Ryan O’Kane fully believes that Dundalk can pull themselves out of their current predicament and avoid the drop.
The Lilywhites go into Thursday night’s game with St Patrick’s Athletic at Oriel Park rooted to the bottom of the table but a win over Stephen Kenny’s side would see them move two points ahead of Drogheda United in the relegation playoff spot with just seven games to play.
O’Kane came off the bench in last Friday night’s 1-0 defeat against Shelbourne and saw a tidy effort come back off the post in the latter stages.
In the end, Aiden O’Brien’s fourth-minute strike won the game for Shels but O’Kane said that Dundalk showed enough spirit in that game, and the 1-1 draw with Derry City at the Brandywell in their previous outing, to remain hopeful.
“I think there have been a lot of positives in the last two games,” he said. “Going to Derry is probably the hardest place to go in the league but the way we played for the first 60 to 70 minutes, I thought we deserved to come away with the three points.
“Bar their goal, they didn’t really have many opportunities. I know they had a spell at the end but I thought we controlled them well and that we deserved more.
“Then the other night against Shels, we were very good bar the first four minutes. The second half was much improved and I thought we were very good and deserved something. We just can’t be giving away goals that easy at the start of games and then trying to claw it back.
Ryan O’Kane gets ready to come on against Shelbourne at Oriel Park. Photo: Gerry Scully
“I thought I had a good impact when I came on and I was very unlucky with the chance. There were a few other good things though and I think on another day we could have scored two or three there towards the end.”
Dundalk got the better of Pat’s in the last encounter between the sides at Richmond Park back in June, a game that O’Kane scored in, and the 21-year-old said that they needed to produce a similar display at Oriel Park on Thursday night.
“We have shown so many times this year that there is a massive quality in the dressing room and the squad. I just think it’s about finding that balance of bringing it into every game and not finishing games saying we could have done this or could have done that.
“It’s about setting it in stone that going into every game we’re going to bring that quality. We probably need that bit of luck as well just to get one and then the game changes. It’s fine margins.
“We did well against Pat’s the last time in Richmond but it’s going to be a different game on Thursday. Stephen Kenny has been there a while now and they’ve had a good run in Europe so they’re going to be more than eager for it and we’ll have to bring our best game to get anything from it.
“This is our game in hand on Drogheda and we want to bring that edge and hopefully we’ll come away with the three points to put us in a nice position going into the last seven games.”
