Agony for Dundalk as Poles prey on fatigue

IN the end, it was superior fitness that told, nothing else. Full-timers 2 Part-timers 0. If Dundalk are to exit the Champions League next week, then they will do so with self-respect intact. Stephen Kenny’s team from the League of Ireland matched their Polish opponents for ability, appetite and desire in rainy Dublin. Had they scored when they were dominant in the first third of the game, then maybe they could have clung on and taken a lead in to next Tuesday’s return leg in Poland. As it was, Legia were able to draw Dundalk’s sting and wait for them to tire. Kenny’s team do day jobs in the week, remember, and train only at night. It was inevitable that their tanks would run dry at some point. A penalty was conceded in the 56th minute by Andy Boyle and converted by Nemanja Nikolic. And there was heartache when sub Aleksandar Prijovic scored with the last kick of the game. Even if there is to be no miracle in Warsaw, the Irish side still have the Europa League to look forward to. Those who saw the Irish league leaders beat Belarus’ BATE Borisov in the last round were impressed by the manner of their football. Former Dunfermline boss Kenny has assembled a team that knows how to look after the ball and for 25 minutes they were too good for Legia. Patrick McEleney headed an early chance over before a cross from Daryl Horgan worried Polish goalkeeper Arkadiusz Malarz. Later in the half, McEleney played in Horgan only for Igor Lewczuk to intervene with a long leg. By then, the visitors had found their feet and started to trouble Dundalk. But by half-time, the closest Legia had come was when Michal Kucharczyk drove a volley narrowly wide. Dundalk started the second half brightly, too. Chris Shields burst forward and provided Horgan with a pass that led to a shot into the goalkeeper’s arms. Any regret Dundalk may have had about not making their superiority count was compounded when Legia broke to take the lead. Boyle handled when charging down a shot from Langil and Nikolic scored from the penalty spot. A single goal margin seemed okay until Prijovic climbed from the bench to clip a beautiful finish over the head of keeper Gary Rogers in the dying seconds.