10-point lead leaves League title defence on track

DUNDALK can turn their attention to the Europa League this week safe in the knowledge that their ambitions of retaining their league title are in good order.

Monday night’s victory over Finn Harps at Oriel Park opened up a 10 point lead at the top of the SSE Airtricity League table, albeit with two more matches played than nearest challengers Cork City.

While the Rebels could yet close that gap back to four, points on the board are better than games in hand.

Whatever happens in those matches, no more could be asked of Dundalk ahead of their trip to Holland on Wednesday morning to face AZ Alkmaar the next night.

Since agonisingly missing out on the Champions League group stages away to Legia Warsaw last month, Stephen Kenny’s side have played six matches in the space of 17 days to build up the double digit lead and book their place in the last four of the FAI Cup against Derry City.

Whatever happens in Alkmaar on Thursday, if they can keep this winning run up when they return to domestic competition with home matches against Shamrock Rovers and Derry City in the space of three days next week then they will take some stopping in their bid to win three titles in-a-row.

The timing of Monday night’s game is one that irked Stephen Kenny since it was arranged. While it was only officially confirmed after Dundalk’s FAI Cup win over UCD on Friday, it is a game the club could have done without ahead of their Europa League opener.

Stephen O’Donnell, Ronan Finn and Brian Gartland were all rested with one eye on Holland but, in truth, Dundalk couldn’t have asked for an easier warm up for the AZ game.

Finn Harps set up with a 5-4-1 formation with the clear intention of playing for a draw having already lost 3-0 and 7-0 to the champions earlier in the season.

Those plans largely went out the window when Patrick McEleney fired Dundalk in front after just six minutes but there appeared to be no plan B from Ollie Horgan’s side, whose ambition was summed up in the 68th minute when goalkeeper Ciaran Gallagher was booked for time wasting at a time his side were trailing by just a goal.

In fairness to Gallagher, only for him this could have been another landslide for Dundalk.

With many Lilywhites supporters already dreaming of flights to Amsterdam, Harps dutifully played the role of warm up act by allowing themselves to become a punching bag – taking plenty of hits without ever really threatening to strike back.

They managed just one effort at goal in the entire game – one that was never going to trouble Gary Rogers – compared to 21 from the home side.

It was only when Daryl Horgan finally made it 2-0 though that Dundalk could rest easy.

As has been the trend in recent games, the Lilywhites made tougher work of the win than they perhaps should have. Certainly, when McEleney found the net early on you feared for Finn Harps.

Given Dundalk’s schedule though, and the fact that this was their first league match at home in 70 days since beating Longford Town 4-3 on July 5th, the result was all that mattered.

The games are coming so thick and fast that ticking them off successfully is now all that counts. This match, like many in between the European ties, won’t live long in the memory but a league title would surely cap an unbelievable year and that, at least, looks a very real prospect once more.

The home side started on the front foot with Gallagher called into action as early as the third minute when he was forced to finger tip John Mountney’s cross over the

crossbar after it took a wicked deflection off Ciaran Coll.

The goalkeeper could do nothing about Dundalk’s opener on six minutes though, with McEleney picking the ball up 30 yards from goal and driving at the Finn Harps defence before firing a low shot to the bottom left hand corner of the net for his third goal of the season.

The pressure continued on the visitors after that with Mountney having a goalbound effort deflect just wide a minute later before Gallagher was called into action again to save from Horgan.

The goalkeeper kept his side in the game once more on 13 minutes when he was forced to turn a shot from Mountney around the post at full stretch.

He did likewise six minutes later when he pushed another shot out for a corner, this time from Horgan, before Mountney squandered another good opening in the 35th minute when he screwed a shot wide from 12 yards out.

Two minutes before the break Paddy Barrett got on the end of a McEleney free only to see his header come back off the crossbar with the latter testing Gallagher again with a shot from range in stoppage time.

A serious looking injury to Harps striker Ruairi Keating marred the start of the second half with wild efforts from Chris Shields and Mountney all the home side had to show for their efforts.

The visitors finally managed an attempt on goal in the 63rd minute when Keith Cowan got his head on the end of a free kick from Coll but it was bread and butter stuff for Rogers.

Dundalk upped the ante after that with Andy Boyle heading just wide from a McEleney corner five minutes later before Harps manager Horgan was sent off for protesting Gallagher’s booking for time-wasting from the follow up goal kick.

The goalkeeper came to his side’s rescue once more on 71 minutes when he pushed clear a close range effort from McEleney.

However, the result was finally put to bed 15 minutes from the end when good work on the right by substitute Finn saw him pick out Horgan at the near post, with the winger lashing the ball high to the net to secure the points.

Dean Shiels did go close to a third four minutes from the end but by that stage Dundalk’s minds were already set on Amsterdam.

It was another job well done, albeit with much tougher tasks ahead.