21st November - eircom League Division One
by Daniel McDonnell at Oriel Park
It was a goal of supreme quality, some would say Premier quality. Martin Reilly skilfully laid off a throw from Hoey into the path of Ward, who for the umpteenth time ran at the Limerick defence causing havoc. Often accused of lacking vision, he would not fail on this occasion, perfectly weighting a pass across the penalty area to 17 year old Leaving Cert student Andrew Duffy, who controlled the ball carefully with his first touch, and slotted the ball into the back of the net with his second touch. He celebrated by heading towards the Shed, with all the players joining in with the supporters in frenetic celebrations. A glorious moment for the Dundalk lad on his Oriel Park debut.
Sadly, it was a moment that seemed somewhat out of place on a night which was otherwise filled with mediocrity.
This wasn't a shockingly bad performance, or a disgrace, or anything like that. It just wasn't a good one either. Trevor Anderson pointed out afterwards that it is hard to achieve results with two midfielders as full backs, and to an extent he is right. The Dundalk squad is looking particularly stretched with injuries, and the late introduction of Alan McCartney, another local breaking through to the side, emphasises the risks the new manager has been forced to take.
Dundalk's first half performance was relatively disappointing, although it was quite an open game. Both sides tried to pass ball, and have decent players, with Ward's occasional spurts of brilliance sometimes rising above the watchable, if somewhat lacking penetration, midfield play.
Anderson looks to have rejuvenated Chris Lawless, who played with the energy and enthusiasm which marked him out as a future star during the latter end of the 2001/2 season. While his touch deserted him at times, he was at the heart of the better Dundalk moments of the first half, including a terrific right footed cross shortly before the interval which was so good, it seemed to take both Haylock and Reilly by surprise.
Limerick took the lead one minute before half time, when a harmless looking cross wasn't properly dealt with by the Dundalk defence, with Barry Ryan eventually firing past the hapless Mick Dempsey after an ugly scramble.
Before this game, Gary Haylock, Martin Reilly and Craig Deane were all rated extremely doubtful. It was a surprise when all three made the starting line-up, but in the circumstances, it is hardly surprising they all failed to shine. Deane was average in his time on the field, and it was hardly surprising he was withdrawn five minutes into the second half to be replaced by Duffy, who moved to the right side of midfield, with Lawless reverting to the middle. If a player isn't feeling 100%, the manager generally gives him five minutes after the break to see how he feels - in this case Deane obviously wasn't feeling the best.
Haylock was never really at the races, with injury more than likely the reason, while Reilly was lively but frustrating. He should have scored shortly before the hour mark when a Limerick mistake put him clear through on goal. Reilly could have shot first time, and would most likely have scored, but instead he tried to round the keeper, eventually shooting wide of the post. A terrible misjudgment.
Duffy hugged the right touchline, offering width to the Dundalk play which Limerick struggled to deal with, especially with Ward in terrific form on the left. It was no co-incidence that the pair combined for the glorious goal on 61 minutes.
In the remaining twenty five minutes, Limerick had chances to score with Ryan and O'Flynn missing chances. A late tackle by Flanagan which ended his participation in the game prevented Foley from almost certaintly creating the winner.
Dundalk's attacks were all started by Ward, whose brilliant run and cross nearly created the winner for Gary Haylock who just couldn't get the ball under control. Duffy showed his inexperience with some basic errors, but once he actually got the ball under control, he looked confident and comfortable, again showing a willingless to move inside on his left foot. With Ward preferring his right foot, Dundalk always have the option of switching wings with the pair, a tactic which could be used during the game to confuse visiting defences.
Again, we find ourselves looking for possible solutions in the future, but the truth remains that a draw was a fair result, an outcome that is not good enough if Dundalk want to put some kind of pressure on Waterford, who are grinding out the wins like a Championship side does.
This game will be remembered for the emergence of Duffy, with the club's decision to ban the player from doing interviews suggesting that this is a player they view as pivotal to the future.
In the short-term, however, the schoolkid could be set for one of the harshest examinations possible in January. That will come in the shape of the newly structured end of season playoffs which, save for a spectacular Waterford collapse, Dundalk seem to be destined for.
1 Mick Dempsey 6
Solid enough, goal not really his fault
2 John Flanagan 6
Brave performance
3 David Hoey 5
Enduring a torrid time in unfavoured position
4 Paul Curran 6
Average display
5 Bryan McCrystal 6
Average display
6 Ciaran Kavanagh 7
Battled hard, improving
7 Chris Lawless 7
A welcome return to form
8 Craig Deane 6
Injury curtailed his participation
9 Gary Haylock 5
Injuries dogged his performance
10 Martin Reilly 5
Lively, and contributed to goal, but horror miss remains enduring memory
11 David Ward 8
Another excellent Oriel performance, showed great awareness for the goal
SUBS
14 Andrew Duffy 7 for Deane
An Oriel Park debut to remember
12 Alan McCartney for Flanagan
Only made a few touches in dying seconds - making senior debut