Dundalk must get balance right to compete on domestic and European fronts

It’s has been an eventful few days for Lilywhites fans, as Dundalk learnt who they will face in the first qualifying round of the Europa Conference League as well as their possible opponents should they win this two leg encounter.

The Club were seeded in both rounds, based on the past performances of a club in Europe, over the past five seasons. First up is clash with FCB Magpies of Gibraltar. Should they progress they will play the winners of the tie between KA Akureyri of Iceland and Connah’s Quay Nomads from Wales. 

The first qualifying round comprises 62 clubs ranked 29th and below in Europe. Should Dundalk get past rounds one and two, they would be unseeded. If they achieve victory in round three, they would qualify for the play off stage against one team over two legs. Win that and you hit the jackpot, as you qualify for the group stages.

The first round legs are scheduled to take place on 13th July with the 2nd legs scheduled for the following Thursday, July 20th.

Dundalk will play Shamrock Rovers at Oriel Park in Round 1 of the FAI cup. If they qualify for the second qualifying round of the Europa Conference League, Dundalk will be in action again in the competition just four days after the Rovers game on 23rd of July.

The draw for the 3rd round of the qualifying stages of the Europa Conference League takes place on Tuesday 25th July.
I think it is ridiculous that the FAI Cup first round has been scheduled in the middle of the first qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.

The Oriel Park men will have three massive games in the space of a week. To me, the FAI Cup is more important as it is the second major trophy in Irish domestic football. Of course, in a financial sense, European football is much more important. Why could the FAI not have scheduled round one of the cup for early May.

This used to happen. To put the cup in between the first round of a major European competition is incredible. This will also hit St Pats and Derry City who are playing in the same competition. Yet neither of these two teams face the Champions in the middle of their two Europa Conference League legs. It’s bad planning by the FAI.

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The Louth Derby 

Dundalk return to league action on Friday when they take on Drogheda United at Weaver Park. It’s a very difficult game for Dundalk to start the second half of their league programme.

Drogheda had an excellent 2-1 win over Pats in their last game before the break, nearly two weeks ago. They are a very tough side to play against at home or away.

Yet Dundalk have beat them in the two league games between the sides so far this season. In the first game, which was away, Drogheda deserved to get at least a point that night. Yet in another way the Lilywhites deserved to win.

And that they did when Conor Malley popped up with a great header in injury time to win the game. Nathan Shepperd pulled off a great save from a Drogheda penalty earlier in the game.

The second game in Oriel was a thriller. Ryan O’Kane and Pat Hoban put Dundalk 2-0 in front. Drogheda came right back at Dundalk and second half goals from Daryl Rooney and Freddie Draper on 54 minutes and 72 minutes had Drogheda level. John Martin struck with a winner for Dundalk a minute into injury time to give them a 3-2 victory. It was a deserved win for Dundalk.

Just before the break, Drogheda amazingly found themselves in the dreaded play off spot. The win over Pats and Dundalk’s 2-1 win over Cork City lifted them away from the dreaded zone. It also pulled Dundalk clearer from that zone as well.

Stephen O'Donnell's troops had been playing terribly in the run up to the break. They got just one point from 12, just before they bagged two wins against the two bottom sides in the league, UCD and Cork City.

The win against UCD was to be expected. Not so against Cork who won 4 games in a row coming into that match.

Cork went ahead against Dundalk in the first half and should have increased their lead by halftime. But it was a Ryan O’Kane corner which went in directly that hauled Dundalk back into the game. And a John Martin goal right at the end won it for them.

The Pats Game

Dundalk play Pats in the second game of the weekend next Monday evening at Oriel Park with a 7.45PM kick off. Dundalk hammered Pat’s 5-0 in the first league game earlier in the season. Pat’s got revenge on 26th May when they beat Dundalk 2-1 despite being down to 10 men for much of the game. Mark Doyle put Pats in front on the half hour.

Dundalk were level on 48 minutes with a goal from Rayhaan Tullach. Pat’s had Jake Mulraney sent off on 53 minutes. Most people believed Dundalk would go on and win the game. Not so. Conor Carty netted the winner on 79 minutes.

I will always remember this game for the vile abuse dished out to Stephen O’Donnell that night by Pat’s supporters. It was disgraceful. I reported some of the words that had been said to Stephen that night to the Gardai.

They went against the Pat’s ground regulations issued in their programme. Gardai reacted and one vile term was not shouted at him again. Two hours after the game Pats supporters continued their abuse on the street. Somehow they knew the Dundalk manager was giving post match press interviews to the media.

From outside the ground the fans started up the abuse again. Gardai waited for the entire Dundalk squad to enter the team bus and drive away before they themselves departed.

Stephen O’Donnell says the abuse he got did not phase him. That’s no excuse whether he was phased or not. The manager says it’s part of football. Well, the words I heard that night do not belong in football.

I can fully understand why Pat’s fans are annoyed at the Dundalk manager. Pat’s had just won the cup when a couple of weeks later he was off to Oriel. I’m sure all at Pat’s were annoyed and hurt that O’Donnell had departed for Dundalk. But that was his right. His contract had expired. He had to decide what was best for him.

Transfer News

Stephen O’Donnell returned from his break after just four days last Wednesday. He was back sitting at his desk last Wednesday. Players also returned from their quick break. The manager is still looking to see if he can bring in any players in the window. He confirmed he is definitely interested in Daryl Horgan and would be contacting him.

Apart from that, there was no news as to who he might bring in and if any of his on loan players might be returning to their clubs in July. The manager indicated there would be no players available on the Irish market. I do not agree with this. You never know who might be available.

For example, Sean Gannon is not getting much first team football with Shamrock Rovers. Stephen should contact Stephen Bradley and Gannon himself to see if it’s a runner. Gannon is not coming back right now. But maybe should the manager enquire, he might return.

The Galwegian seems to just want to wait and see who is available in the UK. I think he is wrong.

The Ireland Games

I felt sorry to see Stephen Kenny lose to Greece in the European Championship Qualifiers. Greece and the Republic are separated by just three places in the FIFA World Rankings.

Before Friday night’s result, Ireland sat in 49th in the standings, with Greece further back in 52nd. Greece have now made a huge start to the group, beating Gibraltar and the Republic. Greece have failed to qualify for the last two Euros.

Friday night was the first time Greece and the Republic played each other competitively. They have locked horns on three different occasions in friendlies. Greece notched up two wins in November 2012 and April 2000.

Up to last Friday, Greece were unbeaten at home in 16 matches across all competitions. They also had won four games in a row at home, all competitive. There was never any chance Ireland would finish in the top two of the Group, with France and the Netherlands there. Finishing in third place was about as optimistic that we could be. That too now seems to be gone.

Ireland’s performance in Greece was shocking. I have always been a supporter of Stephen Kenny. Of course I am biased. I am a Dundalk supporter. Stephen was the most successful manager Dundalk have ever had. When he became Ireland manager he faced a hugely uphill battle.

His introduction of a much younger team went down well. His teams packed the Aviva in a way no other manager has. Season tickets for the last two years have been sold out. But football is a results game. Stephen Kenny has won only four games from 21.

There have been good performances. Friday night was the worst I have seen from an Ireland team in a long time.
They were truly dreadful. Were it not for excellent saves from Gavin Bazunu in the first 15 minutes, the Greeks win would have been much larger.

It’s true too that Stephen Kenny was tactically outhought. Kenny changed to five at the back from his normal three. It left just three midfielders who never got near the ball. Ireland were also totally outflanked on the wings for the entire 90 minutes.

Ireland were completely out of sorts. Stephen Kenny picked the wrong team. Playing Darragh Lenihan for Dara O’Shea was a mistake. Why did the manager pick Will Smallbone? He was very poor on the night. Jason Knight would have been a much better option.

But it was not only selection that Kenny got wrong. The way he set up the team was really a massive error. Matt Doherty has only played two games for Atletico Madrid since he left Spurs on loan in January.

I hate to say it, but the team’s performance has to call the manager’s position into question. The result was poor. But more worryingly, the performance was much worse. To his credit Stephen Kenny has brought through some excellent young players. He has played very attractive football also. That has brought the crowds back.

But the Irish manager has been giving us good players but not results. A friend of mine in the football world said to me before Friday that he felt Kenny would not last as manager. But he said the next manager will reap the rewards of the team that Kenny has built.

When he came in he had nothing. He has gradually been putting the players together. But the results have failed to arrive. Football is a results game, and a manager goes or stays, depending on the results. Kenny has not produced any real results.

I will forever be a Stephen Kenny fan. But after Friday, I just do not know how much further he can take the team. Sadly, the media have turned on him, as have the fans.

The preparation for the game has really come into focus. Being on a two week training camp can leave players very bored. They would need super motivation to keep their morale up for that long.

Thus, coming from balmy heat in Turkey and into Greece, perhaps the training camp should only have been for a week. Managers speaking in the media at the weekend felt that camps should last for no longer than a week.

On the night the three man midfield was terrible. The Greeks just ripped into the Irish at will. There seemed to be no game plan, with even the substitutions not making any real sense. Matt Doherty getting himself needlessly sent off at the very end sent out a poor message too.

The team takes one step forward and then two steps back. It’s time to call a halt to this. You can see in the team that things are not as they should be. I'm afraid to say it, but I have to. It’s time for the FAI to call a halt to the Kenny era and instead bring in a new manager.

On Monday night Ireland played Gibraltar at the Aviva Stadium. In front of a large crowd, a win was expected. And they delivered, a strong second half seeing them put the visitors to bed with a 3-0 win.