Dundalk will be aiming to put back-to-back home defeats behind them when they face St Patrick’s Athletic in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division at Richmond Park on Friday evening.
On a shocking night for the club, Dundalk were hammered 5-0 by Sligo Rovers at Oriel Park on Monday, the first time they had conceded that many at home in the top flight in nearly 34 years.
That followed on from a poor display against Galway United ten days earlier, a 2-0 loss, with their opening-day draw at Shamrock Rovers now a distant memory.
Pat’s are also out of form, losing three on the bounce to Bohemians, Derry City and Waterford, having started their season with a 1-0 win in Galway.
The Saints have been on the road for all but one of their four games so far, their only outing at Richmond Park coming a fortnight ago when former Dundalk midfielder Jordan Flores’ late penalty for Bohs was the difference.
Last season, Dundalk won the opening meeting of these teams 5-0 in March but were beaten in both clashes in Dublin, 2-1 in May and 3-1 in September, either side of a 1-1 draw at Oriel Park in June. The defeat in May was particularly disappointing as St Pat’s played most of the second half with just ten men.
Dundalk have not won at Richmond Park since the 2021 season when a Sam Bone own goal and David McMillan strike gave them a 2-0 victory.
Stephen O’Donnell’s side go into this round of fixtures rooted to the bottom of the table, with just one point and a minus-seven goal difference, with St Pat’s two points and places above them in eighth.
28 May 2021; David McMillan fires home Dundalk’s second goal in our last win at Richmond Park. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Team News
John Mountney is back in the squad after playing 90 minutes for the MU20 side last weekend but Mayowa Animasahun, George Shelvey and Jamie Walker will all be assessed before kickoff after picking up knocks in the defeat to Sligo Rovers on Monday night
Quotes – Stephen O’Donnell
“There’s been a quick turnaround from Monday night’s game and we’ve got to get a group of men ready to go and produce on Friday night.
“It’s a big game but they’re all big games in this league. We need to forget about league tables and really hone in ourselves as a group, players and staff and just be a lot cleaner in absolutely everything we do, both sides of the ball.
“There’s no clear identity at the minute, with or without the ball, and we have to become a team that our supporters, at the bare minimum, know what they’re going to get on a Friday night.
“A big result can kickstart our season but the horse comes before the cart. We’ve got to get ourselves right to get the result rather than be banking on a result to get ourselves right. We’ve got to build from within first to help us achieve that result on Friday rather than the other way around.”
Quotes – Andy Boyle
“It’s hard to put into words, to lose in the manner we did on Monday. We know it’s not good enough. To lose 5-0 at home is unacceptable. We’ve reviewed it and we play again on Friday night, which is probably a good thing.
“A few weeks ago, we had a good performance at Shamrock Rovers, so we know it’s within the group. We’ve got to dust ourselves down, as a group we’ve got to stick together and get ourselves ready for the next game.
“I know what I see at training every day, I know what’s within the four walls, but we know that we need to serve up better than we did on Monday. St Pat’s is a good game to go into after that.
“You don’t want nights like Monday to happen in your career but it’s about what you do after and your response. That’s what we’ll be looking for on Friday.”
Match Officials
Referee: Ray Matthews
Assistants: Allen Lynch and Darren Carey
Fourth Official: Alan Patchell
