Zak Bradshaw says Dundalk’s support is the 12th man that the team needs to lift themselves off the bottom of the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division table, ahead of league leaders Shelbourne’s visit to Oriel Park on Friday night.
The Lilywhites are building something of a fortress having gone four games and 400 minutes without conceding a goal at home, with Bradshaw particularly key to the last two of those having been deployed at left-back.
After three consecutive scoreless draws at Oriel, Scott High and Robbie Benson ended Dundalk’s six-month drought and search for a home league goal as they claimed their first win of the season at the 12th attempt, overcoming in-form Bohemians 2-0.
While ninth-placed Drogheda United beat seventh-placed Sligo Rovers, leaving Dundalk still three points adrift at the foot of the standings, Noel King’s men moved to within five points of safety as eighth-placed Waterford lost. Soon, it could become a close quartet, with upcoming crucial Friday/Monday fixtures.
15 March 2024; Zak Bradshaw of Dundalk during the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division match between Dundalk and Waterford at Oriel Park in Dundalk, Louth. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Ahead of back-to-back road trips to Weavers Park and the RSC, Dundalk will hope to make the most of their home clash with Shels, and Bradshaw says a vocal backing will be vital to their hopes of toppling the table toppers.
“During the game, you could hear them cheering us on. They are the 12th man behind us and we honestly need them,” Zak told dundalkfc.com as he reflected on the victory over Bohs. “We need everyone, even the players on the bench and the ones not in the squad. We need everyone in this little tough patch that we’re on.”
On their newfound defensive strength, the 20-year-old Englishman added: “Four clean-sheets in a row at home, if you look at where we are, you wouldn’t think that. It just shows how we’ve got that solid backline. Especially what George (Shelvey) did on Friday (penalty save), it was a massive moment in the game.
“I quite like playing left-back. I get to use my physical attributes there a little bit, and then can be on the cover as well. On Friday, we went into a back three, a back five, and I quite like the left side of a three. I am enjoying it at left-back. I don’t mind anywhere – I just like being on the pitch.”
12 April 2024; Dundalk players Zak Bradshaw, left, and Mayowa Animasahun after the drawn SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division match between Dundalk and St Patrick’s Athletic at Oriel Park in Dundalk, Louth. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Bradshaw arrived at Oriel Park in February on loan from Lincoln City, who he spent just two days training with before the move to Ireland having just joined The Imps from Ipswich Town.
His parent club is captained by former Limerick FC centre-half Paudie O’Connor and they narrowly missed out on the League One promotion playoffs on Saturday after ex-Bohs and Shamrock Rovers attacker Danny Mandroiu missed a final-day penalty against champions Portsmouth.
For Bradshaw – who progressed through the Academy at Ipswich before loan spells at Bury Town, Chelmsford City, Braintree, Bromley and Woking – it was a happier weekend on his latest loan adventure. And the versatile youngster, who is tied to Lincoln until 2026, says he had got good vibrations going into the Bohemians game.
“We could just tell, with the buzz around the place, the buzz at training, obviously the new manager coming in setting his standards,” Zak said. “It has been coming for weeks. The atmosphere around the training ground has just been building and building.
8 March 2024; Dundalk players, from left, Hayden Muller, Louie Annesley, Andy Boyle and Zak Bradshaw form a wall to defend a free kick taken by Brandon Kavanagh of St Patrick’s Athletic during the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division match between St Patrick’s Athletic and Dundalk at Richmond Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
“Garts’ (Brian Gartland) message just as we came out of the tunnel was to start so positively, start early, kill these off, because in the last game against Sligo away, we didn’t really start as well. It was quite important for us to start really well.
“Even the games we’ve lost, to the teams that are pushing for Europe and that, we’ve matched them and sometimes even been better than them.
“We know our quality and we know we just need those little lucky moments and excellent goals to fall in like they did against Bohemians.”
