RECORD
BREAKER 
RECORD
BREAKER With a goal against Drogheda on the 8th May, his twentieth of the season, Martin Reilly broke the record for most League goals in a season by a Dundalk player, a record that Liam Munroe held since the 1959/60 season. Definitely, these goals have been the key reason for Dundalk's promotion, and are also the reason why Reilly was named Player Of The Year. Oriel Web now looks back at the twenty goals, which propelled Martin Reilly to his current status, as Dundalk's star player
1 - 11th August vs Limerick to make it 1-1
His first goal in Dundalk colours came just after half time with Dundalk one nil down. David Ward takes a lot of the credit in pulling the ball back to Reilly six yards out after the pair had broken clear. Reilly kept calm to slot it away
2 - 18th August vs Drogheda to make it 1-0
Marked his first Louth derby with a goal with Ward again the provider. Another breakaway goal which saw Reilly finishing to the net first time ten yards out after a quick one two with his then strike partner
3 - 31st August vs Waterford to make it 1-0
A controversial goal, with the Waterford defence thinking play had been stopped for offside but the referee waved play on and while all others stopped, Reilly continued on to slam the ball past Mick Devine
4 - 5th September vs Sligo to make it 1-1
Dundalk's first defeat of the season but Reilly was still on target to equalise five minutes into the second half after heading home Brian Morrisroe's cross, after initially releasing him down the left flank
5 & 6 - 13th October vs St Francis to make it 2-2, and 6-2
A game in which he spent a lot of time on the right wing, as Murray changed formations. Still came up with two vital goals. The first on 64 minutes after good work by Ward put him through, and he slotted it right footed past the Francis keeper, and then with the game sewn up at 5-2, he got on the end of a Crawley cross to head home from three yards after the keeper had missed it
7 - 9th November vs Sligo Rovers to make it 2-1
One of his two lucky goals all season. An innocuous back pass to the Sligo keeper O'Leary was completely miskicked and Reilly was aware enough to race in and tap the ball over the line from two yards. A crucial goal in the long run
8 - 19th November vs Home Farm to make it 1-1
One of his best goals of the season. With Dundalk struggling, and 1-0 down he picked up the ball 25 yards out and fired an unstoppable 25 yarder to the top corner of the net
9 - 23rd November vs Athlone to make it 3-0
Probably our most significant win of the season, as it marked a turning point in Athlone's fortunes by ending their unbeaten run. Reilly scored in the fog in injury time on the second attempt after good work by Greg O'Dowd
10 - 14th December vs St Francis to make it 3-0
Perhaps surprisingly only got one in this 7-0 trashing of Francis. His goal came on 13 minutes to make it three nil. Took the ball past two defenders and the keeper to finish from a narrow angle when Dundalk fans had barely finished celebrating the second goal less then a minute earlier
11 - 22nd December vs Drogheda to make it 1-0
Again, the opening goal in a Louth derby at United Park is scored by Reilly. He missed a good chance several minutes earlier, but finished clinically from 12 yards when given another chance
12 - 21st January vs Sligo to make it 1-1
When I think of the qualities Martin Reilly brings to a team, or when I try and think back to the moment when I believed it was our season, it is this game I think of. Everything that could have went wrong, did go wrong for the whole 90 minutes for Reilly until in injury time, with Dundalk throwing everything forward, he got on the end of a Padraig Gollogley flick and volleyed to the net first time from 14 yards to grab a result from the match. Suddenly his performance in the rest of the match was irrelevant
13 - 30th January vs Monaghan to make it 1-0
Another 90th minute goal. He had many chances during the match, and this was arguably the most difficult but his determination won him this goal. He had no right to forge a goalscoring opportunity when he received the ball but he somehow found the space to shoot past the Mons keeper. Again, another example of a striker needing only a few seconds to eradicate what had gone before. Keepers wish they could do the same !
14 - 10th February vs Athlone to make it 1-1
Another massive game and again more Reilly determination. He missed an almost identical chance ten minutes earlier, but when he got the chance again he ran onto a long ball forward and used his pace to get away from the Athlone defence before firing past the advancing keeper. The goal before half time that got Dundalk back into the game, and acted as the launchpad for the eventual victory.
15 & 16 - 18th February vs Cobh Ramblers to make it 2-0 & 3-2
Another late winner from Reilly, that he did all himself. After letting Cobh back from a 2-0 lead, he picked the ball up with no one alongside him in the Cobh half with two minutes to go and ran into the area. Feigned a pass to Anto Reilly which wrong footed the keeper, and Reilly beat him on the near post. Relief for everyone at Dundalk FC. Earlier Reilly had made the score 2-0 when he steered the ball home with his head, getting onto a header from his new strike partner John Ryan who joined before the Monaghan game, and linked up well with Reilly for the remainder of the season
17 - 24th April vs Limerick to make it 2-0
Cynics wondered if goal number 17 would ever come. Oh ye of little faith. The foot and mouth crisis followed by five games without a goal that included several missed chances had halted his progress, and Reilly himself admitted afterwards it was his lowest point of the season. What he needed was a really good chance, and after O'Dowd's opener on 67 minutes in this vital, and tense affair, Reilly added a second shortly afterwards when capitalising on a misunderstanding between defender and keeper to nip in between the two, take the ball past the keeper and then taking an age to blast it home with his right foot. A badly needed goal, which was the icing on the cake of a great result
18 & 19 - 28th April vs Athlone to make it 1-0 & 2-1
The win which sealed Dundalks' promotion, and with his confidence back, Reilly inspired it. He opened the scoring on 17 minutes when firing past Connaughton after a flick on by Ryan. It was a classy finish. Then after Athlone equalised within 60 seconds, Reilly was called upon again to put Dundalk back in front on 21 minutes when heading the ball into the empty net after a top class cross by Greg O'Dowd deceived Athlone keeper Gary Connaughton. He had now equalled Liam Monroe's record for 19 league goals in a season, and he could have broken it in injury time when Connaughton saved from point blank rage
20 - 1st May vs Drogheda to make it 1-0
It is ironic that it took a late goal from Reilly to break the record, as he scored so many late goals throughout the year. While the other late goals had a touch of class about them, this was just luck after Drogs keeper O'Neill fumbled a harmless shot from outside the box and the ball trickled over the line. The goal came in the 88th minute after the Drogs had defended resolutely for that time, but in front of a large crowd, Reilly went wild in celebration, and the Voice was quick to let the crowd know that it was the record breaker
So there you have it, the 20 goals that have made Martin Reilly a hero, and all from play as well, unlike Andy Myler who needed seven penalties to boost his tally. He had a worrying spell near the end of the season, but he showed the character and determination that he used to score late goals, to also pull him out of that goalscoring drought and grab the two goals vs Athlone. He is a real quality player, and should be a big asset for the Premier Division. Twenty more will do again next season Martin !