7th November - eircom League Division One
by Daniel McDonnell at Oriel Park
New manager. Some new players. New style. Same bad result. More encouraging for the future, perhaps, but the natives are restless. This game marks the halfway point of the season, and Dundalk could find themselves seven points adrift of the leaders at the end of this weekend. Not good enough for the clear favourites. Not good enough for a squad containing multiple FAI Cup winners medals. Not good enough for Dundalk Football Club. Simple as that.
However, while on previous occasions the booing at the final whistle was completely justified, I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed this time around. Certain individuals deserved the flak, but some didn't. New players Paul Curran and Craig Deane impressed, and after years of hoofing, we finally have a manager who wants his side to play football.
No more hoofing he said, and he was true to his word. When the defence got the ball, they always looked for the first available option. Deane is the kind of midfielder that drops deep and picks the ball up from the back four. He always looked to spread the ball, and rarely wasted possession. He impressed on the evening and did not deserve the flak after the final whistle that was meted out to his team-mates.
The same can be said of Curran, who is reportedly embarassing the other players at training with his fitness. The most damning indictment of the playing squad inherited by Anderson, and the previous regime is that a 36 year old is fitter than them - and what's more, the new player coach estimates the fitness level of the rest of the squad to be around 60%.
Therefore, the likes of Curran and Deane deserve sympathy. As does Anderson, because he took this job only two weeks before the transfer deadline. Maybe with more time, he could have found more players willing to commit to the club, and cast off some who seem to have lost interest.
For this game, the Dundalk hand was forced by injuries to full backs Malone and Brunton. Broughan was shifted out to right back with Curran coming in at central defence. David Hoey reverted to left full. Defensively, Broughan and Hoey endured torrid evenings. After the lesson of last year, it is clear that Donal Broughan's position is centre half. He is a quality player in that position. Tonight, he was faced with the tricky Tony Tynan, a player who would be raiding the wings at Cork City were it not for a falling out with Liam Murphy. Too tricky, too pacy and too sharp for Broughan. It was harrowing viewing.
Similarly on the other wing, Hoey's uncomfortableness on the left side was exposed by Barry Lennon, and also striker Aiden O'Keefe when he drifted out to the wing. Turning Hoey far too easily. Chances were created and squandered.
Dundalk also had chances. Ward always looked dangerous, but constantly lost his footing culminating in a laughable second half incident when unchallenged after a darting run he fell flat on his face. Laugh or cry time. Broughan, when going forward, did put in some crosses. Before half time he delivered the ball perfectly onto the head of Martin Reilly who headed straight at O'Neill.
After the break, McCrystal missed two great headed chances. One from a Kavanagh corner, the other from a Broughan cross. Should have scored twice, failed to hit the target twice. Curran also headed a good opportunity wide from a Kavanagh corner. Haylock could and should have scored after good work by Ward on the left, and his marker lost his footing. However, with better options available he fired well wide. The disturbing malaise of Gary Haylock continues. Surely it can't get any worse, and his form will get better soon. Please.
Martin Reilly also came close on two occasions, once unlucky, once frustrating. On the first occasion, his turn and shot from twenty five yards was saved spectacularly by O'Neill - the highlight of the match. On the other occasion, he raced onto a Broughan through ball and found himself clear through on goal. His first touch, however, was woeful and eventually the ball ran over the endline after he tried in vain to round O'Neill. Half hearted appeals for a penalty were rightly ignored by the referee.
Ultimately, the best chance fell to Kilkenny when Paul Curran was unlucky to see a long ball deflect off him into the path of O'Keeffe, making his Kilkenny debut, who found himself one on one with Dempsey. The striker should have scored, but Dempsey stood his ground and made a terrific save.
So, the final whistle brought boos. And the players warming down some time after the final whistle still couldn't get out of the firing line, with some fans expressing their disgust at their money being used to pay players clearly not performing to the best of their ability. It's just a shame that the players deserving of the abuse had decided not to warm down, and instead it was a newcomer like Deane left to bear the brunt of the frustration. Something about that leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
Still, it clearly outlines the passion and desire that Dundalk fans have for success. Kilkenny may be bottom of the table, but with the addition of players like Paul Byrne, David Whittle, Baba Isaaka and O'Keefe in the last few weeks, they certainly won't be there for long. They're not the worst side. However, they are a side we should be beating, especially at home.
The new style of play is welcomed, but let's hope the players can adjust to it. At times, players from the previous regime almost looked surprised to be receiving sideways passes which led to miscontrol and other unforced errors. You could see Ciaran Kavanagh racing forward when the defenders picked up the ball, expecting to be challenging for the second ball after either Reilly or Haylock challenged for the header. Instead, Kavanagh found himself ahead of the play, with Deane dropping back and looking to bring the full backs into it. At times, the crowd seemed uneasy at Dundalk's use of the ball, especially when it was being passed around at the back. We've bemoaned our tendency for hoofing the ball for ages - maybe it's not just the players that will need to get used to it.
Despite the improvement in playing style, the fact remains that the results are not good enough. Dundalk have to start winning games. While Anderson may be making changes beneficial for the future [his commitment to watching under 21 games was made apparent with the promotion of both Alan McCartney and Sean Watters to the bench tonight] the fact remains that for the financial benefit of the club, the short term aim of promotion must be achieved. With the almost scary fact being that only eleven games remain, now is the time to get into the winning habit.
If not now, when?
1 Mick Dempsey 7
Great save protected point
2 Donal Broughan 5
Out of position. Not his fault.
3 David Hoey 4
Same as Broughan
4 Paul Curran 7
Good debut. Solid
5 Bryan McCrystal 5
At times over elaborate
6 Ciaran Kavanagh 6
Committed, but lacking conviction
7 Chris Lawless 4
Erratic display
8 Craig Deane 7
Uses ball sensibly. A big improvement on previous
9 Gary Haylock 4
Please return Gary Haylock of early 2002
10 Martin Reilly 5
Livelier than Haylock, but result ultimately the same
11 David Ward 6
Again the main threat, but equally frustrating with an error strewn display.