Winning in Europe is heaven
STOP pinching yourself. It will only hurt.
This is not a dream. Dreams don’t last this long. This is reality. This is Dundalk FC winning in Europe. And for a town renowned for its love of football this is heaven on earth.
The most unlikely of stories got a brilliant new chapter at Tallaght Stadium on Thursday night as Ciaran Kilduff’s 72nd minute goal sunk Maccabi Tel Aviv as Stephen Kenny’s side became the first League of Ireland club to win a match in the group stage of European competition.
Fifty-three years and four days after Dundalk had become the first side to win a match in Europe with a 2-1 victory away to FC Zurich in 1963 and two weeks after they had become the first Irish side to claim a point in the group stage of a European competition with a last gasp equaliser away to AZ Alkmaar, a wonderful new feat was achieved.
It’s a script though that you simply couldn’t write.
It’s well documented now but Ciaran Kilduff wasn’t even supposed to play again this season after breaking his back in April. Now within the space of two weeks he has scored two of the biggest goals in the history of Irish football.
It has been said before but the journey Dundalk FC are on right now has all the hallmarks of a Disney movie. If it wasn’t a true story though you simply wouldn’t believe it.
Exactly four years and one day earlier, Kilduff was also on the scoresheet at Tallaght Stadium as Shamrock Rovers inflicted a 7-0 trashing on a Dundalk side that looked doomed to relegation at best and the history books at worst.
The turnaround spearheaded by Stephen Kenny since then has been nothing short of stunning. In hindsight it was almost written in the stars that it would be Kilduff who would score given the fact it was his 28th birthday. If it was in a script you’d dismiss it as unbelievable but that’s exactly what this story is, unbelievable, extraordinary and exhilarating.
The fact it is being achieved at a time when Dundalk are also battling for honours in the league and FAI Cup is simply superb.
To a man, each player wore the black shirt with distinction on Friday night.
Chris Shields, who captained Dundalk on that forgettable night in Tallaght four years earlier, was my personal man of the match but there were several worthy candidates vying for the honour. The trio in front of him of Daryl Horgan, Patrick McEleney and Ronan Finn were superb while the back four were simply outstanding, in particular Sean Gannon who never gave Maccabi danger man Tal Ben Chaim a kick all night.
This was a man who had scored a wonder goal against Italy earlier in the month and had a record of 10 goals from 12 league and Europa League matches before Thursday night. It summed up Maccabi’s night that he was taken off nine minutes from the end.
You have to wonder how many times Dundalk can rip up the form book and yet they continue to surprise.
This wasn’t a smash and grab 1-0 win though. This was fully deserved. If anything the scoreline flattered Maccabi, who never seriously got to test Gary Rogers at any point.
Now with four points from two outings, Dundalk sit second in Group D with a genuine chance of reaching the last 32. That remains a big ask but who would write this side off now?
The most unlikely story in Irish footballing history has at least a few chapters left yet and if they’re anything like those which preceded them then we’re in for a real treat.
Of course, there’s a broader picture here too. It remains a frustration that such nights are celebrated in Tallaght with no real knock-on benefit for the town, its people or its businesses.
If these sort of nights are to become more regular then those behind the scenes need to work out a long-term solution to either redevelop Oriel Park or begin work on a new stadium. There needs to be a collectiveness about such a plan with the club, the council, the community and other interested parties coming together.
That’s for another day of course but the funds from this European adventure are giving it a chance to get off the ground. Thursday’s win brought another €360,000 into the coffers, even if much of that has been written off by the cost of staging the game in Tallaght in the first place.
Thursday night was not about the money though and by the end where it happened didn’t really matter.
This was about sheer glory, ecstacy and joy. About a journey that has people of all ages and backgrounds pinching themselves. This was about Dundalk FC and pride. About another night we will never, ever forget.
There was a certain nervousness beforehand over what to expect from Maccabi. Shota Arveladze’s side were coming into the game on the back of a 5-0 victory over Hapoel in the Tel Aviv derby and research on them was not what Kenny and co would have liked it to be.
That didn’t stop the manager from executing a game plan to perfection though with Dundalk pressing high to keep the dangerous midfield trio of Nosa Igiebor, Gal Alberman and Haris Medunjanin deeper than they would have liked.
That allowed space between the lines for Dundalk to try and get at the not-too-nimble Tal Ben Haim and Eytan Tibi and it almost paid dividends after just 90 seconds when Andy Boyle’s ball out of defence was flicked on by David McMillan, allowing McEleney to race clear of Ben Haim only for the Derry man to fire weakly at Predrag Rajkovic.
The major chances continued to flow the home side’s way with Finn being denied by the legs of the goalkeeper on 18 minutes before Dundalk had big penalty appeals turned down two minutes later when Robbie Benson went down under a challenge from Omri Ben Harush. Latvian referee Andris Treimanis waved play on but it was certainly one of those “I’ve seen them given moments”. There appeared to be the slightest
of contacts on studying the replay closely but the very fact that it required study showed why the referee erred on the side of caution by not pointing to the spot. Still, it was all encouraging. The Israelis did have a rare chance on 25 minutes when Ezequiel Scarione volleyed wide from a poor headed clearance from Boyle but it was all the home side for the remainder of the half.
Six minutes later good work on the left by Dane Massey and Finn seen the latter tee up Horgan for a shot which Rajkovic rather unconvincingly saved.
Then just before the break McEleney blazed high and wide after a good break involving Gannon, McMillan and Horgan.
The fear was that Maccabi would regroup at half-time and come out a different animal but it sort of summed up their attacking threat that a ball from Medunjanin that spun up off Gannon’s foot before being gathered by Rogers was about as nervous as it got for the large home support.
Shields had a chance for a rare goal soon after when he side footed over the bar from 25 yards out after Massey’s cross had broken to him.
Three minutes later Ben Harush fired into the side-netting for Maccabi following a shot from the left with the full back rescuing his side moments later with a block to deny Finn.
Kilduff was then introduced on 65 minutes and almost scored with his first involvement 20 seconds later when he headed a Finn cross just over.
Maccabi’s best chance then arrived four minutes later when Medunjanin cut back to Vidar Orn Kjartansson, who blazed over from 10 yards. Kjartansson had another effort deflected wide moments later as Maccabi looked to be growing in confidence.
However, the wind was taken out of their sails in the 72nd minute when Dundalk hit the front. McEleney did superbly well to break down the right to get a cross away. It landed to Horgan who steadied himself before picking out the run of Kilduff, who tapped home from close range to send Tallaght Stadium wild.
There was some deep defending after that but, if anything, it was the home side who went closest to adding to their tally with Finn firing into the side-net on 76 minutes before a cut back from Horgan 10 minutes later came off Ben Harush and almost ended up in his own net.
As it was Maccabi had just the one half chance to equalise six minutes from the end when they almost caught Dundalk out with a quickly taken free but somehow Massey got back to make a stunning block to deny Barak Itzhaki.
The four minutes added felt like an eternity.
The final whistle was greeted with glee and sheer delight.
Dundalk, not for the first time, had made history.
The players celebrated on the field and in the dressing room. By the time they were leaving Tallaght though they were much more calm. Their message was clear: this journey is far from over.
They want out of this group and into the last 32. Thursday’s victory certainly gives them a very real chance.