EIRCOM LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

18th December

Dundalk 0

St Francis 0

It was the last game of the millennium in Oriel Park. Flicking through the souveneir programme which had been produced for the occasion, you had to wonder what many of the great Dundalk players and managers of the past would have made of this match. Certainly, when you look at all the illustrious names which Dundalk have rubbed shoulders with in the past it is sad that the current team can't score at home against St Francis. Had you told a Dundalk fan twenty years ago that the lastgame of the millennium in Oriel Park would have been a 0-0 draw with St Francis they would have laughed. However that is the situation that the Lilywhites are in at the moment, and if they want to get out of this division and back into the Premier Division then they will certainly have to win games like these.

When Dundalk was going through their run in late September and into October the side remained unchanged for long periods. And while some areas needed changing there now seems to be a constant reshuffle every week. One area that didn't need adjusting was the defence. However Paul Whelan kept his place in the side ahead of Padraig Gollogley as Noel Melvin was moved back to centre half. Although the home side's back four would have little to do with this outcome, the back four was the one area of the team which was rock solid and the breaking up of the Whyte-Gollogley-Melvin-Crawley quartet would seem to be a ludicrous suggestion. However this appears to have been done. Whyte was sidelined though injury again however so John Flanagan reverted to right back. John Sharkey came in on the right side of midfield while in the centre of the park David Hoey was to partner Paul Campbell. Up front Honan started alongside Ward.

The first half really was disappointing. The most exciting moment was when a wayward cross by David Crawley, which was struck with some power curled over Cathal Warfield and struck the stanchion. The ball rebounded back and hit Warfield and then the post but ended up back in the keepers possession anyway. There was a good crowd there for the match and that incident brought the biggest roar of the evening. It was a shame, as it was a real chance to put up a good show and make sure those people would have come back. Last night's display will not have won Dundalk many friends. There were more chances in the first half of course. Paul Campbell struck a free kick just wide of the post and Brian Honan squandered a good chance when put clean through on the right, he was caught between trying to square the ball into the path of David Ward or trying to have a shot. He ended up trying to square it but with little power and the ball didn't reach Ward as the St Francis defender got back in time. St Francis' left winger Michael Gahan who was with Dundalk earlier in the season for a short term was the more impressive of the two left wingers on show as Morrisroe disappointed again. Gahan never got a chance of first team action with the Lilywhites and was keen to prove a point. However he did fade as the match went on. The home side didn't look like promotion material at all during the half with Paul Campbell and especially David Hoey suffering badly in midfield. Maybe the wide confines of Oriel Park do not suit this Dundalk side as Paul Campbell looked infinitely more impressive on the small pitch in Whitehall last week.

St Francis had come to Oriel Park to defend, the way they lined up showed that. Therefore during the second half they were pressed back into their own half so it was basically a game of Dundalk trying to break them down. St Francis did have some shots on the counter attack but John Connolly earned a handy match fee. David Crawley's distribution was uncharacteristically letting him down while John Flanagan did not look comfortable crossing the ball so supply from the back was poor. John Sharkey didn't have a particularly bad match and he was involved in a lot of good Dundalk moves. He put in some dangerous crosses in the first period which nearly forced St Francis defenders into mistakes and he tried to do the same in the second half. Anto Reilly was to replace Brian Honan not long into the second half and gave Dundalk a better option up front. Reilly has surely earned himself a start up front for the Limerick match. David Hoey was having a terrible game and was going to be replaced when Derek Delaney came on, however John Sharkey looked like he had picked up an injury and seemed to voluntarily go off. Those were the two changes which Dundalk made during the half.

And as for the second half chances for Dundalk, well there were plenty. David Ward will have to hold his hand up and say that he should have won the match for Dundalk. One goal in ten matches is not good enough for the amount of chances which he has. Defenders can't seem to cope with his pace and skill however when he gets into the penalty area he seems to have lost the confidence which he had earlier in the season. His best chance tonight was eerily similar to the chance he missed against Bray. He was put clean through down the right after confusion in the St Francis defence. He had plenty of time to take the ball into the box but his tame shot was saved by Warfield. Ward's demeanour after that was one of someone who believed that was the game gone. However with 12 minutes still left there would be plenty more chances. Ward was at fault for that miss but he was unlucky 8 minutes from time when he chested the ball down inside the area after a St Francis defender misjudged the height of a cross. Ward hit a ferocious perfectly placed half volley but Cathal Warfield somehow managed to pull off a wonder save. Everytime Warfield walks onto the Oriel Park pitch he seems to put in an inspired performance. He would have to be called to the rescue a few minutes later when Anto Reilly broke down the right and took the ball inside the box cutting inside two defenders in the process but his fierce left foot drive was saved by Warfield. This was now turning into one of those days for Dundalk. With time running out Derek Delaney produced a good turn and attempted pass to Reilly which the Francis defenders all but cut out but the ball ran through to Reilly whose shot was blocked by Warfield, the ball seemed to be going out as Reilly and Warfield chased after it but the Dundalk striker kept it in and with Warfield stranded he pulled it back but the Lilywhites didn't have their shooting boots on and Morrisroe fell over the ball and with the help of a St Francis defender the ball trickled agonisingly wide of the post. St Francis were kicking the ball anywhere when they got it so the Dundalk pressure was constant. At this point the home sides superior fitness was apparent and the realisation that St Francis could be opened up with two simple passes was continually apparent. On the face of it, Dundalk had all the chances but missed them all. The question should not be, How did the ball not go in ?, it should be why did it take Dundalk 75 minutes to really show up St Francis for the poor side that they are ?

A great number of players let Dundalk down on the evening. David Hoey struggled from the outset and is still not with the pace, in fact he was playing better at the start of the season. Paul Campbell did not cover himself in glory either. Morrisroe is becoming more and more disappointing as every game passes. Ward is going through a bad spell in front of goal and badly needs a goal to get himself going again. Reilly looked dangerous when he came on and will probably score goals for the side, but the need for a regular established goalscorer was never more apparent than last night.

St Francis have came to Oriel Park twice this season and have taken four points away. That is not promotion form from Dundalk. There were some boos from the home crowd after last nights match, reminiscent of August 15 when St Francis scored a 93rd minute winner.Results suggest Dundalk have improved since then. However you can not afford to drop points in these games and this side seems to lack the ability to kill off games. No matter how well a manager prepares his players he cannot account for the poor finishing which the Lilywhites served up this evening. The last six weeks have given the warning that something like this was going to happen, the one consolation I suppose is that St Francis didn't pop up and score in the last minute. If promotion is to be achieved then no more slip ups like this can happen. At the moment Longford and Kilkenny are going through a real hot patch of form. Dundalk seem to be just waiting for their runs to come to a halt and then the Lilywhites will step in and march to promotion. That is a dangerous game to play, because Longford and Kilkenny are both prolific in front of goal and when you have players who can score at will then you will always pick up points. The worry is, even though Dundalk have snatched dramatic last minute goals in recent weeks will the stumbling block that stands between the Lilywhites and promotion be the seemingly never ending problem of finding the net which has been a feature of Dundalk sides for the last three seasons. The sad fact is that the last game of the millennum in Oriel Park was probably one of the worst.

DUNDALK FC

1 John Connolly 6

2 John Flanagan 5

3 David Crawley 5

4 David Hoey 4

5 Paul Whelan 6

6 Noel Melvin 6

7 John Sharkey 6

8 Paul Campbell 5

9 David Ward 5

10 Brian Honan 4

11 Brian Morrisroe 4

SUBS

17 Anto Reilly 7 for Honan

13 Derek Delaney 6 for Sharkey