Cork City boss John Caulfield believes his side can push Dundalk right to the limit in the title race after their 1-0 victory over the champions at Turner's Cross.
Stephen Dooley's terrific individual goal settled a frantic contest, with the winger blazing a second-half penalty over the bar, and Caulfield didn't underplay the significance of the win.
“To beat Dundalk twice is very important," he told RTÉ Sport. "It keeps us in the mix.
"A lot of the players we’ve brought in this year have been on teams that have beaten Dundalk. It’s just a bit of belief. There’s lots of energy in the team and some great players.
"We’re well capable of matching Dundalk. We just have to make sure we win the other games."
The Lilywhites were reduced to ten men four minutes before the break when Chris Shields launched into a flying tackle on Steven Beattie, but Caulfield said that incident upset his team's rhythm more than the visitors'.
"The sending-off affected us. I think the first 30, 35 minutes we were outstanding, got a great goal and our intensity and passing was brilliant and we totally dominated the game.
"The sending-off just threw us a little bit, but we said at half-time, ‘let’s go and get the second goal’, and for the first ten minutes we had great chances and obviously the penalty miss.
"I think that gave Dundalk a lift. They threw caution to the wind. The last 10, 15 minutes we were on the back foot a bit but overall I think if we’d got the second goal we’d have got a few more.
"Stephen is the man in form. We thought he might stick it but obviously he didn’t. It lifted Dundalk but at the same time Mark McNulty had no save to make in the match. It was a big three points for us."
Caulfield is now targeting genuine momentum as they try to build something special on Leeside: “For me it’s important for us that we keep in there, keep the crowds coming because from a budget point of view we’re not at the same level as Pat’s Dundalk or Rovers, but at the same time Europe is coming on the horizon.
"We’ve an opportunity if we can win our first game in Europe to bring in some finance and if we can keep the crowds big for the rest of the season."
