EIRCOM LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

19th February

Dundalk 2

MARK REID 32

DAVID WARD 79

Home Farm Fingal 0

After last Tuesdays disaster against Athlone it was vital that Dundalk took all three points away from last nights game at home to Home Farm Fingal and they did so, not in style but with a reasonable amount of ease. If Dundalk had failed to take all three points from this game then they might have tried to move their home games to a venue away from Oriel Park. This was only the second home win for Dundalk since that 2-1 win over Cobh back in November. David Ward had not scored since that game before his well taken second goal last night which killed off Home Farms hopes of an equaliser.

Significantly, Dundalk made two changes for the match. Paddy Quinn and Paul Campbell were dropped. The two players had performed well on the tighter pitches away from home but had not made such an impact on the much larger Oriel Park on Tuesday. Therefore Brian Morrisroe was brought in to give the side more width on the left and replaced Quinn. David Ward moved back to play on the right wing to replace Campbell. Up front, Mark Reid made his first start since August and partnered Tony Izzi in attack.

Reid made a big difference on the night. For a player who is not fully fit yet and is a tall man he still showed some good pieces of control and skill. He won some good headers and worked well as a link player. Morrisroe's delivery let him down at times but unlike last Tuesday when Quinn tended to drift infield, Morrisroe stayed out on the wing and was always available. He was involved in a lot of Dundalks best moves. Ward started well on the right wing, he got behind the Home Farm full back on numerous occasions but like Morrisroe his cross let him down on some vital occasions. The Lilywhites started much the brighter and Reid and Morrisroe both threatened with early shots. Much of the Dundalk pressure saw the ball reach the endline but the final delivery was poor. Therefore, by way of possession Dundalk had much more than their opponents but as regards clear cut chances there weren't many. Reid's presence was causing Home Farm problems and it was never more apparent than in the first goal on 32 minutes. John Flanagan found Reid outside the box and with a quick Cruyff flick he left Morrisroe with a shot on goal but the left midfielders shot was blocked. Reid followed up however and bustled past two Farm defenders before emphatically blasting past Paul Whelan in the Farm goals from 10 yards. Number two should have came soon after. John Whyte who had picked up an injury earlier on and eventually went off at half time did admirably to keep in a stray pass from Paul Whelan. He released David Ward who in turn released David Hoey. This wonderful move had Hoey free on the right hand side with Izzi screaming for it in the middle but the Knockbridge man made a mess of the cross and it was cleared. If Dundalk ever needed a reminder that a second goal is necessary it came on half time when a mix up in the home defence let Richard Foran of Home Farm through inside the box but with the goal at his mercy he fired over the bar, a big letoff for the home side.

Paddy Quinn replaced the injured Whyte at right back for the second half. A half which Dundalk dominated. At times Reid and Izzi found themselves in the wrong position with Reid getting the ball on the floor and Izzi expected to win headers. Ward drifted out of the game a bit on the right while on the left Morrisroe was frustratingly getting into great positions but failing to capitalise. He did come close 10 minutes after the restart when he flashed a left foot shot straight at the Home Farm keeper who almost fumbled. Flanagan was impressive in midfield as Home Farm ran out of ideas going forward. They had to withdraw the divisions top scorer Robert Farrell who failed to make an impact. It was hard to see how Farm put three past Longford and two past Kilkenny in recent weeks but quite easy to see why Bray put five past them on Tuesday night. They looked a poor side and the margin of victory should have been more comfortable for Dundalk.

Reid came off after 60 odd minutes. He was very impressive in his time on the pitch and once he gets a few more games under his belt should play a vital part over the final series of matches. Delaney replaced him . This saw Ward go back up front with Delaney slotting in on the right side of midfield. Delany almost made a sensational entrance when with his first touch he took it past four players but after running half the pitch he dithered over the pass and failed to release Izzi who was desperately trying to stay onside. It was a frustrating night for the Italian who wasn't really given the opportunity with the ball at his feet to shine. Delaney very nearly made it 2-0 on 70 minutes. A corner from David Crawley went over everybodys head as far as the substitute but he volleyed against the post. The rebound fell to John Flanagan whose goalbound shot was blocked. The third effort from David Hoey went well wide. Home Farm were becoming more and more ragged and the superior fitness of certain players was beginning to tell. The insurance goal came on 79 minutes, aided by a Home Farm defensive howler. A tame enough ball forward from Brian Morrisroe was completely misjudged by Brendan Place and came to Tony Izzi whose first touch put David Ward through. Coming in from the left hand side of the box he calmy picked his spot and sidefooted it accurately past Whelan into the bottom left hand corner of the net. He definitely took it with supreme confidence and it is hard to believe it is the strikers first goal since November given the amount of chances he creates for himself. After that Farm took off their other striker Foran and replaced him with midfielder Cathal O'Connor. They saw that the game was gone. They did have a couple of chances in the first fifteen minutes of the second half but in truth never looked like taking anything away from the match.

This was not a completely flawless victory. The play in the final third was too sloppy at times and the worrying ease with which Foran was allowed through before half time will not have pleased Terry Eviston. For this game though, the aim was just to win at all costs and not capitulate like they did last Tuesday. Therefore, it was a job well done.

This game marked a long overdue home win for Dundalk and a long overdue goal from David Ward . It was also Noel Melvins 200th League appearance. It was Mark Reid who made most of the difference however. His first half goal set Dundalk on their way to a win which was needed quickly to rid the memory of Tuesday nights collapse to Athlone. Dundalk have now played each team three times and lie in third position, well placed to gain promotion. The next two games are away to St Francis and at home to Limerick. Games which Dundalk should win easily, but with this team nothing is guaranteed

DUNDALK FC

1 John Connolly 6

2 John Whyte 7

3 David Crawley 6

4 David Hoey 6

5 Paul Whelan 7

6 Noel Melvin 7

7 John Flanagan 8

8 David Ward 7

9 Mark Reid 8

10 Tony Izzi 7

11 Brian Morrisroe 6

SUBS

15 Paddy Quinn 6 for Whyte

13 Derek Delany 7 for Reid

14 Derek Thornton 6 for Morrisroe