EIRCOM LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

3rd January

Dundalk 4

TONY IZZI 2, 72

WESLEY BYRNE OG 66

BRIAN MORRISROE 80

Longford Town 1

STEPHEN GAVIN 14

If last nights match in Oriel Park was a prelude of what is to come in the coming year then Dundalk fans are set for an exciting twelve months. Rarely will you see a more exciting promotion battle. The game had everything, good goals, ferocious tackles and numerous goalmouth incidents to keep the largest crowd of the season entertained for the full 90 minutes. If ever the eircom League needed a good advertisement, then last nights game was it. In fact the fare served up last night was better than some of the drab matches shown on RTE earlier in the season.

Dundalk were again to be without Tom McNulty and John Whyte for this encounter. McNulty was suspended while Whyte is still injured. Padraig Gollogley and Paul Campbell also missed out with the flu. Therefore Paul Whelan and Noel Melvin remained the central defensive partnership. John Flanagan moved into his best position of centre midfield alongside David Hoey while Padraig Staunton came into the side at right back. Tony Izzi made his debut up front, replacing Brian Honan.

The game was only two minutes old when Dundalk went in front and immediately Tony Izzi made a big impact on the match. After a ball forward was played to his feet he showed sufficient strength to hold off a Longford defender and thread the ball through to David Ward at the edge of the penalty area. Ward tried to work his way around a defender but eventually had to shoot across the goal. The shot was well off target but it deflected off a careless Longford defender who should have done better and deflected the ball into the path of Izzi who had continued his run. From six yards out he composed himself and fired low past Stephen O'Brien, who after 272 minutes finally conceded a goal against Dundalk. Longford are a decent side however and came more into the match in the following minutes. The home defence looked shaky and missed the balance that Melvin and Gollogley give. With Whelan in the holding role Melvin had to do all the running around which Gollogley normally does. This role does not suit Melvin and it showed as the Longford attack exploited the weakness. When Gollogley and Melvin are the central defensive pair, Dundalk look a lot more solid at the back. On 14 minutes Longford won a free kick 20 yards out. Stephen Gavin stood up and curled the ball over the wall high into the net as John Connolly was left standing. Maybe the goalie should have done better but he more than made up for it later on in the match.

Longford had two good chances afterwards which were both saved by Connolly. The best of which was when the Longford attacker showed great close control and skill to shoot on the turn from 25 yards but just as the ball was dipping under the crossbar Connolly got his hand to it and tipped it over. After that opening 25 minutes when Longford looked the more dangerous the Lilywhites began to dominate and thus began another series of wasted chances which have blighted the season to date. The first warning to Longford came when the livewire Izzi again set Ward away and the striker went on a dangerous run into the Longford half. He should have shot earlier but elected to carry the ball further and widen the angle however he still got his shot in and O'Brien had to make a good save. Two minutes later he nearly was on the scoresheet again when after a good move he headed a John Sharkey cross goalwards but O'Brien got down low to save. Neither of the Dundalk wingers, Morrisroe or Sharkey were having a good first half. Sharkey was getting plenty of good ball on the right wing but didn't use it. He was presented with chances to have a shot at goal. The first time Izzi set it up but he wasted the opportunity. He almost got on the end of a David Crawley free kick as well but flashed over and just before the break he missed the best chance of the match when Ward left him with a simple task but he stumbled as he shot and the ball went well wide. Sandwiched between those efforts was a John Flanagan shot from 12 yards after another Crawley free kick which went inches wide.

The second half was full of incident. The Dundalk midfield began to come into it. David Hoey and John Flanagan were outstanding. For Hoey it is a welcome return to form, it was certainly his best performance since his long illness and I can't remember Hoey putting in many better performances before that. He was full of energy and lasted the whole 90 minutes. Hoey and Flanagan were not afraid to get stuck in either, no caution was taken before flying into crunching tackles in a riproaring second half. There was chances at either end at the start of the half. Although the chances weren't clear cut they were created. Longford came close early on in the half from some free kicks and corners and Dundalk had John Connolly to thank on a few occasions while up at the other end Crawley and Morrisroe were making inroads down the left and putting in dangerous crosses . However Longford were stopping everything that was coming at them. It looked as though it was going to end in stalemate before a little bit of luck which has deserted Dundalk all season finally kickstarted the Lilywhites into action. David Crawley picked up the ball in his own half and ran forward looking for an option. However Longford sat back and he continued his run past two players before releasing Brian Morrisroe down the left. This time the winger put in a good cross at pace into the Longford area where visiting left back Wesley Byrne who scored the winner when the sides last met, accidentally headed past his own goalkeeper and into the bottom corner of the goals. The game sprung to life again and Longford burst forward looking for an equaliser. Some crazy decisions by the referee helped them sustain pressure for five minutes but it looked like if Dundalk could hold on and weather the five minute barrage then the game would be won. Longford certainly came close and some frantic defending from the home side from two Longford corners eventually saw the ball cleared.

On 72 minutes the Lilywhites scored the insurance goal and what a fine team goal it was, as good as you are likely to see anywhere. David Hoey picked up the ball in his own half after a series of desperate challenges on the halfway line. Instead of kicking it upfield he curled a lovely pass with the outside of his boot to David Crawley on the left wing. Crawley had been given plenty of space to roam forward and he carried the ball over the halfway line before passing to Brian Morrisroe who quickly released Crawley again and sent him clear down the left wing. Crawley looped a left footed cross which seemed to be going over everyone and going out of play before John Sharkey miraculously kept the ball in and in one movement hooked it back across the goal with his right foot to Tony Izzi who took one touch and fired it under Stephen O'Brien from six yards to spark wild celebrations amongst the home crowd. After this Sharkey became a different player and like Morrisroe who had also had a torrid first half once Dundalk started to play with confidence then their performances dramatically improved and both wingers were involved in the fourth goal. This goal came about after some tenacious midfield play by John Flanagan who won a crucial challenge in midfield and released John Sharkey down the right wing. Sharkey had time on the ball and hit a dangerous right footed cross into the area where O'Brien came out to challenge Izzi in the air. Both players ended up on the ground and the ball fell to Brian Morrisroe who let the ball drop before firing a low left footed shot into the open goal. O'Brien had to retire injured soon afterwards. Home fans could scarcely believe what they were seeing. The last time Dundalk had scored more than three goals was in the 1997/98 season and that was against non League Swilly Rovers in the FAI Cup. To score four times in such an important match was truly magnificent. However the players didn't relax on the lead and David Hoey and John Flanagan still thundered around the pitch winning possession with some fine tackles in midfield and stop Longford from coming forward although that did not prevent Longford from having a couple of pops at goal in the closing seconds however John Connolly was equal to the task. The home back four had a good second half, Paul Whelan made a vital tackle at 1-1 when Longford could have gone in front while Padraig Staunton who did not look comfortable at right back earlier in the match settled into the role later on. What also told late on was the fitness of the Dundalk players with all the younger players still full of running after 90 minutes. Ward deserved a goal as he had been victimised by the Longford defence throughout the match. The referee was far too lenient towards his markers but it seems as though every team has now realised Ward is a big threat however with Izzi now there it will take some of the pressure off Ward and mean his responsibility will change to creating the chances and not necessarily taking them, in that regard Izzi seems to be the missing link.

There are plenty of positives to be taken out of the match, not least the result. In Hoey and Flanagan Dundalk now have a good midfield pair, if Hoey regains this level of fitness then he will surely become a key player in the promotion challenge. Flanagan looked a lot more comfortable in a central role. If Morrisroe and Sharkey can repeat their performances in the last half an hour for the full ninety minutes next week then the Lilywhites could have a very strong midfield four with Paul Campbell and TomMcNulty still to return. In Izzi and Ward Dundalk seem to have found a really promising striking partnership. Izzi offers a different outlet to the side. He is strong with the ball at his feet so Dundalk keep the ball on the ground and give him the ball. There is no temptation to whack the ball up to him in the airlike we do when Honan or Reilly is there. It means that the football played by Dundalk is much more attractive to watch and also more effective because players such as Morrisroe, Ward and Sharkey are a lot more dangerous with the ball at their feet. Izzi can hold up the ball and release Ward to let him do the running. As was illustrated in the first goal Izzi is the man who will finish chances and can capitalise on the havoc which Ward normally creates. The understanding between Brian Morrisroe and David Crawley on the left side, especially in the second half was very encouraging. However Whelan and Melvin is not the right central defensive pairing. They are both too similar and Padraig Gollogley surely deserves a recall when he has recovered from flu, with Melvin his most suitable partner. Padraig Staunton also made a pleasing return at right back while John Connolly despite making some kicking errors made some good saves at vital moments.

In the past when Dundalk have had a big crowd at a match over the Christmas period they often threaten but never deliver. Last night was different however and if the Lilywhites maintain the same level of commitment while still playing the same brand of football, then there should be many more glorious nights to come between now and the rest of the season.

DUNDALK FC

1 John Connolly 7

2 Padraig Staunton 7

3 David Crawley 8

4 Noel Melvin 7

5 Paul Whelan 7

6 John Flanagan 9

7 David Hoey 9

8 John Sharkey 7

9 David Ward 8

10 Tony Izzi 9

11 Brian Morrisroe 7