AKINADE’S CRACKER DENIES DUNDALK
SSE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH
Rob Cornwall (Bohemians) While there were a few fine performances from the home side, amongst them Sean Hoare, Chris Shields and Jamie McGrath, it was the Bohs centre half pairing of Rob Cornwall and Dan Casey who shone brightest. Cornwall led by example by restricting Dundalk to very few chances. He also threw his body on the line on a couple of occasions to block down strikes.
TALKINGPOINT
DUNDALK have had plenty of reasons to feel aggrieved over a lack of penalties this season and there were as many as three calls for spot kicks on Friday that were waved away. Perhaps the most clear cut came in stoppage time at the end of the game when Chris Shields went down under Dylan Hayes’ challenge in the box. It looked a stone wall penalty to pretty much every one in the ground but referee Derek Tomney wasn’t convinced and Dundalk were denied a chance to equalise to keep their unbeaten record going.
HOWTHEYSTAND
IT was a week to forget for Dundalk FC.
On Tuesday night they officially surrendered their league title to Cork City while on Friday defeat to Bohemians at Oriel Park meant that their 15 match unbeaten run also came to an end.
Stephen Kenny’s side hadn’t lost in either the league or cup (excluding the Leinster Senior Cup) since going down to Shamrock Rovers on July 23rd.
However, a stunning strike from Ismahil Akinade a minute before half-time ensured Keith Long’s men denied Dundalk at least a share of the spoils in their final home game of the season.
It brought to an end a nine match unbeaten run that included seven wins and two draws that had kept Cork waiting for the title later than most would have expected.
They say all good things come to an end but it was perhaps ironic that a first defeat in almost exactly three months coincided with the title of champions being lost in the same week.
It’s not though.
There’s a cup final on the horizon while the attendance of over 2,000 on a truly awful night weather-wise, coupled with the reception Stephen Kenny received before kick-off, is a sure sign that no one is jumping off the bandwagon any time soon.
Sometimes you have to look back to realise how far you’ve come. When Bohemians came to Oriel for an end of season game close to the end of the 2012 campaign there were less than 250 in attendance.
This was also the first dead rubber game Dundalk had played without battling for the title or having already being declared champions since beating Cork all doom and gloom City 4-0 on October 18th 2013. Six days earlier Dundalk had drawn with Bohs in Dalymount, allowing Pat’s to pick up the league title courtesy of a 2-0 win over Sligo 24 hours later.
We can’t really complain with the four years in between and while you won’t be hearing the chant of ‘Champions of Ireland’ at Oriel any time soon, the second half of the season gives hope that it won’t be long until Dundalk fans can sing it proudly once again.
From the outset this game might look like there was disinterested Dundalk side involved but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Despite having the squad stretched by injuries, highlighted by the fact there were two goalkeepers on the bench, the home side dominated for long periods.
Ultimately they lacked the bit of guile to unlock the Gypsies defence and were undone by a wonder goal but the conditions didn’t help on the night with swirling wind and rain making a comeback difficult.
Had early an early chance for Jamie McGrath gone in or another for David McMillan counted this could have been a different story.
Equally Dundalk had three penalty appeals throughout the game which could have helped avoid defeat, the last of which in stoppage time looked particularly stone wall.
The result matters little in the grand scheme of things with little for either side to play for but the Lilywhites will be disappointed to have seen their good run come to an end ahead of their FAI Cup final clash with Cork City on November 5th.
The visitors had the game’s opening chance inside the opening two minutes when Patrick Kavanagh slipped Dinny Corcoran in on the right only for his effort to be palmed around the post by Gary Rogers.
Dundalk then had two big openings of their own.
The first arrived in the eighth minute when McGrath’s shot from 35 yards came back off the inside of the post.
Then on the quarter hour mark McMillan had the ball in the net after Shane Supple spilled Robbie Benson’s long range shot but unfortunately for the Lilywhites the offside flag was up.
Corcoran and Thomas Stewart then went close at either end within a minute of each other before Akinade tested Rogers with a shot after being set clear by Oscar Brennan.
Ten minutes before the break Chris Shields went close to a rare goal with a long range effort.
However, it was Bohs who would lead courtesy of a stunning strike from Akinade a minute before the break.
He seized on a loose ball 25 yards out to drill past Rogers with unstoppable force.
Six minutes after the restart McMillan tested Supple with a shot from the edge of the box which the goalkeeper did well to hold onto.
Dundalk were on top at this stage but the visitors had a great chance to double their lead on the hour mark when they broke on the left through Akinade. He squared to Corcoran but Rogers was quick off his line to deny his former Sligo Rovers team-mate at point blank range.
The home side dominated for much of the second half but were restricted largely to long range efforts, each of which were blocked by a determined Bohs.
The visitors had a fantastic chance to wrap it up in the first minute of stoppage time when Corcoran raced through on goal but Brian Gartland got back to take the ball off his toe.
Dundalk then had strong penalty appeals waved away by referee Derek Tomney in the 92nd minute after Shields went down under a Dylan Hayes challenge as Bohs held out for the win.