The craic couldn’t have been good at the Kenny breakfast table

Just wondering: when Eoin Kenny came in as a replacement in Dundalk’s game with St Patrick’s last week, was it the first time a son played against a team managed by his father?

I have no idea, but I’m sure there are those better versed in the game who could provide the answer. Google got a thorough scanning to see if it had happened in English football, but all that could be established was that there were many famous father-and-son combinations, but none in opposition to each other.

Among the combos were Alex and Darren Ferguson, Harry and Jamie Redknapp and the two Frank Lampards. Sir Alex had the young lad playing with him at Manchester United, giving rise to accusations of nepotism.

Junior moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers, but during his time there, it was Championship football only, therefore no clash with United.

Stephen Kenny put in an unhappy 90 minutes-plus at Inchicore last week, looking on as his latest charges, St Patrick’s, went three down against resurgent Dundalk.

There was a fightback, alright, to make it 3-2 at the break, but with the game yielding no further scores, Pat’s went down to a second successive under their new man, and Dundalk were thrown a solid lifeline in their bid to escape the relegation zone.

The only thing that could have made it worse for Dad was if Eoin had netted when he came on – and he very nearly did. I wonder did the two travel to the game together, and if they did, what was the craic like on the way home – or if they didn’t, at the breakfast table the following morning.

There was a further boost for Dundalk with the news that Drogheda United had been beaten in their game on the same night. At the time of writing, the two Louth sides hold the last two positions, but Dundalk are no one point better off having trailed their neighbours for so long.

The win was a timely fillip for new manager, Jon Daly. And what a night it must have been for him, pulling one over the club that let him go only a short time before.

Daly won the Cup with Pat’s last year, and the club must be wondering does success in the knock-out have some sort of a jinx attached.

Stephen O’Donnell won the same trophy in his time at Richmond Park, and when it was expected he’d continued in the post, the Galway-born made his way back to Oriel, where he had had a brilliant playing career. This time around the Inchicore executive fired their Cup-winning manager.

It will be interesting to see if Stephen Kenny can weave his Oriel magic in his new surroundings. In his first season here, the former Rep of Ireland manager fashioned a team that finished runners-up in the league.... to St Patrick’s.

Daly would welcome the same return in his first season with the Lilywhites, but it’s not going to happen; getting his team to safety would be an achievement.

After that, a lot could depend on how good he is in the marketplace, moulding new recruits and Oriel regulars into a competition-winning team.