Jon Daly is hoping that football is the main topic of conversation when Friday night’s Sports Direct Men’s FAI Cup second-round tie with Drogheda United comes to an end.
Last week’s Louth Derby at Oriel Park was marred by ugly scenes at the final whistle but Daly has no doubts that Dundalk fans will get behind his team in the ‘right manner’ at Weaver’s Park.
“The scenes at the end of last week’s game are not what you want to see,” said the Lilywhites manager. “I understand that in the heat of the moment and the heat of emotion, you can make rash decisions.
“I’m sure the people that ran on the pitch are feeling it now and they’re probably thinking what have they done and probably feel embarrassed by it. Everyone makes mistakes, so I think we need to try and draw a line through it and move on and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
“It’s important that our fans get behind the team in the right manner and the right way and the team will get behind that support and give everything they can to try and get us through to the next round of the cup and give us something to look forward to outside of the league.”
Dundalk moved five points clear of the Drogs after last week’s league win but Daly, who won the Scottish Cup with Dundee United as a player in 2010, and led St Patrick’s Athletic to the FAI Cup last season, believes that the 4-2 victory will have no bearing on Friday night’s tie.
12 November 2023; Jon Daly with the FAI Cup after the Sports Direct FAI Cup Final between Bohemians and St Patrick’s Athletic at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
“I don’t think it does,” he said. “We’ll take confidence in the fact that we beat them but I think it gives them a little extra edge that they’ll want to go and get one back over us.
“It’s away from home. We were in Oriel last week and we had the fans right behind us so we’ll be outnumbered fans-wise and we must manage that.
“We’ve got a lot of new players that are going to Weaver’s Park for the first time so it’ll be an experience for them in the sense of how tight the ground is, how vocal their fans can be and the atmosphere. It’s a new challenge for them but one that we’re looking forward to.”
The Louth Derby tie is one of three all-Premier Division games in round two and although league survival is Daly’s ultimate goal, he said Dundalk would not be overlooking the possibility of winning a 13th FAI Cup, which would open the door for European football in 2025.
“Straight away, there’s going to be 30 per cent of the top division clubs eliminated in the round that we come in so it does open it up if we can navigate through this one,” he said.
“Everyone’s kind of talking about the top four, but it’s only the top three that gets you Europe,” he added. “The other spot for Europe goes to the cup winner so it’s a chance for everybody to go and try and get a European spot by winning a trophy.
“For us, it’s very much about the league and it is then trying to get a cup run together that we can go and give ourselves the best possible opportunity to go and get as far as we can.”
