ROVERS REPLAY TO SHAPE SEASON
SSE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE 100th appearance for SOD Fif th goal for McGrath 45th clean sheet for Rogers
JAKE O’Connor made his league debut for Dundalk after being named in the starting 11 for Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Finn Harps in Ballybofey. It was also a first league start for Carlton Ubaezuono, who had previously featured as a sub in last October’s 5-2 defeat to St Patrick’s Athletic in Inchicore. O’Connor had also scored his first senior goal in Wednesday night’s 4-2 Leinster Senior Cup defeat to Shelbourne at Oriel Park. That game also saw debuts handed out to Jack Tr aynor and substitute James Rice. STEPHEN O’Donnell came off the bench for Dundalk on Saturday to make his 100th league appearance for the club, comprising 74 starts and 26 substitute appearances. BRIAN Gartland scored his third league goal of the season against Finn Harps on Saturday. It was also his first away goal in the league in exactly 51 weeks having last scored away from Oriel Park in the league in the 3-0 victory over Shamrock Rovers at Ta llaght Stadium on October 14th 2016. He did, of course, score away to Rosenborg in Tr ondheim in the Champions League this summer hhough JAMIE McGrath’s goal against Finn Harps on Saturday was his fifth league goal of the season and his first away from Oriel Park. All of the 21-year-old’s league goals have come in the second half of matches and this was the second time he has scored against Finn Harps for the club with Sligo Rovers the only other side he has scored a league goal against. Including his strike away to Galway Utd in the EA Sports Cup semi-final, Dundalk have yet to concede a goal in a match that McGrath has scored in - winning 4-0 twice, 3-0 and 2-0. SINCE being promoted at the start of the 2016 season, Dundalk have a perfect record in their six meetings with Finn Harps - winning all six by an aggregate score of 20-0 and failing to concede. The last time Dundalk lost to the Donegal side was 10 years ago next month when Shane Grimes and current assistant manager Vinny Perth were part of the side. SATURDAY’S shut out against Finn Harps was the 45th clean sheet that Gary Rogers has kept in 86 league games for the club. It was also the club’s 19th clean sheet in all competitions this season, which is the best in the league this season and the best achieved under Stephen Kenny in his five years at Oriel Park. WHILE a 19th clean sheet of the season almost meant more to Brian Gartland than his goal against Finn Harps on Saturday, the centre half is anxious to add more goals to his tally before the season is out.
The centre half helped Dundalk make the breakthrough in Ballybofey at the weekend when he headed home from Jamie McGrath’s corner on 66 minutes.
Leaving aside his strike away to Rosenborg in the Champions League qualifiers during the summer, it was the first time he had scored an away goal domestically in exactly 51 weeks since netting the opener in a 3-0 win over Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium on October 14th 2016.
Now with 31 goals since joining Dundalk from Portadown midway through the 2013 campaign, Gartland is hoping it’s an omen that he returns to Tallaght on Tuesday for the FAI Cup semi-final replay hoping to add to that tally.
‘I didn’t realise that,’ he said when told about his away goals form.
‘I know they were a bit scarcer than normal at the start of the season. I think I’ve got five now for the season, three in the league, one in Europe and one in the cup.
‘I set myself high targets. I’m a bit behind but I was delighted with that today. I’ve a couple more to get this season so hopefully on Tuesday that will be one of them.’
Gartland made no qualms about admitting that the game with Rovers will shape Dundalk’s season.
He booked a holiday for the close season during the week and while that is something he is looking forward to, the thought of going away without a day out at the Aviva is not something he wants to contemplate.
‘There’s no qualms about it. Our season hinges on it,’ he said of the Rovers game.
‘We don’t want to come out of Tuesday and have nothing to play for. We want to be involved on the biggest day of the season.
‘It’s the pinnacle game and the showcase game and we want to be there like we have been in the last few years.
‘The years I’ve been here, we’ve been spoiled with success. As players we don’t want to come away without one of the major trophies.
‘I know the League Cup is a great cup to win but the league and the FAI Cup are the two biggest. Europe is a massive thing for us and we were unlucky in that regard because we thought we could have got more out of it. If we can come away with the League Cup, the FAI Cup and a great second half of season from the break where we’ve been really excellent we can be positive and it will have been a good season.
‘We have such high standards so if we don’t get to the final we’ll be really kicking ourselves because we feel we’re a good enough side and we deserve to be at that level and in those games,’ he said.
Gartland is expecting another real battle from Rovers in what will be the sixth time the sides have met this season.
‘It’s a massive game for us but it’s a massive game for Rovers too. They haven’t won any trophies in a long time and they’re looking to challenge ourselves and Cork so for both teams it’s a massive game but we relish games like that. We love them.’
The 30-year-old also admitted it was important for the side not to hand Cork the title on Saturday.
‘We’ve a lot of pride about ourselves. We’re obviously disappointed with being so far behind at this stage of the season. It should be a formality with Cork picking up points but we don’t want to give it away, we want to make them earn it.
‘We’ve a lot of pride in ourselves that we don’t want to be the ones on TV gifting Cork the title up here in Finn Harps. It doesn’t matter what game it is, we always want to win,’ he said.