Heartache as treble bid foiled by Rovers
EXTRA.IE FAI SENIOR CUP FINAL
FINE margins. They either make you or break you.
At times this season, the fine margins have gone in Dundalk’s favour. Sadly, there was no such luck at Aviva Stadium on Sunday as the club’s treble bid was dashed in a penalty shootout against old foes Shamrock Rovers.
There are big moments in a game which can make or break it. While Vinny Perth’s side were perhaps fortunate to take the game to extra time, having fallen behind to an 89th-minute penalty from Aaron McEneff, they then could have won the game in the last minute of extra time when Georgie Kelly was denied at point-blank range by Alan Mannus.
Penalties then were a lottery, but after successes already this season in the Champions League away to Riga and in the EA Sports Cup Final against Derry City, it would have been a lot to ask for the dice to roll in the Lilywhites’ favour for a third big shootout in the one year.
Jamie McGrath had kick-started the shootout in style with a cheeky finish, but earlier goal hero Michael Duffy saw his next penalty crash off the crossbar and when Daniel Cleary’s third effort was saved by Mannus, the writing was on the wall. (AET, ROVERS WON 4-2 ON PENS)
With Jack Byrne, Joey O’Brien and Greg Bolger all scoring, Jordan Flores saw his penalty just creep under Mannus to keep the tie briefly alive, but when Gary O’Neill sent Gary Rogers the wrong way from the next kick the dream was over and the Rovers celebrations begun.
It was hard to say Stephen Bradley’s side didn’t deserve it over the course of the 120 minutes.
They were by and large the better team, controlling the game in midfield without ever really stretching a Dundalk defence in which club captain Brian Gartland excelled.
The inclusion of Gartland might have raised a few eyebrows, but it undoubtedly came about as a result of having to force Sean Hoare into midfield due to the absence of Chris Shields through suspension and Patrick McEleney through injury. That meant that the champions were almost set up to curtail Rovers rather than to go at them, and while they did a reasonable job in that regard, the step up hoped for from the likes of Robbie Benson, Sean Murray and Jamie McGrath never transpired.
Luck can either go your way or not, but sometimes you can make your own luck. Losing McEleney after he pulled up in training on Thursday as he eased his way back from the hamstring problem picked up against Sligo Rovers in the semi-final was unfortunate, but to lose arguably the side’s most important player in Chris Shields through suspension was entirely avoidable.
Fingers will be pointed from within at Oriel Park at the FAI over their failure to update their rules to extend the amnesty offered on yellow cards to those with eight, but this oversight, for want of a better term, has been there for a number of years now.
While it will undoubtedly be revisited to avoid a repeat situation in the future, Dundalk scored their own own goal by playing Shields in a rubber duck game against Cork City when they should have known that an eighth booking of the season would see him miss the final.
Without him, Dundalk might have curtailed much of Rovers’ threat well, but they lacked the individual who starts so many attacks and often puts opposition teams on the back foot.
Now is not the time to point fingers at any individuals over their role in the mishaps, but it was almost inevitable that the pandemonium behind the scenes at Oriel Park at times this season would come back to bite the team - and it did this week.
Make no mistake about it, what Vinny Perth has achieved this season has been done in spite of a very difficult working environment.
At least three long-time servants of the club have left their posts behind the scenes this year, while others have been on the verge of quitting at various points.
It would be harsh to lay the blame for the Shields situation at the door of Mike Treacy or PEAK6, but it is an embarrassment that owners who pride themselves on statistics couldn’t calculate eight yellow cards and its repercussions.
In a week when Treacy and PEAK6 owner Matt Hulsizer appeared at Harvard to discuss the use of stats, the mess over Shields would no doubt have overshadowed that appearance had news of it reached American shores.
With Andy Burton’s consultancy dispensed of and CEO Mark Devlin understood to be on his way, there could be anything up to six roles vacant behind the scenes quite soon. It is important that the club learn from this season’s problems and put the right people in place to drive things forward on and off the field.
Vinny Perth said that a loss on Sunday wouldn’t define Dundalk’s season and it shouldn’t, but it should act as a line in the sand to help a promising young coach achieve his ambitions and for a club to finally start being part of the community rather than just saying it is.
The game itself was one of few clear-cut chances, but Rovers, having started the brighter, could well have taken an early lead.
Having had a sighter moments earlier, Aaron Greene plucked a Jack Byrne pass out of the air on 13 minutes to get a shot away from the left of goal, but it flashed across the face and wide.
Stephen Bradley’s side then went even closer a minute later when Daniel Cleary was caught in possession by Greene in the left-hand corner. Greene squared to the inrushing Ronan Finn, but his attempt to back-heel in the cross lacked the connection as it ran across the face of goal and out for a corner.
It would be the 38th minute before Dundalk registered their first attempt on target. Sean Murray’s corner found Gartland at the back stick, but Mannus turned it around the post, with a covering defender on the line.
There would be another good chance from a set piece on the stroke of half-time, with Cleary heading agonisingly wide at the back post from another Murray delivery.
The second half was one of few clear-cut chances. Graham Burke had a couple of good efforts saved by Rogers, either side of the pick