Match Preview: Dundalk host Drogheda Utd with European hopes hanging by a thread

Dundalk FC return to SSE Airtricity League action this Friday night, as they welcome Drogheda United to Casey’s Field for the fourth and final Louth Derby of the season.

The one-week international break perhaps came at a good time for Dundalk and Drogheda, whose recent poor run of form has not only seen them both drop out of the Extra.ie FAI Cup, but also record just one win apiece from their last four league outings. 

In actual fact, that victory for Dundalk was a reversed 3-0 win over Sligo Rovers, with The Bit O’Red fielding an ineligible player in their original 2-0 win at home last month.

A poor performance in Sligo that night added to defeats at Shamrock Rovers and UCD, while The Lilywhites were also held to a 0-0 draw against Shelbourne at Casey’s Field.

For head coach Stephen O’Donnell, it has been a challenging spell that culminated with a 3-2 FAI Cup loss at First Division side Waterford just prior to the international break.

Before that run of games, there was talk of Dundalk pushing league leaders Shamrock Rovers all the way in the race for the title, but such is the nature of football, guaranteed qualification for next season’s Europa Conference League is now hanging in the balance.

That is because fourth-place St Patrick’s Athletic, who host Derry City at Richmond Park this Friday night, are just a single point behind Dundalk having played one game less. 

In the event of St Pats overleaping Dundalk in third, O’Donnell’s side would be then relying on Derry winning the FAI Cup in order to qualify for Europe.

But if Shelbourne, Waterford or Treaty United were to achieve Aviva Stadium glory on November 13th, The Lilywhites could face a second successive year of absence from the continental stage.

With six fixtures remaining before the campaign finishes, the Galwegian was in a defiant mood as he dismissed speculation that he was close to departing, despite the fact Dundalk are 15 points better off than at the same stage last season under predecessor Vinny Perth.

Undefeated in 15 home matches this year, favourably, four of Dundalk’s six games are to be played at Casey’s Field, starting with Drogheda this Friday night (kick-off, 7.45pm).

Dundalk were beaten 1-0 in both of their visits to Head in the Game Park earlier in the year, but Drogheda were hammered 4-1 on their last trip to Dundalk back in April.

Having never scored for Dundalk prior to that match, Darragh Leahy netted twice, adding to Patrick Hoban’s dispatched penalty after Keith Cowan had handled in the area.

Ryan Brennan pulled one back for The Drogs, but that was only before substitute John Martin bagged Dundalk’s fourth in stoppage-time, adding more gloss to the scoreline.

Drogheda have only picked up one win in Dundalk since 2012. That 2-1 result came just over a year ago, on a night when The Lilywhites slipped into second-bottom of the table.

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Dundalk are again likely to be without the injured Daniel Kelly and Patrick Hoban on Friday, while Paul Doyle is also set to miss out after he pulled up in the Waterford game.

“Squad wise, we needed that little element of fortune,” said O’Donnell when reflecting on the club’s injury crisis. “First half of the season, we were good in that department. I think it’s just one of those things.

“We’ve had a few injuries at the same time, which has no doubt hampered us in regards our squad and our team selection.

“Paul hadn’t missed a day. His timeline from his hamstring injury from the Derry game was on point, so he had trained every day for the past two weeks. It’s just unfortunate.”