“We’re hurting over this one” says Dundalk FC boss Kilduff
Lilywhites manager Ciaran Kilduff shares his thoughts after a frustrating night at Oriel Park
Dundalk FC manager Ciaran Kilduff was understandably frustrated over his side’s defeat to Waterford FC in Oriel Park, as the Lilywhites missed out on the chance to go level on points with third place St Patrick’s Athletic in the race for European qualification.
Dundalk looked in a good position to secure their fifth win in their last six games, having led by two goals to nil inside the first 30 minutes thanks to strikes from the in-form Eoin Kenny and Harry Groome.
However, the home side struggled to deal with the aerial threat of Waterford, particularly from set plays, which saw them concede a goal just before half time through Tommy Lonergan, who then converted a second half penalty, before John Mahon’s acrobatic finish following a long throw in five minutes from time saw Waterford scoop up an unlikely win, which gives them real hope that they could beat the drop.
“We’re hurting over this one”, Kilduff admitted afterwards. “To be leading two-nil in a game, given the run we’ve been on of late, to come away with nothing is devastating”.
“We had chances to get another goal at 2-0, but when you don’t get that next goal and with their attacking threat, there’s always a chance they could give you a sting, and they got their goal before half time, which gave them oxygen, and can lead to a difficult second half”.
“To concede one goal from a corner, another from a penalty and then a throw-in is very disappointing. In open play, we limited them to very little, but set pieces are important too”.
Even after conceding that goal just before the break, Dundalk started the second half brightly and created a number of chances, with Waterford keeper Stephen McMullan, who had a brief spell at Dundalk, producing a number of decent stops from Aodh Dervin and Daryl Horgan, while Eoin Kenny went close with a number of efforts coming in off that right wing.
But Dundalk were hit with a sucker punch when referee Marc Lynch awarded a penalty to Waterford for a handball against Bobby Burns, which was competently converted by Tommy Lonergan for 2-2.
Dundalk’s defensive frailties came to the service when John Mahon acrobatically fired Will Johnson’s long throw-in to the net for what proved to be the winner, five minutes from time, and Oriel Park was stunned.
Kilduff said: “We had chances to make it 3-1, but that didn’t happen. Then it’s 2-2, but we got on top again, and I felt we might get the next goal.
“But credit to Waterford, they were never out of the game, it was never fully comfortable, but that’s the Premier Division for you, I don’t think you’re ever going to be fully comfortable in any game”.
Looking ahead, it’s simply a case of picking yourself up, dusting yourself down and preparing for the next game as far as Kilduff’s concerned.
“Like I said previously, we are in a title race, a European qualification race and a relegation battle all in one. None of those are mathematically impossible at the moment. We just need to take it game by game.
“Tonight’s defeat was a hammer blow regardless of whatever outcome you’re looking for. We did not want to lose, but we did. We will just have to take it on the chin and go again”.