Kenny keen to build on first away win
SSE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE
Picture: John Kelly STEPHEN Kenny has called on his Dundalk side to build on their first away win of the season against Sligo Rovers on Saturday by beating Bohemians at Oriel Park this Friday night (kick-off 7.45pm).
The 2-0 win at The Showgrounds saw the Lilywhites move back up to second, just a point off leaders Cork City. They complete the first series of games at home to Bohs this Friday and Kenny has called on fans to turn out in big numbers for the game.
‘It was a good result for us but we have to try and build on it now,’ Kenny told The Argus on Sunday night.
‘We’ve an important game on Friday now against Bohemians at home. I want Oriel Park to be a really passionate place and I think people have enjoyed the last three home games between beating Limerick 8-0, then the brilliant game against Cork to win and then the late winner against Waterford after waves of attack in the second half. It’s exciting to come to Oriel now.
‘It’s a really exciting league this year. A lot of people felt Cork were favourites this season. There was some poll after the President’s Cup where less than 20% of people thought that we’d win the league this year. All of a sudden now we’re only a point off even though we had a lot of issues to deal with in pre-season.
‘We’ve back to back home games now against two of the great Dublin clubs so it’s a really exciting time to be a supporter. We had great travelling support in Sligo. That’s a really long journey from Dundalk to Sligo. It’s a long round trip to make on the same day for supporters so they showed incredible commitment. We want to have that level of passion now in the ground on Friday night and get it back to what it was like a couple of years ago when you came out and flags were up and fans were out early getting behind the team. We need to do that to inspire the players to produce a performance in order to win the game.
‘Bohemians had a good win themselves at the weekend with a late winner so that will help their confidence. It will be a good game at the weekend so we want to make sure we’re very strong and ready to go.’
Keith Long’s side have yet to win on their travels in eight games so far this season, with Friday night’s last gasp 2-1 victory over Bray Wanderers their first victory since the 3-1 win over Shamrock Rovers on the opening night.
Kenny knows from past experiences though to expect a tough game from the Gypsies.
‘They beat Shamrock Rovers already this season 3-1 so that shows you what they’re capable of. We’ll have to put in another good performance at home and try to get the win.
‘We have to be wary of Bohs. Dinny Corcoran scored at the weekend and Eoghan Stokes has got a couple already so we’ll have to make sure we defend well against Bohemians.
‘They’re always a very committed team and have proven attacking players as well. They were able to bring Keith Ward and Dylan Watts who is on loan from Leicester off the bench and they’ve got Kevin Devaney as well so they’ve got a strong squad but all the teams now are strong.
‘We just have to believe in ourselves. There’s a lot of confidence in the back four at the moment. The full backs are really raiding brilliantly and there’s a good understanding developing between Gannon and McGrath. Obviously Jamie plays narrower and that gives Sean a corridor to get forward.
‘Then on the other side Michael Duffy plays really high so Dane (Massey) can give it to him and let him get at full backs. He can then back him up for that first time cross. I know Seamus Sharkey didn’t deal the cross on Saturday for the first goal but when Michael ran down the wing Dane’s run took the defenders completely out of it to open it up for Michael to cross. So the full backs are really adding to it. We just have to try and keep it going now.’
Kenny also believes there is much more to come from Pat Hoban despite him now notching four goals in six starts.
‘He’s not fully fit even at the moment,’ Kenny said of his number nine.
‘He didn’t train earlier in the week because his knee was swollen again and he had to put ice on it. He tore his thigh early in pre-season which was an injury he had the previous year which caused him problems but Danny Miller has done a brilliant job with him rehabbing him to get him to where he is now.
‘Pat is one of the most dedicated individuals that you could ever meet. His nutrition is incredible and he is really dedicated. He’s obviously not as fit as he would want to be but he is still putting in big shifts and scoring big goals. No one would want to mark him. He’s a good focal point for the attack and great at bringing others into play.’
Like Hoban, Kenny believes there is more to come from Dundalk.
‘We still have to work harder to get better. I’m not reflecting back and saying we’re in a good position because you’re one defeat away from not being all the time. We have to have that sort of relentless nature about our ambition. Are we perfect? No we’re not at the moment but are we doing a lot of things well at the moment? Yes, there’s a lot they’re doing very well.
‘There are different ways of being successful. In 2015 we scored the most goals in the history of football in the league. This year it’s different because we’ve conceded the least amount in the opening seven games. They’ve set a new record and hopefully we can build on that by getting another on Friday. That’s what we must strive to do and hopefully we can do that.
‘It’s a brilliant achievement to get seven clean sheets and we want to build on that and try to get another victory against Bohemians.’
Kenny has doubts over Dylan Connolly (back), Karolis Chevedukas (hamstring) and Brian Gartland (tonsillitis) for Friday’s game but none of the trio are expected to be out long term.
Dundalk are also in action on Easter Monday when they travel to Richmond Park to take on St Patrick’s Athletic in the EA Sports Cup second round (kick-off 3pm).
Kenny is likely to give matches to a number of players on the fringes of the first team, with a side similar to the one which featured in a 3-1 victory over Portadown last Monday week expected.
‘We’ll make decisions based on what we have available after Bohs. Some players will need to play and we have to manage our squad.
‘We want to retain our trophy because we had a great final victory in Tallaght last year over Shamrock Rovers that will live long in the memory for everyone who was at it. It’s a tough first game though.
‘We’ve had a lot easier first games in the competition than away to St Patrick’s but we’ll have to go and deal with that,’ said the manager.