Dundalk must beat double-chasing Derry City at Oriel Park and hope for a favour from Shamrock Rovers 21 miles down the road, or their rollercoaster 16-season stay in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division will come to a crashing end on Friday night.
For those that can’t attend Oriel or Season Ticket holders who would like to help the club further, a “C’mon The Town Supporters” virtual-type ticket has been added as an option online.
The 14-time League Champions, twice Europa League group-stage participants in the past eight years, are rooted to the bottom of the table and staring down the barrel of a gun, trailing ninth-placed Drogheda United by eight points with just three games remaining.
Dundalk need a miracle, but their last promotion to the top flight in 2008 came when it seemed all hope was lost in the final seconds of the season, and the vibe from the camp all week has been never say never, as they look to keep the fight alive going into the final two games.
Match Poster: Design by Lincoln Smyth, photo by Gerry Scully.
However, Jon Daly’s men will have to turn their form on its head to stage the greatest of great escapes. The Lilywhites have won just one in 13 in all competitions since the midseason break and are now without a victory in ten since beating Drogheda 4-2 at Oriel Park on 12th July.
That was an evening when a fresh Dundalk, led by the classy Jad Hakiki on his home debut, shot five points clear of Drogheda at the bottom of the table with their third win in six games. But their subsequent slump coupled with the Boynesiders’ recent revival has left Ireland’s most successful provincial club facing almost certain relegation.
Dundalk can take confidence, though, from their performance in their last outing, against Galway United at Eamonn Deacy Park before the international break. The Lilywhites were the better team in the first half against the title-chasing Tribesmen but still found themselves behind at half-time after Patrick Hickey’s header.
Dundalk kept going to the end and grabbed a deserved point in the 96th minute through Eoin Kenny’s header from Ryan O’Kane’s cross, a moment which ensured that they did not fall to a sixth straight defeat, and that young duo could be important again here if they are to overcome Derry.
That was the sixth game running where Dundalk scored on the road, earning draws in three of those, including in Derry back in August when club captain John Mountney’s first-half header was eventually cancelled out after the hour mark by Danny Mullen.
Having lost 4-1 at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium earlier in the season, Dundalk have put it up to Derry in the two meetings since and arguably could have won both, with the last clash at Oriel on the last day of May seeing Brian Maher produce heroics to deny Jamie Gullan a 75th-minute lead as the game ended goalless.
FAI Cup finalists Derry make the trip to Dundalk on the back of just one win in their last nine league games, that victory coming through a lucky goal in Waterford in August, with three draws and two defeats in their five outings since. Both losses came on the road, in Galway and Drogheda.
Ruaidhrí Higgins’ side sit second in the table on 52 points, two behind leaders Shelbourne and level with reigning champions Shamrock Rovers but with a superior goal difference, with every team in the division now having three games left to play.
The Candystripes failed to take advantage of their position last weekend when they faced back-to-back home games against Bohs and Sligo Rovers on Friday and Monday, coming out with just two points having trailed at the break in both games, missing the chance to go into pole position in the title race.
Derry could jump to the top of the league with a win on Friday but they would need Waterford to at least hold Shels to a draw at Tolka Park for that to happen, with that fixture in the capital being televised live on Virgin Media, whose cameras will be in Oriel on Sunday week.
In a tightly-contested league, there are just six points separating the top six with an exciting conclusion in store, but Dundalk will be hoping that the most drama on the final day on 1st November will be reserved for Weavers Park.
If Dundalk draw or lose on Friday, they will be relegated to the First Division for the third time in the club’s history, after April 1999 (v UCD in Oriel) and March 2002 (v Monaghan United in Gortakeegan). Even if they win, they will still go down if Drogheda beat Shamrock Rovers on Boyneside.
A win for Dundalk and a draw for Drogheda would leave it still mathematically possible for Daly’s side to avoid the drop, although it would be unlikely, not impossible, given the advantage that Kevin Doherty’s team hold in the goal difference column, thanks largely to that 7-0 whipping of Sligo.
Audio Descriptive Commentary is available on Friday night; if you would like to avail of it, you can pick up the earpiece at the main entrance to the Stand.
We have been building up to Friday’s game all week and you can find out all you need to know by following the below links:
Team News: Friday’s team news
Manager’s Office: Jon Daly interview (includes audio)
Captain’s Call: John Mountney interview (includes audio)
Hometown Talk: Ryan O’Kane interview
Minute’s Applause for Maxi: More info
Match Sponsor: Thanks to German Salami Company
Match Ball Sponsor: Thanks to Johnny Quigley Oils
Not Around Us Campaign: More info
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Gavin Colfer
Assistants: Chris Campbell and Brian Fenlon
Fourth Official: Mark Houlihan
If you can’t make it to Oriel, you can watch the match live on LOITV. A match pass costs €7.
