COURAGE, DISCIPLINE IN EQUAL MEASURE
IN their never-ending chatter to distract viewers from the lack of a competitive edge to the game, the commentator and his side-kick working on Arsenal’s Europa League group game with Dundalk at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night referred to the poor record that League of Ireland (LOI) clubs had against English teams in European games.
No wins, according to the experts, and in fact Dundalk had one of the best results, drawing 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur in the Cup Winners’ Cup in Oriel Park in 1981 and unluckily losing 2-1 in the away leg in White Hart Lane.
Thankfully they didn’t refer to some of the embarrassing results from games against English clubs, such as Dundalk’s 10-0 defeat at Anfield against Liverpool in 1969.
The humiliating nature of that loss crossed the minds of Dundalk supporters in the aftermath of their lacklustre defeat in Waterford three days previously, and when a stunning goal from Pepe left Arsenal 3-0 ahead with 44 minutes of the game remaining.
Thankfully Dundalk dug in for a courageous and disciplined defensive performance and to their credit the players battled hard to keep the score to a respectable level.
It was, however, the reference to previous games by LOI clubs in Europe and realisation that Irish clubs are a long way short of becoming anywhere near competitive in the group stages of European football that provoked an after-match debate with the two Virgin Media analysts, Niall Quinn, and Brian Kerr, never a favourite with Dundalk fans.
In fairness both were honest in their appraisal of the Dundalk performance, praising their defensive organisation, the concentration and spirit shown by the players, and the unfortunate nature by which they conceded the two killer goals before the interval.
Inevitably the discussion moved on to examine the future prospects of Irish teams in Europe, with Niall Quinn making the point that the LOI is so starved of finance that unless new money is attracted to the game in this country there is little prospect LOI clubs can hope to bridge the gap - not between the Arsenals of football, but the lower tier in which teams like Molde can compete.
Sadly it was the view of Brian Kerr that the gap is widening because of the lack of finance in the Irish game, and last week’s news that Cork City supporters had to sell their club for €1 to the only white knight riding to the rescue illustrated that point.
Dundalk, in recent seasons, especially since the purchase of the club by Peak6, have invested heavily in the team, giving 52-week long-term contracts to keep their best players, and recruiting extensively in England and further afield to improve the quality of their panel so that they can better compete in Europe.
In that they have had some measured success this season, reaching the group stages of the Europa League, but the question that must now be asked is if the owners are willing to go the next step and invest even more heavily in players needed to take the team to another level in Europe.
That would represent a major commitment by the owners, and while the rewards are there in terms of prestige, qualification and win bonus money, it would represent a major financial gamble.
There is also the view propagated by Niall Quinn, that with the arrival of Brexit restricting the avenue for good young Irish players into the traditional route of English teams, that LOI clubs should be offering better opportunities to promising young Irish players by giving better funding to academies.
All of these factors must be fed into a root and branch look at the League of Ireland scene, for after a very disjointed season caused by Covid which has starved the clubs of the lifeblood of ‘gate’ money there is the prospect that the League will have difficulty starting next season unless new investment can be found.
For Dundalk, who carried the LOI banner in last week’s high-profile game at the Emirates, there was some satisfaction that they didn’t let themselves or the League down. Against what was essentially a second string Arsenal side, but which still contained players like Nicolas Pepe, the club’s record signing from Lille for £72m, they managed to stay in the game until the double blow of conceding two goals within the space of two minutes just before the break.
The first resulted from Gary Rogers being unable to get a firm enough contact on a delivery from a corner, with the ball unluckily deflecting off the body of Daniel Cleary for the alert Nketiah to score.
The second goal two minutes later was even more unfortunate, for while Cameron Dummigan, who otherwise had an excellent game, gave the ball away to allow Arsenal counter, an attempt on goal by Nketiah ricocheted off a scrambling Brian Gartland and invitingly into the path of the impressive Joe Willock who hammered it past Rogers.
Having anticipated reaching half-time scoreless just a few minutes previously, the
Dundalk players had to wearily make their way to the dressing-room two goals down.
No doubt they tried to fortify themselves before taking the field for the second half, determined to stay in the game and perhaps snatch a goal to worry the hosts.
Again their hopes were dashed within a minute by an exquisite finish from Pepe, illustrating why he was valued so highly on the transfer market by rolling the ball lovely with one foot, and then with his less favoured right foot stunningly finding the top of the net, well beyond the reach of Gary Rogers.
At that stage humiliation looked a distinct prospect and when the team’s battling captain Chris Shields, who had plugged many holes in an excellent first half, was withdrawn with Sunday’s Pats game in mind, Dundalk fans feared the worst.
They reckoned, however,
without the spirit and commitment that the players showed throughout, led by the rejuvenated Brian Gartland who was by far the team’s best performer, rightly mocking many who had written him off.
Alongside him Andy Boyle had a fine game, as did Sean Hoare when he replaced Daniel Cleary, another who stood out well in that first half.
Undoubtedly new coach Filippo Giovagnoli must take credit for the organisation he has brought to the defence, especially in the European games, but he still leaves supporters mystified by his preference of John Mountney to Sean Gannon at right-back.
In addition he is badly restricted in the counter-attacking game he needs to play in Europe by the lack of pace in the side, and by the fact that, Shields apart, there no real energy or spark from the midfield players at his disposal.
Afterwards much was made of the statistic that Dundalk didn’t concede a free through the tie, the first time that Uefa have recorded this in a game.
Some attributed that to the fact that Dundalk were unable to get near the Arsenal players and lacked determination.
That wasn’t the case, for no one could fault the effort of the players, and the fact that they conceded no fouls should be a tribute to the organised and disciplined manner in which they defended.