Dundalk picked up exactly where they left off last season as they opened their SSE Airtricity League campaign with a 2-1 victory over Shamrock Rovers at Oriel Park.
A full house at the County Louth venue, and the near-5,000 strong support certainly got value for money in an incident-filled game, which saw three goals and the visitors ending the game with ten men.
A lively opening saw both sides go on the offensive but some uncharacteristic defending from the home side allowed former Lilywhite Darren Meenan through on goal with just the keeper to beat.
Meenan went early but it proved the wrong decision as his well-struck effort curled the wrong side of the post.
And it was another poor Rovers decision that led to the opening goal as Roberto Lopes played a sloppy ball out of defence into the path of the inrushing John Mountney.
The ball was played into the path of new signing Michael Duffy who jinked his way to the touchline and at the second attempt, squared the ball across the face of the goal for the simplest of finishes for Robbie Benson.
Dundalk were in control by this stage and Rovers had only a disallowed goal to show for their efforts – that chance rightly chalked off after striker Michael O’Connor blocked the keeper’s clearance with his hand – and the home side dominated the game with the Hoops camped on the edge of their own box.
They got to half-time with just the one goal in it but more of the same was to follow after the break.
Just seven minutes of the second half were needed for Dundalk to double their lead and again it came from a mistake from the visiting defence.
Daniel Devine was caught in possession and the ball sprayed wide to man of the match Patrick McEleney.
The former Derry City man clipped the most delightful ball across the box and proved pin-point as Ciaran Kilduff arrived to guide the ball downwards and home, keeper Tomer Chencincski with no chance of preventing the goal.
Rovers eventually changed their very defensive system and the introduction of new signing Graham Burke handed Stephen Bradley’s side a lifeline as he drilled the ball, with the help of a deflection, over Gabriel Sava and into the roof of the net.
Just seven minutes into his debut, Burke was heading back down the tunnel after picking up a straight red card for a reckless challenge in the middle of the park.
Remarkably, the ten men almost snatched a point at the death as David McAllister’s unorthodox effort hopped off the bar and out to touch.
It would have been a fitting ending to an entertaining evening, however, it would also have masked the fact that Dundalk were the superior side here and well worth their victory.
Rovers Masters of their Own Downfall
The Hoops matched the home side for the opening 20 minutes with neat, attacking and attractive football but Dundalk appeared to work them out quickly enough and eventually started to dictate play.
Rovers defence were sitting very deep with Roberto Lopes effectively acting as a fifth defender, sitting in front of the two centre-halves.
At times, the Rovers three were surrounding Dundalk’s sole striker, CiaranKilduff, which allowed the home side get numbers forward and create space to pass and play.
Sure enough, and not for the first time, a misplaced pass failed to find its intended target with Lopes the culprit, playing an awful pass into the path of Mountney.
Moments later, the champions were ahead and deservedly so.
More would follow in the second half and it would take the manager 69 minutes to change his system, which appeared very defensive throughout.
Perhaps the change came too late but the red card certainly didn’t help matters as Rovers were second best all over the park all night.
Man of the Match
With the departure of Dundalk midfield magician Daryl Horgan during the close season, the Oriel faithful were expecting someone to step into the shoes of last season’s player of the year.
Patrick McEleney fit the bill perfectly and from early in the game began to influence proceeding with a range of fine passes and jinking runs that had the visitors chasing shadows.
Stephen O’Donnell gaveMcEleney a run for his money but the influential skipper was subbed off early in the second half.
McEleney’spin-point cross for what proved to be the winner probably the deciding factor.
Pitch Watch
Have to admit that there was very few moments in the match that the pitch appeared to influence the game in a negative way. The odd bounce of the ball here and there seemed to catch a player out and sometimes passes looked a bit under-hit, which led to several interceptions.
But both sides were happy to get the ball down and play and it was nowhere near as lively as last year’s horror-surface.
The general consensus is that it is a narrow, but long, pitch and these are the dimensions that the club must have agreed to when ordering the surface.
The width of the pitch is noticeably narrow and it will be interesting to see how that affects the way Dundalk play this season.
Player Ratings
Dundalk: Sava 5; Gannon 6, Gartland 6, Barrett 6, Massey 7; O’Donnell 7.5, Mountney 7, Duffy 7, Benson 7, McEleney 8,Kilduff 7.
Subs: Clifford 6, McGrath 6, Vemmelund 6.
Shamrock Rovers: Chencinski 5; Madden 5, Webster 5, Devine 5, Lopes 4, Connolly 6, McAllister 5, Clarke 6, O’Connor 7, Miele 5, Meenan 6.
Subs: Finn 6, Boyd 6, Burke 4.
Manager Quotes
Stephen Kenny (Dundalk)
"It’s been a tough couple of weeks for us, we’ve had a few setbacks. It wasn’t out best performance but I think the players showed their character.
"You can’t underestimate the value of discipline. We could have done better in the last ten minutes, 10 against 11. We weren’t quite right tonight... but overall I felt we deserved the win. There’s room for improvement in the performance."
Stephen Bradley (Shamrock Rovers)
"We should have at least got the draw. We'd lots of chance, just didn't put them away.
"Overall I was pleased with a lot of the performances. (The pitch) is a hundred times better than last year. No complaint. It's fine."
Dundalk: Gabriel Sava; Sean Gannon, Brian Gartland, Paddy Barrett, Dane Massey; Stephen O’Donnell (Conor Clifford 67), John Mountney, Michael Duffy (Jamie McGrath 71), Patrick McEleney (NiclasVemmelund 85), Robbie Benson; CiaranKilduff.
Shamrock Rovers: TomerChencinski; Simon Madden, David Webster, Daniel Devine, Roberto Lopes (Graham Burke 69), Ryan Connolly (Ronan Finn 59), David McAllister, Trevor Clarke, Michael O’Connor (Sean Boyd 61), Brandon Miele, Darren Meenan.
Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin).
Next Up: Shamrock Rovers play their opening home fixture against Bohemians on Friday, while Dundalk travel to face Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds next Saturday.
