EIRCOM LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

4th March

Dundalk 2

DAVID CRAWLEY 34 [PEN]

ANTO REILLY 91

Limerick 1

DEREK MC CARTHY 88

Six wins in seven matches, back on top of the League and its fair to say Dundalk supporters have been through many highs and many lows this season. If Dundalk do ultimately go up at the end of the year, then this game will definitely be viewed as the turning point of the season. Too many times this season, especially at the start of the season but more recently in the FAI Cup Dundalk conceded late goals at home in the dying seconds which threw away easy points. In this game against the basement side it looked like the same was going to happen after a brilliantly crafted goal by Derek McCarthy with two minutes left. Dundalk drove forward from the restart however and bombarded the Limerick penalty area with crosses as time ticked slowly away. Anto Reilly managed to get on the end of one with almost the last kick of the game to send Dundalk fans into delirium. Earlier on in the season heads dropped as soon as the other team scored, but on this night Dundalk fought back to take all three points. If anything the manner of this victory will boost the morale for the trip to Longford next week, the players will be on a high after the sheer drama of the victory and that may eradicate the memory of the craziness which allowed the bottom of the table side with ten men to equalise with two minutes remaining.

One change was made to the side which defeated St Francis last week. The injured Mark Reid was replaced up front by David Ward. From the outset it was all Dundalk and Brian Morrisroe was playing a significant part in proceedings. The left winger was having his best game for some time and inside the first 10 minutes good wing play from him on the left and a good cross to follow led to chances for John Flanagan and David Hoey but they couldn't find the target. There were plenty of chances in this period. Paul Whelan came close after coming up for a corner, David Ward also had a good chance while Paddy Quinn was also unlucky with an effort at the back post after good work by Morrisroe. Definitely this was a confident Dundalk side who looked to be on form. The one fear was that if they didn't score soon they might get frustrated and start to lose a grip on the game which has happened so often this season. Those fears were to be allayed on 34 minutes though, when Dundalk took the lead. It all came about when Limerick were on a rare forage forward. John Flanagan won a vital tackle at the edge of the Dundalk area which completely changed the direction of the play. Suddenly Dundalk were on the counter and a fantastic pass by Brian Morrisroe sent David Ward clear of the last Limerick defender. Ward carried the ball forward and into the area and just as he was about to shoot he was hacked down by Limerick midfielder, and also their best player Bobby Ryan. The penalty was awarded and Ryan had to go, he duly received a red card. David Crawley stood up and put the ball low and into the bottom left hand corner of the net past Jimmy Fyffe for his 5th goal of the season, all from set pieces. Surely now it was to be a matter of how many Dundalk scored. At times the Dundalk defenders were still insisting on hammering the ball into the air when playing the ball on the ground seemed to make more sense. Morrisroe was capable of causing damage with the ball at his feet, Izzi and Ward when given the chance would do the same but still Dundalk defenders persisted with a long ball game that missed the presence of Mark Reid. Still, it could have gone to 2-0 before the break when the Limerick keeper farcically let a header from Morrisroe slip through his feet but a defender got back to clear off the line.

At half time Limerick made a substitution but Dundalk remained unchanged. Missed chances were to be the story of the first forty minutes of the second half as a barrage of attacks on the Limerick goal all ended up proving fruitless. Almost immediately after the restart David Ward should have scored when a neat header by Tony Izzi put him clean through. However Ward attempted to lob the keeper who got a touch on it to turn it over the crossbar. Paddy Quinn who had suffered in the first half played much better in the second and on more than one occasion got in behind Tommy Lynch. At times his final delivery was poor but he still tested Fyffe on one occasion. Brian Morrisroe was also unlucky with a left footed shot from outside the area which Fyffe had to be at his best to save. Flanagan also got in on the right hand side but tried to pass instead of shooting and a great chance was wasted. David Ward had to retire injured and was significantly replaced by Anto Reilly. It didn't take long for Reilly to make an impact. He was unlucky when he made space for a spot inside the box but mishit his shot on goal and he also came close five minutes later when rising majestically to meet a David Crawley cross but Fyffe again saved Limerick when he turned the effort over the crossbar. Inside the final ten minutes there were more chances. Paul Whelan had a low shot cleared off the line when it looked destined to be a goal and John Whyte shot tamely at Fyffe after some great work inside the penalty area by Tony Izzi. The best chance came when Quinn was released by Hoey inside the Limerick half. Quinn had a clear run on goal but his effort was not well struck however it went past the keeper and into the path of Morrisroe but David Dunphy got back to make a great saving tackle for Limerick. The visitors made a double substitution around this time and Derek Delany also replaced Quinn but it looked like a question of whether Dundalk scored a second goal or not. Limerick had no shots on goal in the first 43 minutes of the second half and never even looked capable of getting inside the final third. Remarkably though they somehow managed to equalise with two minutes left.

Poor control by David Hoey gave away a needless throw inside the Dundalk half 30 yards from goal. From the resulting throw the Dundalk defence fell asleep and Derek McCarthy was able to exchange passes with Chris Keegan before firing a wonderful shot from 16 yards past John Connolly. It was a fabulous goal but poor marking on Dundalks part, the defence were caught cold after having virtually nothing to do for the whole game. Some fans made their way to the exits but from the restart it was clear Dundalk were not accepting this. They tried to attack straight away and Crawley and Morrisroe made some dangerous runs down the left. They tried to put in several crosses but they were all cleared away from danger until the 91st minute when a strong Crawley run saw the ball cleared behind for a corner. The Dundalk corner count must have been well into double figures at this stage but to date nothing had came from them. This time though Crawleys left wing cross was missed by a crowd of players and fell to John Flanagan who had time for a shot but it was blocked, straight into the path of Anto Reilly who bundled it over the line from six yards for a dramatic winner to spark scenes of jubilation around the ground. The game didn't die down there as the home side pushed forward for a third with David Crawley again instrumental. In fact Dundalk had a goal disallowed with the last kick of the game but when the final whistle went the reason for the goal being disallowed was forgotten.

Best performers on the night for Dundalk were Morrisroe and Flanagan. David Crawley also had a good game although too often he chose to hoof the ball forward when a simple pass made more sense. The central defence had little to do but they will be haunted by how easily Limerick broke through for an equaliser. Quinn had an indifferent game, mainly because he is not a natural right winger on such a wide pitch.

It was a dramatic game indeed, the manner in which Limerick were allowed equalise was particularly disappointing but the manner in which the Lilywhites picked themselves up after the goal and put the pressure on to secure the winner was extremely heartening and will do a lot for the confidence of the side before a crucial game in Longford next Saturday. Dundalk can not afford to make some of the errors they did in this match next Saturday. They will be punished against Longford if they show the same reluctancy to finish in front of goal. Maybe the fact some awful loud music won't accompany a goal next Saturday will help ! In all seriousness though, this was one hell of a let off for Dundalk, a game they deserved to win by three or four clear goals, but one which Terry Eviston will see as a lucky victory in many respects. Once again late drama involving Dundalk in Oriel Park, this time however it was the visiting side who were left heartbroken.

DUNDALK FC

1 John Connolly 6

2 John Whyte 6

3 David Crawley 7

4 David Hoey 6

5 Paul Whelan 6

6 Noel Melvin 7

7 John Flanagan 8

8 Paddy Quinn 6

9 David Ward 6

10 Tony Izzi 6

11 Brian Morrisroe 8

SUBS

14 Anto Reilly 8 for Ward

13 Derek Delany 6 for Quinn