but there is a lot of positivity too. The problem we had was we thought everybody was going to be yellow-carded. Three of our players were booked in the first 20 minutes.

“It was probably a lack of trust; I had to take some of my players off who had already been booked. Despite everything, I thought we finished the second half very strongly. We finished the game so positively. So all in all, it is not a bad point.

"I did make a strong case for a red for the Pats player who fouled Trevor Clarke for the penalty. This was based on how easy the referee handed out yellow cards to our players earlier in the first half. But I do not want to see a player sent off.

“So I am not going to say he should have been sent off. It was certainly a penalty and a yellow card. It's the inconsistency that is so frustrating. We have a very thin squad. We have a lot of players playing with niggles.

“The cup game against St Mochtas last Friday allowed me to rotate the squad. Some got much-needed game time. Others got a much-needed rest and came back refreshed tonight. You could see how refreshed Keith Buckley was.

“Then we had first league debuts for Trevor Clarke, Igor and Cian. He came into the game after only 70 minutes of match practice."It has not been easy for the players to be newly promoted, and to give such a good account of ourselves is so good.

“We did lose our last three games before tonight after leading in said games. Fatigue, I think, had set in. So it's all the more encouraging to see how we have dealt with that.

"I am hoping to bring in more players in before the window closes. I said that last week as well. But it is not that easy. I am working very hard to get this done. But it is very hard at this time of the season.

“We are not at the top when it comes to budget or resources. All of our signings to date, most Dundalk supporters would never have known them. I doubt very much if anyone heard of Gbemi or Ronan Teahan in Dundalk two years ago.

“Now they are household names. But I will not be able to sign high-profile names like Michael Duffy or Graham Burke. But we have been pillaged this season, losing Gbemi, Vinnie and Eoin. Then you have to go out and replace them.

"Bobby Burns got a kick in the back tonight, and it went into his hamstring. He had already been booked. So it was more a precaution than anything else to take him off. He should be ok.

“JR Wilson has been hit with a serious hamstring injury. We are talking about September before he can return. He did it in training last Monday. He has been an ever-present for us.

“So he is going to be a loss. On the plus side, Conor O'Keeffe is not too far away from returning. Harvey Warren should be back in three weeks' time. The cavalry are coming.

"As I said that I was disappointed that we gave away our lead and dropped two points. But on the plus side, a point in Inchicore is not bad. It sets us up nicely for the game against Sligo next Friday night at Oriel.'

“I always felt we would get chances after they scored and we did. All in all, I am disappointed we did not get the win. But I will always be happy with a draw coming out of here."

Pat's boss Stephen Kenny says his side never had control of the game.

"It was end to end. But we did have a lot of chances, and we should have scored. To be honest, we could have been three up before Dundalk really came into the game. Dundalk then had a spell. They are very quick.

“Daryl Horgan is a very good player. His penalty killed us a bit. The type of penalty Dundalk got is not often given. Anto had to use his elbow for leverage. He played to win the ball.

“But we just have to accept these things. I am pleased that we came back at Dundalk and that we did not lose the game. Our equaliser was a brilliant goal from Sean Hoare.

“It came from a superb corner from Aiden Keena. We came close with another effort. I was certain it was in. I do not know why it did not go in.

"Dundalk had their moments. It was end to end. Everybody is disappointed. But listen, we seemed to be nowhere at the start of the season.

“Nobody gave us a chance. But we are second in the league. But there is no doubt that injuries to front players like Max Matta have hurt us."

In all, Pats had 52 per cent of the possession to Dundalk's 48 per cent. Pat's had 17 shots on goal; Dundalk had eleven. Dundalk had four shots on target to Patsfive5. Dundalk made a total of 346 passes to Pats' 376.

Pats passing accuracy was 62 per cent to Dundalk's 73 per cent as well. Dundalk got in 22 crosses to Pats 27. Dundalk had four yellow cards given against them to Pats' three. The stats show how competitive Dundalk were.

If they can keep this rate up, they will pick up a lot of points in their last 11 games. Shelbourne are now only two points behind Dundalk. If they win that game in hand, then they will dislodge Dundalk from fourth place.

That would knock the Oriel Park side off their European spot. Dundalk have now only picked up a single point from their last four games. They were in front in each of these games. But on Friday it's important to say they drew.

The performance and the draw has hopefully put an end to the rot. Next Friday is a huge game for Dundalk when they take on bottom side Sligo Rovers. The north west team are under new management.

Sligo led Drogheda by two goals to one last Saturday night at the Showgrounds. But a goal in injury time saw Sligo drop two very valuable points. They will be eager to make amends on Friday night.

Dundalk will have to up their game. This game is massive. They have to stop giving away goals from set pieces. They must also organise themselves and ensure they do not leave any gaps in the wall as they did against Drogheda.

Enda Minogue must also ensure he leaves no gaps on his line. It was a dreadful goal Dundalk gave away against Drogheda at Oriel, to give the visitors a late goal and literally just hand over the points to their neighbours.

Dundalk have conceded 37 goals in 25 games this season. It's the fifth worst defence in the league. Dundalk have scored 39 goals in the league this season. They have the fourth best goal scoring record.

If they scored two more goals, they would have scored the most goals. The Sligo game is just too close to call. Let's see what happens.Dundalk drew Castlebar Celtic in the third round of the FAI Cup.

This will be a tough game. Castlebar have assembled a strong squad. They are waiting in the long grass for Dundalk. They come to Oriel in mid-August; I am always very wary about non-league teams in the cup.

Remember Ashtown Villa and Portmarnock. Both teams knocked Dundalk out of the cup in the recent past. Dundalk have appointed Tom Mohan as the club's new Academy Director.

He is expected to do very well at Oriel.Just one final footnote, and this is key. It is to the owner of Dundalk FC, Chris Clinton. I am asking you, Mr Clinton, to please give Ciaran Kilduff a new contract with better terms and money.

The club have collected a decent amount of money from the sale of Sean Keogh, Vinnie Leonard, Eoin Kenny and Gbemi Arubi.

That money must be used to strengthen the squad and especially used to help ensure the manager stays. Kilduff is the best manager I have seen in years.

The club has the lowest playing budget of all other clubs in the Premier Division. The old saying is, as you know, that you must spend to accumulate. Ciaran Kilduff must be kept at Oriel. If he goes, then all the good work over the past two years will go down the drain.

The vultures are starting to gather, Chris. They are just waiting to pounce on Kilduff and snatch him away from Oriel. They must be stopped.

Have a good week. Look after yourselves and each other. And remember, please be careful out there.