‘We showed a little bit of grit’: Kilduff hails Dundalk resilience

Dundalk FC manager Ciaran Kilduff felt his side showed the character required to come away from Waterford with a point after being forced to withstand sustained pressure during Friday night’s 1-1 draw at the RSC.

The Lilywhites were indebted to goalkeeper Enda Minogue for several important saves during a first half in which Waterford threatened to take control, but Kilduff was encouraged by the way his young side stood up to the challenge.

“On the balance of play, I thought in the first half we started well. They’re in a real confident vein of form at the minute and, when they put balls in your box, they always look dangerous.

“At the end as well, we were holding on a little bit for the point, but in the general play we had a lot of good, positive moments ourselves. Maybe in terms of possession, we had all of the stats, but we showed a little bit of grit.

“For a young group, where we’re only six or seven months together in the Premier Division, digging in like that — some of Enda’s saves, Tom Grivosti only joining the club — it was a little bit of emergency defending at times.

“But when you’re playing a team like Waterford, you knew they were always going to have chances with Amond and Lonergan up front and the way they play. But we were happy with some bits of our play as well. It’s just that the final ball didn’t really materialise as much as we’d have liked. A draw is a fair result.”

Kilduff acknowledged that Dundalk were made to work particularly hard during Waterford’s first-half onslaught, but felt there was a broader context to the manner in which his side defended their goal.

“We’ve done that ourselves to teams throughout the year. We score goals and, unfortunately, we concede a little bit too many as well at times.

“If we’d come away there without anything, it would’ve been a bit of soul-searching. We played Sunday as well. You could see that with the four changes having to be made after an hour.

“We’ve had a short week, so we’re trying to manage a young group as well — and not just in terms of age, but in terms of how long people have been in the door as well.

“You just take the point and move on. Even if we had won, you would’ve been switching straight on to another game, so it’s another one of those where you don’t have time to dwell on it.”

For Kilduff, the value of the point was heightened by the prospect of another demanding fixture immediately on the horizon, with Dundalk due to face St Patrick’s Athletic at Oriel Park on Monday night.

Dundalk’s return journey from Waterford would have been a considerably more difficult one had they left empty-handed.

“That was the most important thing, to come away with something here as well in the end. It would’ve been a longer trip home and picking lads up.

“That gets us up to 41 points now. In terms of the season we’re having, we’re quite happy with that. It’s a positive return, but we’re not finished yet.”