EIRCOM LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

19th September

Cobh Ramblers 0

Dundalk 1

DAVID WARD 44

Dundalk gave us all a pleasant surprise yesterday with a victory against Cobh Ramblers in St Colmans Park. In truth the Lilywhites never looked in trouble once they got through the first five minutes and even when Cobh pressed forward in the second half the Dundalk defence stood firm and never once gave Cobh a clear scoring chance.

Dundalk were forced into making five changes from last Sundays team against Monaghan. The injured Brendan Murphy was replaced in goals by Josh Moran. Padraig Staunton playing in the Louth minor final for the Clans was replaced in centre of defence by Padraig Gollogley. Derek Delany and John Flanagan came into midfield for the injured John Sharkey and suspended David Hoey while Brian Honan came in up front and replaced Gavin Moore who dropped to the bench alongside David Martin, Michael Harte and Ollie Ralph who made a shock return to playing action.

Cobh dominated the first five minutes and could have gone one up when they broke through the Dundalk defence but despite having right midfielder Liam O Connor hauled down clearly they continued attacking and the ball fell to Mark Clifford who sidefooted home. However the whistle had already been blown even though Cobh really should have been allowed play the advantage. After five minutes Donal Golden was found unmarked in the penalty area but headed wide. After this early scare Dundalk started to dominate. The Dundalk cause was helped when both O Connor and Golden had to retire injured in the first half but by this time Dundalk were starting to get on top of Cobh. Brian Morris-Roe was having his customary lively first half and he was giving the Cobh defenders a torrid time by getting down the wing and putting in some decent crosses. Ward and Honan looked lively up front. Honan looked twice as fit as last week was winning some good ball and nearly scored with a speculative effort after 15 minutes when he chosed a hopeful ball forward. Derek Delaney on the right wing also had a half chance but was muscled off the ball. Morris-Roe looked like he was confident with his shooting boots and hit several rasping left footed shots which gave John Donegan in the Cobh goals something to think about. His counterpart in the Dundalk goals Josh Moran making his debut for Dundalk looked unsure when kicking but after the first 15 minutes was a virtual spectator for the rest of the match.

Honan and Delaney should have put Dundalk in front in the second third of the first half. Good passing by Dundalk saw Flanagan create a clear opening for Honan who had time to pick his spot but shot high and straight at Donegan. Delaney was put through by Morris-Roe but he dithered too long on his right foot and the shot ended up going tamely wide of the post. Ward had been hassling the Cobh defenders and before half time got his reward. A long free kick from Crawley was flicked on by Honan and Ward chased the ball through and with his left foot tapped it with the side of his foot past Donegan and into the net via the post. Dundalk for once had got the goal which their possession and domination deserved.

Dundalk started the second half well. Delaney should have scored when he was put through but Donegan saved well and Ward was unlucky with an attempted lob. Dundalk started to try and defend the 1-0 lead so did not push as many men forward. This plan worked as the commanding Melvin marshalled the Dundalk defence marvellously. He was ably assisted by Gollogley whose towering presence stopped Cobh from progressing into the penalty area. John Whyte battled tenaciously at right back throughout the match while John Flanagan also did very well for Dundalk in midfield. He broke forward rarely but did not lose possession when he did. He defended well and won some vital possession when Cobh were attacking. Cobh did have a fifteen minute spell which had Dundalk on the backfoot but the superb Dundalk defence ensured that the Cobh attacks got no further than the edge of the penalty box.

Delaney got very tired in the second half and was replaced by Harte. This gave Dundalk added impetus on the break and Harte nearly scored with a deft lob fifteen minutes from time. The Dundalk back four were not giving anything to the Cobh attackers and even if one missed the ball there was always another defender there to clean up. McNulty also was a vital element in Dundalk's defensive display. Despite not doing anything spectacular he just won the ball on some occasions and picked the right pass to take the heat off the Dundalk defence. Morris-Roe had to drop back to get into the game in the second half but on the break still looked dangerous and kept the Cobh defence on their toes. Ward also did some good running in the second half although nothing really came of it apart from keeping the ball in the Cobh half for some spells.

Dundalk introduced assistant manager Ollie Ralph for Ward inside the final ten minutes. Ralph looked fairly lively and even had one half chance which he shot straight at Donegan. He could have scored when with 5 minutes left Crawley broke through down the left. Crawley was left one on one but hesitated and instead tried to roll the ball into the path of Ralph however the pass was put slightly behind him and Ralph had to spin around to get the ball and had to tee it up for Morris-Roe whose fierce left footed shot cannoned off the crossbar and went over. Although Dundalk fans despaired at the miss it meant that vital minutes had been wasted down in the Cobh half . Cobh made one last surge forward which had Dundalk fans on tenderhooks after this seasons 90th minute disasters. However Dundalk held firm for the victory. Eviston and Ralph came over to the Dundalk fans and beckoned for the other Dundalk players to come over and applaud the travelling support.

For Dundalk, Melvin and Gollogley were the star performers. They worked well together at the back. The solid unit in the centre of defence meant John Whyte could concentrate more on his duties at right back and he had a fine game while Flanagan was very impressive in midfield. Morris-Roe is an exciting player to have in the team while Ward and Honan did very well in the first half. Both were not as prominent in the second half, especially Honan.

It was an unlikely victory. Dundalk's two hardest games on paper out of the opening six were against Kilkenny and Cobh and we've won them both and lost the other four. Does this mean when the pressure is off Dundalk they produce the goods ? The Oriel Park hoodoo which has saw Dundalk fail to score at home apart from David Hoey's goal against St Francis has been a source of much frustration to Dundalk management, players and supporters. Dundalk just have to build on this win and defeat Athlone next Saturday in Oriel Park. Otherwise this win was nothing more than just a flash in the pan.

Dundalk FC

1 Josh Moran 6

2 John Whyte 8

3 David Crawley 7

4 Tom McNulty 7

5 Padraig Gollogley 9

6 Noel Melvin 9

7 Derek Delaney 6

8 John Flanagan 8

9 David Ward 7

10 Brian Honan 6

11 Brian Morris-Roe 7

SUBSTITUTES

12 Michael Harte 6 for Delany

17 Ollie Ralph 6 for Ward