Dundalk manager Ciarán Kilduff knows “there are other gears in us” after he led the Lilywhites to an opening-day 1-0 win over his former club Athlone Town in the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division at Oriel Park on Valentine’s Night.
Video: Interview by Adrian Taaffe, filming by Chris Clarke.
Vinnie Leonard’s 36th-minute header saw Dundalk get off to the perfect start in what they hope will be a strong title challenge this season, but it really should have been a much more comfortable end to the game.
Eoin Kenny, Leo Gaxha and captain Daryl Horgan all had chances to add a second goal but their failure to do so saw the home side hanging on at the end, with a solid defensive display seeing them over the line for a well-deserved three points.
Kilduff was understandably delighted to start with a win but disappointed that his side left Athlone “alive” in the game, leading to a nervy finish for the majority of a bumper crowd.
“There was a lot of emotion on the night at the start of the game, we saw the big crowd, it was a great atmosphere, and I think we started quite well. Vinnie Leonard gets us the goal, gets us in front from a set-piece,” Kilduff told Dundalk FC TV.
“We had five or six corners before it where we didn’t look threatening and then we scored from one. We settled a little bit then. I thought second half, we needed to kill the game. We had four or five gilt-edged chances.
“It’s so early in the season, that’ll hopefully come. You leave them alive in the game and then you’re hanging on for 15 minutes because the game is not over.
“As a whole, we’re delighted. The objective was to start our season with three points and we did that. I’m delighted with the lads. There are a lot of positives and stuff to improve on.”
14 February 2025; Vinnie Leonard of Dundalk celebrates scoring his side’s first goal during the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division match between Dundalk and Athlone Town at Oriel Park in Dundalk, Louth. Photo by Gerry Scully/Dundalk FC.
On Vinnie Leonard…
“We’re all so proud of him. I said to him ‘it doesn’t get any better than this’. He was away with Ireland during the week, he only flew home Wednesday, we put him straight back in tonight and he obviously pops up with the winner.
“The winner of the Malone Cup was a set-piece as well. It’s fine margins at this level. It’s something we’ve worked on. I thought we defended our box quite well at the end as well. They were obviously committing bodies forward.
“We’re a little bit disappointed we didn’t kill the game off. But in weeks to come, hopefully we’ll get that right.”
On new-look teams finding rhythm…
“It’s going to take a round for everyone in this division. You see all the changes to all the teams around the league. We’re no exception. Even our subs coming on tonight, Mo (Muhammad) Haris, these are young lads trying to start their careers, Andy Paraschiv is only 17.
“We’re trying to blend it as quickly as we can, but so are Athlone. I suppose it’s a matter of who can blend it the best.
“But we’re a little bit disappointed, because to be 1-0 up after 70 minutes and after the chances we created in the first 15-20 minutes of the second half, you’re thinking we could have killed the game, but we didn’t and it ended up being a little bit nervy at the end. That’s probably the only disappointing thing.”
14 February 2025; Dundalk manager Ciarán Kilduff in conversation with fourth official Gavin Colfer during the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division match between Dundalk and Athlone Town at Oriel Park in Dundalk, Louth. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile.
On his first league game in charge…
“It was amazing. When you took the job, you envisioned nights like tonight where you’re winning a game in front of a huge crowd. We’re trying to get things right again. There are so many positives around the club right now.
“It hasn’t been like that since I first came. There has been a big journey even to get here tonight, for us all. Building a team, keeping players, stuff in the background, getting a licence, all of this stuff.
“There was an overriding emotional feeling at the start of the game, but it’s another game of football. I hope the crowd can be proud of what we played tonight. I know there are other gears in us.
“I think all the supporters wanted was Dundalk jerseys to be on the pitch in the first league game this season and they got that tonight, and we got three points as well. We’ll dust off, we’ll watch the game back and we’ll go again next week because we’re up and running now and many more games to go.”
