EIRCOM LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

12th December

Home Farm 0

Dundalk 1

PAUL CAMPBELL 86

It won't go down as a classic, in fact it was quite the opposite but once again Dundalk played badly and yet grabbed a late goal to make sure all three points went home to Oriel Park. It was a night full packed with drama, most of it nothing to do with action at either goalmouth but instead injuries to linesmen and players alike. Add to that a sending off and a mini brawl or two and you have the makings of an evening that would throw up a few talking points.

The Dundalk selection was the first talking point. John Whyte was not fit enough to play but surprisingly Padraig Staunton was thrown in at the deep end after injury and played at right back. Tom McNulty missed out through injury. Regrettably and almost inevitably Terry Eviston decided to move Noel Melvin into midfield and play Whelan and Gollogley in central defence. This is not a reflection on Whelan who had a good game but Melvin is not half as effective in midfield and once you start moving players out of their best position then trouble is all that follows, a lesson we learnt all too well last season. John Flanagan moved to the right wing, swapping places with Paul Campbell who thankfully moved into a more familiar central midfield role. Anto Reilly got the nod over Brian Honan up front and partnered David Ward.

The first fifteen minutes leading up to the linesmans injury were fairly uneventful. Dundalk were caught cold at the start though and could have one down when a fierce shot by the Home Farm left back went inches wide of the post. However this Home Farm onslaught petered out after 10 minutes but Dundalk only had one David Ward shot which went wide to their credit before the linesman on the near touchhline injured himself. The game was delayed for 15 minutes and the players retreated to the dressing rooms before a frantic search for a replacement linesman was held. Terry Eviston certainly did not look happy with the prospect of a member of the general public hopping over the wall and taking the flag but a replacement was eventually found and after he went in and changed the game began again at 8:00.

Brian Morrisroe came closest for Dundalk after the restart. He was released from midfield and could have picked out either David Ward or Anto Reilly but continued on himself and from just outside the Home Farm box hit a fierce left foot shot which went inches wide of the post. David Ward nearly came as close with a shot later on after some brilliant close control and it was the performance of Ward which was the only real high point in a terribly disappointing opening 45 minutes. However there was still plenty for the crowd to shout about and on 37 minutes things got out of hand. Ward's quickness of feet deceived Home Farm striker Mark Mulraney who quite clearly took him down. Ward was slow to get to his feet and understandably so as it was a pretty hefty challenge but this made Mulraney unhappy and he tried to force him up and doing so had a pop at the striker. The Dundalk players ran in to challenge Mulraney and players from the Home Farm side then got involved. Quite clearly in front of the linesman Home Farm's Derek Gill struck David Crawley in the face. Crawley went down and Gill's game was over, given a direct red card. Mulraney who started it all escaped with a yellow card but with Home Farm down to ten men he was withdrawn for tactical reasons as Home Farm decided to go with one up front and introduce a replacement right back. Mulraney was clearly not happy with being substituted and took his jersey off disconsolently before heading down the tunnel glaring angrily at this own bench. After this incident the game sparked into life for eight minutes as Dundalk threatened to run riot. Ward enjoyed the extra space and created two great chances for himself but unfortunately he had to shoot with his left foot on each occasion so he could not convert them. Anto Reilly also missed a great chance when a corner dropped invitingly to him but also on his left foot and his shot which was going over anyway was deflected over the bar by a Farm defender. Half time came at the wrong time for Dundalk who quite probably would have gone ahead had there been ten minutes more in the first half. The whistle gave Home Farm a chance to regroup and think out a plan for the second half to stifle Dundalk and in particular, Ward.

The first twenty minutes of the second half were similar to the first twenty minutes of the first half. Boring. There was a few half chances. David Crawley had a chance from a free kick from exactly the same distance he scored against Athlone and Monaghan. However he shot tamely into the wall which couldn't have been more than 5 yards away. Dundalk had to change things as they were beating against a brick wall. Ward was getting kicked all over the place by the cynical Home Farm defence and Terry Eviston decided to replace Anto Reilly with cult hero Brian Honan to try and beefen up the front line. Padraig Staunton who had been relatively quiet was then replaced by Derek Delaney. Flanagan had not been effective at all on the right wing and Delaney slotted in there with Flanagan dropping back to right back. These moves did not provoke an instantaneous reaction but it was clear that Dundalk were beginning to push Home Farm further and further back. Whelan and Gollogley were the main distributors of the ball for Dundalk as they were given time and space to run with the ball. Paul Campbell started becoming more and more prominent and he was soon to have a good chance or two. His first came when Brian Honan was released down the left wing by Campbell who continued his run into the box. Honan did well and picked out the onrunning Campbell with a perfect cross but the final header by the ex-Pats midfielder went straight at O'Reilly in the Home Farm goal. Campbell was getting more time on the ball and came close five minutes later when his drilled right foot shot went inches wide of the post from 20 yards when he was given time to shoot. David Ward apart from Campbell was Dundalk's best player on the night and it was worrying for Dundalk fans when he limped off with 10 minutes or so left. Home Farm should have been reduced to nine men or even eight after some of the tackles on Ward but when he came off and John Sharkey came on it gave Dundalk the impetus which eventually led to the Dundalk goal. Sharkey came in on the right side of midfield and Delaney moved up front alongside Honan. This gave the side a greater balance and Sharkey was a constant menace, getting in behind the Farm players and putting in crosses. Sharkey is trying to stake his claim for a regular first team place and certainly did his chances no harm on the basis of this performance. He is nearly deserving of a place solely to give the side a better shape as they have looked one sided in midfield in recent weeks with Campbell on the right side of midfield.

If anyone was going to score though it was going to be Paul Campbell. He made a great run into area after a Sharkey cross soon after the pint sized wingers introduction and when he controlled the ball inside the box a goal looked certain but O'Reilly advanced and made a great block. The follow up fell to Derek Delaney whose shot was frantically cleared off the line by a Home Farm side who had introduced Chris Malone during the second half. The goal was to come however with four minutes left. The ball was worked to Campbell on the left side of the penalty area. Once again the Farm defence gave him time on the ball and this time he used it to curl a right footed shot past O'Reilly and into the bottom corner of the net. The delight of Campbell after the goal as he ran over to the delirious Dundalk fans was clearly visible. Home Farm won a free kick in the Dundalk half in injury time but it never threatened John Connollys goal so the game stayed 1-0 to give Dundalk a vital three points.

Once again it was a poor performance. However when Dundalk really went for it in the last ten minutes just like in Athlone they looked like the far superior side. Let us not forget it was against ten men but sometimes it is harder to break ten men down. This shows Dundalk are capable of routing these teams but are just playing well below their potential. Dundalk looked a better side when a natural right winger in John Sharkey was introduced and that option will have to be looked at for next week.

Campbell was Dundalk's star performer purely on his inspirational last twenty minutes. He carried the team to victory. Ward was again very impressive. Elsewhere Whelan, Gollogley and Crawley did alright. However Morrisroe was absent for the second half again, Melvin is like a fish out of water in midfield while neither Reilly nor Honan seem capable of playing consistently enough to stamp down a regular first team place

Dundalk have now played every team in the division, home and away, and despite a nightmare start are only three points off the pace. This side is well capable of gaining promotion in the second half of the season, however this will only be achieved if the performance of the last ten minutes last night is reproduced for the whole ninety because against Bray and Longford if you play badly for 80 minutes you will be punished and the late revival will come too late.This fixture away to Home Farm will be Dundalk's last First Division fixture of the season in early May.While third place now is a good position after the nightmare start we've had it will not be a satisfactory result should the positions remain unchanged come early May.However if all the players show the same determination as Paul Campbell did last night then Dundalk should hopefully see their season end after their next visit to Home Farm, and not after two gruelling playoff games two weeks later.

DUNDALK FC

1 John Connolly 6

2 Padraig Staunton 6

3 David Crawley 6

4 Paul Whelan 7

5 Padraig Gollogley 7

6 Noel Melvin 5

7 John Flanagan 6

8 Paul Campbell 9

9 David Ward 8

10 Anto Reilly 5

11 Brian Morrisroe 5

SUBS

14 Brian Honan 6 for Reilly

13 Derek Delaney 6 for Staunton

17 John Sharkey 7 for Ward