Speechless Horgan can’t get head around agonising defeat

FOR a man who is used to letting his feet do the talking, Daryl Horgan was lost for words at the full-time whistle at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

Since joining Dundalk at the start of the 2014 campaign, it has basically been success after success for the 24-yearold with three league titles, an FAI Cup and an EA Sports Cup amongst the honours he has won.

Sean Maguire’s late goal in extra-time meant that there would be no double-double though and it definitely stung the Galway man.

‘It’s as bad as it could possibly get to be honest with you. It’s really tough to stomach at the moment,’ he said afterwards.

‘To be honest I thought we would have snatched one if anyone was going to. I thought at that stage of the game we looked the more threatening but that’s cup finals.’

Horgan admitted he thought the game was going to penalties when Maguire struck for the killer goal 19 seconds into added time at the end of the game but refused to use Dundalk’s return from Russia just 48 hours earlier as an excuse for the defeat.

‘I think that (penalties) was looking inevitable in a sense but sometimes that happens. It’s very difficult to even think about.

‘I wouldn’t say fatigue was a factor for the goal at the end but maybe for spells of the game there were tired bodies.

‘I think that was understand- able but it’s not an excuse. I thought we played all right but it didn’t land our way.

‘I don’t really know what to say to you. It’s gut-wrenching and impossible to stomach at the minute but unfortunately we’ll have to do that.

‘It’s hard to take. I’ve always said Cork are a great club and I enjoyed my time there but losing like that is a sickner.’

Not even the prospect of having two more Europa League games remaining with a chance of reaching the last 32 could lift Horgan’s spirits.

‘We’ve two more to go and hopefully we’ll get out of our group but it’s tough to even consider that at the minute.

‘It’s all encompassing losing like that,’ he said.