Bottom-of-the-table Dundalk must stage the greatest of great escapes to avoid the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division relegation trapdoor, starting with a must-win battle against title-chasing Galway United at Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday night (7.45pm).
Jon Daly’s men are eight points adrift of County Louth rivals Drogheda United – who are in FAI Cup semi-final action this weekend – with just four games remaining, where they have to face Galway, Derry City and Shamrock Rovers before their final-day trip to Boyneside.
The wheels have come off the Lilywhites in recent weeks with five straight defeats, although last week’s 2-0 loss to Bohemians at Oriel Park was their first loss by more than a goal since they last met Galway, also in the Wee County back in early August.
Daly’s first match in charge of the club was at Galway in May, where he stepped into the dugout less than four hours after meeting the players, and life under the new manager started brightly for Dundalk who recorded three wins in a six-game spell either side of the midseason break.
However, since beating Drogheda 4-2 at Oriel Park on July 12th, they are winless in their last nine games in all competitions, including exiting the Cup to their local rivals. In their last eight league outings, they have picked up just two points, both away from home, the last coming in Derry on August 9th.
Dundalk are likely to need to win all four of their remaining fixtures and even that may not be enough to catch in-form Drogheda in the playoff position. If the Lilywhites fail to win in Galway and Drogheda claim victory in Waterford next Friday, they will be relegated from the top flight during the international break.
Dundalk have not played First Division football since 2008 and were last relegated on the final day of the 2001/02 season when a March win at Monaghan United was not enough to prevent them from automatic demotion, which Galway also suffered that campaign.
In October 2017, Galway were relegated after losing 4-3 to second-placed Dundalk at Eamonn Deacy Park. However, now, the clubs have traded places, with the Louth side almost certainly down barring a miracle while John Caulfield’s players have suddenly come into the title picture.
Galway are just five points behind out-of-form league leaders Shelbourne – whose only win in their last nine was at Oriel Park – and the Tribesmen will move into second place if they bag three points on Friday, with the table-toppers not in action until Sunday.
In a tightly-packed top six, Galway’s main objective will be to secure European football, which may require a top-three finish, but they could yet be crowned league champions for the first time, with Saint Patrick’s Athletic (A), Sligo Rovers (H) and Bohemians (A) still to come.
Caulfield’s side have been in good form since winning in Dundalk on August 2nd, which was a dominant display as they won 2-0 thanks to a second-half double from Stephen Walsh. Since then, they have been beaten just once in seven outings, unluckily at home to Shamrock Rovers, with that their only loss at Eamonn Deacy Park since April.
In their last home outing a fortnight ago, they downed Shels 1-0 through Jimmy Keohane’s early goal, and last week – four days after a good draw in Drogheda – they came from behind at the break in Waterford to win 2-1 thanks to Walsh and Killian Brouder, to confirm their place in the title race.
Galway will be confident going into this fixture having beaten Dundalk 2-0 in each of the three meetings so far this season, while last year, they brushed aside the Lilywhites 4-0 in the FAI Cup quarter-finals.
Dundalk, on the other hand, must somehow find just their second away win of the year to guarantee that their home clash with Derry in two weeks is a meaningful one for them, and they can take some heart from the fact that they have scored in their last five games on the road.
