ALL TO PLAY FOR
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ‘It’s not a mountain we have to climb’
Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Rosenborg means that Dundalk have to at least score once in Norway this week to keep their European hopes alive for this season. That’s a task that shouldn’t faze the Lilywhites. In nine away European matches under Stephen Kenny up until now, Dundalk have only failed to score once - away to BATE Borisov last season. In comparison the League of Ireland champions have failed to score four times in 10 home matches under the current boss. In fact, Dundalk have scored more away goals in Europe under Kenny (11) than they have at home (10).
McMillan’s mark
David McMillan’s goal against
Rosenborg on Wednesday night was his eighth in European football in his career, seven of them now coming for
Dundalk, putting him clear in third in the list of top League of Ireland scorers in Europe just behind Jason Byrne (10) and Glen Crowe (11). Wednesday night was also the 300th appearance of his career. Mc
Millan also strengthened his position as the all-time League of Ireland top scorer in the
European Cup/Champions
League with Wednesday’s header being his seventh in the competition, putting him two clear of Byrne and Crowe who each have five. Roy Keane, with 15 goals, is the only player from the Republic of Ireland to have scored more European Cup/Champions League goals than McMillan, while he moved clear in second on that list with his header on Wednesday, surpassing Ronnie Whelan’s total of six for Liverpool. David McMillan’s strike on Wednesday was Dundalk’s 51st goal in Europe in what was their 62nd outing. Of those goals 26 have now come at home.
100 not out for Rogers
Gary Rogers (above) made his 100th appearance for Dundalk against Rosenborg on Wednesday night, all of them starts. The goal he conceded just before half-time was also the 80th he has let in since joining from Sligo Rovers at the start of the 2015 campaign. Wednesday was also his 34th appearance in Europe in his career. Only Ollie Cahill (41), Owen Heary (37), Dan Murray (37) and Stuart Byrne (36) have played more times in Europe than the goalkeeper. Rosenborg’s goalscorer on Wednesday night, To re Reginiussen, has previous when it comes to scoring in a 1-1 with an Irish side. He was on target for Norway when they drew 1-1 with the Republic of Ireland in a friendly in Oslo in August 2008. WHEN John Mountney touched down in Norway on Monday night with the rest of the Dundalk squad he’ll have left a bit of baggage behind him and bounded off the plane with a smile on his face.
The Mayo man was one of the standout performers for Stephen Kenny’s side in last week’s first leg tie with Rosenborg in Oriel Park, but just a few weeks earlier there were question marks over whether the 24-year-old would ever wear the white jersey again.
The club’s joint longest servant along with Chris Shields, rumours circulated at the start of the summer that Mountney was on his way out of the club. There were unsubstantiated reports on social media of a bust-up with his manager and he was linked with moves elsewhere, most notably Sligo Rovers.
After Dundalk’s victory over Limerick at the Gary Rogers knows what it takes to go to Rosenborg and get a result and he’s confident Dundalk can do just that on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old goalkeeper was part of the Sligo Rovers team that won 2-1 away in Trondheim in 2014.
Unfortunately for Sligo they lost the return leg at The Showgrounds 3-1 to bow out of Europe, but Rogers believes Dundalk can go one better by making a result at the Lerkendal Stadion really count. Market’s Field in May, Kenny blasted the rumours as ‘disgraceful’ and described John as ‘the nicest kid you could meet’.
Those comments still didn’t quash the speculation, but last week’s selection of the player for the Rosenborg game certainly did.
Mountney, at times an unsung hero, has traditionally been the player Kenny turns to in big games. At the start of his reign he was often thrust into the fold for matches with the likes of St Patrick’s Athletic and last year was probably one of the first names on the teamsheet when the side needed to beat Cork City at Oriel to defend their title.
The rumours regarding Mountney were fuelled in part by his absence from the side. After starting five of the first six league games this season, the defeat away to Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght at the start of May was his only other time in the starting 11 prior to being recalled for the 1-0 victory away
‘We haven’t given ourselves a mountain to climb,’ he told The Argus after the first leg.
‘We’re more than capable of scoring and going over there and getting the win. I’ve experience of playing over there before and picking up a win and this side is more than capable of that,’ he said.
Rogers admitted his side were disappointed with the goal they gave away just before halftime in the first leg but questioned whether the free kick leading to it should have been given at all.
‘It came into the box and rattled around but until I see it again I really don’t know who it even came off,’ he said of Tore Reginiussen’s equaliser.
‘It was one of those ugly goals that are kind of hard to comprehend, but that’s what we’ve been dealt with and we have to move on from it and learn from our mistakes. To be honest with you, I didn’t think it was a free in to begin with, but it was given and we had to defend it better.’
Despite being disappointed with last week’s 1-1 draw, Rogers believes there is more to come from Dundalk in the second leg and has backed his side to get the job done.
‘We’ve got plenty of ability. I think we showed our true colours tonight. We played really well and we’re capable of going up a notch again. We may need to do that to progress, but we won’t fear them. We’ll go out there and take the game to them because that’s what we need to do to get through in the tie.
‘You have to be confident. There’s great determination and belief within this group and we’ll carry that into the next tie and give it everything we have to try and get through,’ said Rogers.