There was no hiding the disappointment on Stephen O’Donnell’s face after the Dundalk head coach watched this side slip to a 1-0 defeat against Cork City at Turner’a Cross on Easter Monday.
Dundalk’s first trip to Leeside since 2020 turned out to be a miserable one as Cian Murphy’s 38th-minute strike condemned the Lilywhites to their third straight league defeat – and their fourth in all competitions.
And speaking afterwards, O’Donnell admitted that Dundalk were poor at both ends of the pitch.
On the concession of the goal…
“It’s a very disappointing result. The conditions were horrendous to play against, especially in the first half. We were defending a gale-force wind and the frustrating thing is the way we gave up the goal. We knew the conditions would make it tricky with set pieces and they’d get bodies into the box from set pieces and long throws so the way we gave up the goal was very frustrating. It was two sides of the pitch on different pages.”
On Dundalk’s attacking play…
“I felt if we got in on level terms at halftime, the game would’ve gone the way it did go in the second half where we played from the halfway lineup and dominated but we didn’t create enough opportunities and we didn’t work the keeper enough. We haven’t been working goalkeepers and creating enough and that’s disappointing and something we need to look at as a coaching staff.”
On the reasons for that…
“I think ultimately it comes down to just basics, getting bodies into the box, delivering the box, getting shots away and really being relentless with that side of it. It’s something we have been working on and we’ll continue to work on because at the minute we’re not doing enough to test the opposition’s goalkeepers. I was happy with our efforts but from a quality aspect in the final third, we probably let them off a little bit lightly. We had a couple of good chances and dominated possession but we didn’t create enough.”
On the players’ confidence…
“We’re a little bit tentative and a little bit apprehensive at the minute. There’s a little bit of doubt, which you’re going to get in regard to it being a new group of players and being on a losing none. I think that’s definitely a factor, but it’s up to us to eradicate that and you do that by working hard, getting your confidence, and really taking that step forward. We are facing a little bit of adversity now and we have to step into it and be the catalyst and change it.”
On the injury to Daniel Kelly…
“He hurt his hamstring again, so it’s very disappointing for him and obviously for us as a group. He is an important player for us and gives us creativity and pace. He hasn’t really had any sort of game time since last August. I know what it’s like when you just can’t seem to get any type of run of games going so I know how he feels. We had Patrick Hoban back today and we lost Dicky so it feels like it’s sort of one in, one out at the minute but it’s up to us now to come up with the best solutions for the bodies we have available.”
On putting it right…
“I feel that your real highs and your real lows are when you’re most alive. For us now, it’s about how are we going to turn this around before the Derry City game on Sunday. Give me that any day of the week rather than sitting at home wishing your life away. We have to be at it. When you’re in a bit of adversity, this is when people see what you are made of.”
On the Derry City game…
“The fact that it was moved and we have a six-day run-in probably suits us. It’s a long trip down here, so we’ll see how the bodies are, recover and see if we can get any new additions back during the week.”
