EIRCOM LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

15th April

Dundalk 1

ANTO REILLY 85

Bray Wanderers 1

PHILIP KEOGH 93

With the game long into injury time in this crucial game, Oriel Park was buzzing. Fans were singing on the terraces and Terry Eviston stood on the touchline awaiting the whistle to signal his greatest triumph as Dundalk manager. Suddenly things started going pearshaped. Whelan limped off injured, Izzi missed a good chance and McDermott awarded a very dubious free kick after Whelans replacement Reid supposedly fouled Jason Byrne. The free kick was taken and the ball went under the wall and into the bottom of the net. What a heartbreaking sight it was to see the Dundalk players trudging dejectedly back to the centre circle as Bray celebrated a return to the Premier Division, it was a cruel blow on a week where everything seems to be going against Dundalk.

Before the game there was still anticipation, despite the recent setbacks. David Ward replaced Mark Reid up front for Dundalk while Crawley came in for Campbell with Hoey moving into the centre of midfield.

The game started very brightly with Dundalk on top early on. Hoey almost found room for a shot inside the area but it was blocked and Morrisroe and Crawley were making inroads down the left hand side. Izzi looked lively when given the ball to his feet and Hoey and Flanagan were fighting tenaciously in the midfield. The game did die down after the first frenetic fifteen minutes and in the drab twenty minutes or so which followed Bray had the best chances. Byrne could have scored when Connolly saved his shot after a through ball from the dangerous Kieran O Brien while the same player also came close with a header after a Farrell cross. Just before half time Dundalk came close when an overhead kick by Izzi was turned over the bar by Walsh who was in the right place at the right time.

The second half was far more exciting and action packed right up until the last minute. Dundalk should have scored courtesy of John Flanagan from a Crawley corner only seconds in but his weak header was saved. Morrisroe and Crawley could not get the telling crosses in from the left despite plenty of possession in the early stages of the half. Eventually Morrisroe did put in a curling left footer which Walsh dropped and Paddy Quinn nipped in but with the goal empty he shot over. However it was on his wrong foot and he thought he had less time than he did. Bray did have their chances but there was no clearcut ones, Byrne and O Brien were very dangerous but Melvin and Whelan were coping as the half wore on. Quinn was again showing that he is not a natural winger. It is not the players fault but he was suffering badly as he was being exploited by the more experienced Bray left sided players. Robert Coombes, signed from Bohemians reserves earlier in the season was brought on for his debut on the right hand side to replace Quinn who when he moves to a more central role will be a far more effective player. Coombes almost immediately set up Tony Izzi down the right. He did very well to cross to Ward but the striker dithered on the chance and it was cleared. Ward just had one of those nights where he couldn't do anything right. Maybe the effects of being kicked around the place by Division One defenders earlier in the season have taken their toll as he did not seem keen to get involved in the physical element of the match, even if Bray were without Mick Doohan. Ward had to be replaced and he was, by Anto Reilly. The game went from end to end although clear cut chances were not created. Izzi almost scored a wonder goal when skipping past two Bray defenders but his shot went over the crossbar. Despite all this the game seemed destined for 0-0 until wonderful awareness from Tony Izzi opened up the game on 85 minutes.

Picking up the ball inside the Dundalk half after a long ball had evaded Hoey he looked up and saw Morrisroe free on the right. He curled a left footed past in behind the Bray defence to leave Morrisroe free down the left. The left winger did wonderfully well to spot Anto Reilly free in the area and he volleyed the ball right in front of the young striker who showed brilliant composure to slot the ball past Walsh for his fifth goal of the season and spark wild celebrations around Oriel Park. Eviston was delighted. During the second half on four of five occasions he encouraged the crowd to increase the noise and the atmosphere was electric when Reilly scored what looked like the decisive goal. With Dundalk this season though, its never been that simple.

First of all Paul Whelan aggravated his hamstring injury and had to hobble on for two minutes while Reid was getting ready. Amazingly when Reid was ready the referee John McDermott would not allow the sub to be made before a corner was taken. Then Dundalk won possession and broke up the field. Reilly turned inside the box and the ball feel to Izzi who elected to shoot at Walsh when Coombes was on his own in the six yard box. Either Izzi went for glory or the young sub on his debut did not call for the ball but either way neither player was to know how costly the miss was to be. Bray then went up field and McDermott looking at his watch awarded them three quick frees in succession, which outraged the Dundalk fans. When the cross came in for the fourth one all seemed well when Dundalk cleared it but McDermott blew the whistle to call back the play for an earlier offence committed by, you guessed it, John Reid on Jason Byrne. I saw the offence in question and it was more a case of Byrne running into Reid. There were no protests from Bray but still the free was awarded. It was looking ominous. It was an indirect free kick. The ball was tapped and the wall charged but Keogh kept his composure and as the wall jumped at him he kept calm and shot under them into the bottom corner of the net to send Bray back into the Premier Division.

A succession of events, the Kilkenny saga, the Whelan injury, the Izzi miss and the McDermott decision left all Dundalk fans wondering if anything was ever going to go right. This was a bitter blow to Dundalk, who deserved the three points and a chance to go up automatically. Now we depends on the clubs solicitors and a bit of luck.

On the night it was more a team performance than that of individuals. Melvin and Whelan had done extremely well before injury broke the partnership up deep in added time. One must question the players though as if they had shown the same fight in Athlone last week then Dundalk would be in a far stronger position. If this level of performance was consistent then we'd be promoted by now. In that regard, you would have to fancy Dundalks chances in a playoff, but the list of if onlys is now a long one.

It was a night that promised so much, and almost delivered. It showed Dundalk have nothing to fear from teams such as Bray and it is only the ability of Bray to kill off teams at the bottom of the division that is the difference between Dundalk and the two teams above. News filtered through that Longford had scored four goals again at home, for the second consecutive game. That is one thing which Dundalk have never looked capable of doing and at the end of the day is the reason the best we can now hope for is playoff. The work to make the playoff has not yet been done, complacency is dangerous and Home Farm are unbeaten at home since Christmas. Dundalk players have to go into the game next week with the same attitude as they did for this one, anything less could be fatal.

DUNDALK FC

1 John Connolly 7

2 John Whyte 7

3 David Crawley 6

4 David Hoey 7

5 Paul Whelan 7

6 Noel Melvin 8

7 John Flanagan 7

8 Paddy Quinn 6

9 David Ward 4

10 Tony Izzi 7

11 Brian Morrisroe 7

SUBS

15 Robert Coombes 6 for Quinn

13 Anto Reilly 7 for Ward