CIARAN KILDUFF WAS one in a long list of Dundalk players deemed unfit to take part in last night’s Premier Division opener at home to Shamrock Rovers.
The Kildare-born striker had to be carried off the Turner’s Cross pitch during the President’s Cup loss to Cork City a week ago and required stitches on a nasty gash to his shin.
He looked set to join goalkeeper Gary Rogers (calf), Shane Grimes (hamstring), Sean Hoare (groin), Chris Shields (groin) and David McMillan (knee) on the sidelines, but persuaded manager Stephen Kenny to play him from the start and repaid the inclusion with the decisive goal in a 2-1 win for the Lilywhites.
New signing Michael Duffy had set Robbie Benson up for Dundalk’s first before half-time, and Hoops substitute Graham Burke ensured there would be a nervy finish to the game by scoring on his debut for the club only to get sent off for a reckless tackle minutes later.
“It was a pressure game for the team and our preparations weren’t so good with the injuries that we had,” said Kenny, who appears to be suffering an early-season injury crisis. “Three of the starters — Stephen O’Donnell, Michael Duffy and Ciaran Kilduff — didn’t train at all yesterday with the team.
“Normally I wouldn’t play players if they couldn’t train the day before a game so it was one of those that we just needed to get through with a win.
“Stephen had to come off and Benson and McEleney both got knocks in the second half so we had to decide which one we would take off as we only had one substitute left.
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“We’re weren’t convincing in the last 15 minutes and we should’ve been better than we were, but everyone rallied around each other.
“Gabriel Sava came in. Kilduff got off a stretcher. He had been ruled out be the doctor earlier in the week but insisted on playing and ended up getting the winner, which showed his character.
“The performance answered and questions in terms of the team’s hunger but our overall quality has to improve in certain areas and we will work on that over the next few weeks.”
Michael Duffy made his league bow for Dundalk from the start, while Niclas Vemmelund, Conor Clifford and Jamie McGrath all did the same albeit off the bench.
Kenny believes they will bring extra depth to the squad after a “settling in period”, and added: ”It was very competitive game with a bit of needle in it, which is fair enough. It’s important to keep your discipline in those situations and I always feel ours is one of the cornerstones of our success. It’s very much part of the psyche of the team and it’s very important no player lets another down.
Some of the players that are coming in have to understand the values that we have. They’ve got a settling in period but I think they will add to the team.
“We were missing our top goalscorer from last year, our goalkeeper and midfield players Shields and O’Donnell were both missing for parts of that game. And then you have to consider the players we lost as well.”
Patrick McEleney provided the assist for the winning goal last night. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
After an excellent first year with the club, Patrick McEleney is being tipped by many to step up to the plate and become Dundalk’s most influential attacking player with both Daryl Horgan and Ronan Finn, who made a cameo appearance for Rovers in the second half last night, moving on.
Kenny says that while the former Derry City man is not quite as “durable” as his former team-mate and close friend in terms of staying injury-free, he expects McEleney to flourish in a central role this season:
“Horgan played every game, every year. Along with Andy Boyle, he never missed a game and never missed training. Patrick is a little bit different and you have to manage him a little bit differently.
“He had a great year last year but I used him out of position a little bit to suit the team. Wide right would be his least-effective. To be fair to him, he would have been happy playing in advanced midfield, on the left or even centre forward.
“Wide right curtails him but that is where we played him because he had Benson, O’Donnell, Shields and Horgan at the time.
“We were getting our best players on the park. He played a lot of games in a central role and now that he’s getting a run he can be even better.
“Regardless if Daryl had been still here, I think Patrick would have excelled. In fact, they were great friends, room-mates and they clicked really well.”
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'Kilduff got off a stretcher. He'd been ruled out by the doctor but insisted on playing and got the winner'
CIARAN KILDUFF WAS one in a long list of Dundalk players deemed unfit to take part in last night’s Premier Division opener at home to Shamrock Rovers.
The Kildare-born striker had to be carried off the Turner’s Cross pitch during the President’s Cup loss to Cork City a week ago and required stitches on a nasty gash to his shin.
He looked set to join goalkeeper Gary Rogers (calf), Shane Grimes (hamstring), Sean Hoare (groin), Chris Shields (groin) and David McMillan (knee) on the sidelines, but persuaded manager Stephen Kenny to play him from the start and repaid the inclusion with the decisive goal in a 2-1 win for the Lilywhites.
New signing Michael Duffy had set Robbie Benson up for Dundalk’s first before half-time, and Hoops substitute Graham Burke ensured there would be a nervy finish to the game by scoring on his debut for the club only to get sent off for a reckless tackle minutes later.
“It was a pressure game for the team and our preparations weren’t so good with the injuries that we had,” said Kenny, who appears to be suffering an early-season injury crisis. “Three of the starters — Stephen O’Donnell, Michael Duffy and Ciaran Kilduff — didn’t train at all yesterday with the team.
“Normally I wouldn’t play players if they couldn’t train the day before a game so it was one of those that we just needed to get through with a win.
“Stephen had to come off and Benson and McEleney both got knocks in the second half so we had to decide which one we would take off as we only had one substitute left.
“We’re weren’t convincing in the last 15 minutes and we should’ve been better than we were, but everyone rallied around each other.
“Gabriel Sava came in. Kilduff got off a stretcher. He had been ruled out be the doctor earlier in the week but insisted on playing and ended up getting the winner, which showed his character.
“The performance answered and questions in terms of the team’s hunger but our overall quality has to improve in certain areas and we will work on that over the next few weeks.”
Michael Duffy made his league bow for Dundalk from the start, while Niclas Vemmelund, Conor Clifford and Jamie McGrath all did the same albeit off the bench.
Kenny believes they will bring extra depth to the squad after a “settling in period”, and added: ”It was very competitive game with a bit of needle in it, which is fair enough. It’s important to keep your discipline in those situations and I always feel ours is one of the cornerstones of our success. It’s very much part of the psyche of the team and it’s very important no player lets another down.
“We were missing our top goalscorer from last year, our goalkeeper and midfield players Shields and O’Donnell were both missing for parts of that game. And then you have to consider the players we lost as well.”
After an excellent first year with the club, Patrick McEleney is being tipped by many to step up to the plate and become Dundalk’s most influential attacking player with both Daryl Horgan and Ronan Finn, who made a cameo appearance for Rovers in the second half last night, moving on.
Kenny says that while the former Derry City man is not quite as “durable” as his former team-mate and close friend in terms of staying injury-free, he expects McEleney to flourish in a central role this season:
“Horgan played every game, every year. Along with Andy Boyle, he never missed a game and never missed training. Patrick is a little bit different and you have to manage him a little bit differently.
“He had a great year last year but I used him out of position a little bit to suit the team. Wide right would be his least-effective. To be fair to him, he would have been happy playing in advanced midfield, on the left or even centre forward.
“Wide right curtails him but that is where we played him because he had Benson, O’Donnell, Shields and Horgan at the time.
“We were getting our best players on the park. He played a lot of games in a central role and now that he’s getting a run he can be even better.
“Regardless if Daryl had been still here, I think Patrick would have excelled. In fact, they were great friends, room-mates and they clicked really well.”
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