STILL ANSWERING DUNDALK’S CALL

In-demand winger totally focused on Tel Aviv task

WHILE speculation continues to rage about where he will be playing his football in 2017, for now Daryl Horgan is very much a Dundalk man.

That goes beyond the football field too. Although born and bred in Galway, Horgan has been living locally for the last couple

years, has a girlfriend here and a young family.

It’s not uncommon to meet him on Park Street or in the Marshes where he is regularly stopped for selfies and autographs by fans all ages. No matter what the future holds for the 24-year-old Dundalk will always hold a special place in his heart.

That’s why he had one of the biggest smiles of any player when Stephen Kenny’s side were honoured at the Market Square at the end of next month.

And that’s why he is dreaming of giving the town an early Christmas present by returning from Israel this week with a knock-out game

the Europa League for Dundalk to look forward to in the New Year.

‘It would be absolutely special. Just incredible,’ he said when the prospect of Christmas coming early in Dundalk was put him. ‘It’s stuff beyond your wildest imaginations a League of Ireland footballer. We’ve been doing that all year and for the last few years and it has been unbelievable.

‘It’s a completely different marker altogether. Rovers broke ground by getting into the group and we’re looking to make ground

getting out of it. If we can do that it will be special. It has been a special couple of years already but this would just be the icing on the cake,’ he said.

While defeat to AZ Alkmaar last time out means that Dundalk’s destiny is no longer

their own hands, Horgan is confident that Zenit St Petersburg can do them a favour and Dundalk can still make it through to the last

of the competition by getting a result in Israel against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

‘Zenit have won every other game so hopefully it falls our way in that sense. They just have to pick up a result and we’ve to win and hopefully that will be the case.

‘At the start of the group we were wrote off completely but after the first two games that we had expectations rose. It’s just a pity that we’ve lost the last three in the group but to in a position to still qualify on the last day all we could have hoped for really. ‘We’ve to go and get a result in Tel Aviv. otentially a draw could do us but that’s not really what we want to go for. We want to go hell for leather for the win and get out of this group.’

While things didn’t go Dundalk’s way against AZ in Tallaght a fortnight ago, Horgan is confident the Lilywhites can bounce back as they usually do.

‘Obviously we didn’t start well against AZ and the goal came from there but sometimes things just don’t go your way and unfortunately it didn’t that day for us. We probably didn’t gel as quickly as we usually do.

‘Sometimes that happens but it’s all heads screwed on now for Thursday. The Alkmaar game is not forgotten about but it’s finished now and we’ll learn from it.

‘We’ve had a few disappointments in Europe this year between FH at home, BATE away and Legia at home and we’ve always responded with a good result and hopefully now we can do that again.

‘It’s the last game and in that sense anything can happen but if we play like we can play then I’d be confident we can get out of the group.’

Horgan’s confidence is helped by the fact Dundalk have already beaten Maccabi Tel Aviv on home soil this season.

‘Especially in the first half of that game I thought we played really well,’ he said when reflecting on September’s 1-0 win in Tallaght.

‘I thought it was one of our most complete performances in Europe. We looked very solid defensively and a threat every time we got the ball and that’s what we have to try and do again. We’ll probably have a smaller amount of possession over there but when we do get it we’ll be able to counter and break to do what we can do. If we can do that then we can definitely pick up a result.’

This side have broken plenty of new ground this season and with the prospect of a move away unlikely to die down over the Christmas period, Horgan knows he and his current team-mates have the chance to put the Dundalk side of 2016 firmly in the history books.

Being remembered doesn’t worry him too much though, instead the winger is focusing on an immediate celebration.

‘It’s not something that means that much to me now,’ he said.

‘I want to be part of something special right now and we’ve a great chance to do that. We’re probably already cemented in history for what we’ve done as a group in Europe this year so to have an opportunity to further that is unbelievable. We have that opportunity and if we can play like we can play we can get out of this group,’ said Horgan.