Dundalk v Derry City | League Round 26 | Fri 5 August 2022 ko 19.45

[Towelie]

We deserved something from that and I'm glad we got it, they were subpar at best and the defending for the first goal would worry me, along with the one on one chance that Shepperd was excellent for. Hoban is one in a million.

Gutted for O'Kane, he deserved that goal.

[Johnnybegood33]

Goal of the season from Pat , Dundalk showed desire & professionalism right to the end & thoroughly deserved a result , bring on Rovers . More excellent rotating of squad by Stevie 👍

[White Horse]

What a goal from hoban. Where was connolly for that cross ;)

As good as the cross and header was, the defending from Connolly was shocking. He must have been thinking about what he would spend his thirty pieces of silver on.

Terrific performance from Dundalk, no putting down heads after losing a sloppy goal and two of the better performers to injury.

[Martin Lawlor80]

What a goal from hoban. Where was connolly for that cross ;)

As good as the cross and header was, the defending from Connolly was shocking. He must have been thinking about what he would spend his thirty pieces of silver on.

Terrific performance from Dundalk, no putting down heads after losing a sloppy goal and two of the better performers to injury.

Watch it again .

Connolly looks at Hoban and thinks he’s got him and then bang, the balls in the back of the net!! Connolly jumps up and down and then puts his head in his hands .
I didn’t see any other striker do that to him for 6 months

[Louth4sam]

That really felt like a win. We were excellent in the second half and deserved to win that game never mind draw. Hoban was excellent but if he's playing that deep we need someone else in the box. Great ball in and great header for the biggest cheer I've heard in Oriel since we're back from Covid

Derry were a disgrace though, time wasting from half way through the first half and sitting back defending in the second. I don't think they are going anywhere under Higgins no matter what money they are throwing at players.

[niall_hearty2000]

Derry seem limited, but maybe they went into a shell with the early goal. They are very very good at pressing and closing us down, but their main objective seemed to be route one ball at speed between bone and Boyle. They targeted our lack of pace there. Moment of stupidity from Greg for the goal. Bradley was outstanding the entire match, hoban worked tirelessly and never gave up. O'kane played well when he came on. Fully deserved the draw. Poor attendance when we can only muster 2860 for a 2nd v 3rd clash. How did Hennessy only justify 5 mins when four mins were for subs? So only one min for all the time wasting at every opportunity from the Derry keeper? What happened after the game in the away end? Derry fighting amongst themselves or with Gardai? They got some buck when the riot squad arrived out of nowhere with batons.

[White Horse]

Fair play to the Gardai for getting the Derry rabble under control at end of the game. It looked nasty when they tried to invade the pitch, but the robust response of the Gardai was necessary to prevent further violence.

[Louth4sam]

Fair play to the Gardai for getting the Derry rabble under control at end of the game. It looked nasty when they tried to invade the pitch, but the robust response of the Gardai was necessary to prevent further violence.

When walking up to the ground I was thinking there was a lot of guards for a game that there is never trouble at. I wonder was there something prearranged and the guards got wind of it. They seemed well prepared

[Dillonman]

Connollys marking was shocking at the end. Huge gap and space he gave hoban. Take nothing aeay from it. Bradleys cross was brilliant but hobans header was not being saved by any keeper. Delighted to get that draw in the end. You could see how deflated and sick the money men in derry were at full time. Delighted for connolly as he was failry in the refs ear most of the game and clapping at every opportunity to their fans and when a free was called on us. Has already forgotten his 6 months with us

On the performance. We were very poor in the first half. Derry tried and did expose a lack of pace in our defense but just sat back and time wasted from the 12th minute so good enough for them. Different game if okane or bone score those chances either side of half time. Very impressed with Lewis when he came on. Could find a pass and space and looked very composed.

Our thin squad is further depleted wih those two first half injurieses to doyle and kelly.

[oldfogey]

Connollys marking was shocking at the end. Huge gap and space he gave hoban. Take nothing aeay from it. Bradleys cross was brilliant but hobans header was not being saved by any keeper. Delighted to get that draw in the end. You could see how deflated and sick the money men in derry were at full time. Delighted for connolly as he was failry in the refs ear most of the game and clapping at every opportunity to their fans and when a free was called on us. Has already forgotten his 6 months with us

On the performance. We were very poor in the first half. Derry tried and did expose a lack of pace in our defense but just sat back and time wasted from the 12th minute so good enough for them. Different game if okane or bone score those chances either side of half time. Very impressed with Lewis when he came on. Could find a pass and space and looked very composed.

Our thin squad is further depleted wih those two first half injurieses to doyle and kelly.

Imagine how thin it would be if we had splashed all our money on Connolly and not signed 3 instead.

[Richie87]

Bradley showed bits of real quality. A surprise he is loaned for the full season with Dundalk . He'd be capably of playing SPL with Hibernian now.

[Wexford White]

Bradley MOTM for me.
That was a well deserved and engineered draw with no sign of panic even so late in the game. (Well, I was panicking, but I don't count).

[Pepsi]

What can I say ..... at the end of the first 20 -30 minutes, I was sure this place would be busy this morning. Sure, didn’t we allow them to get Connolly …… then in extra time up pops Pat.
All in all, in the second half we played very well. Young O´Kane once again a standout performer, offered Cameron more problems than Kelly did. Lewis offered something different, however as the second half went on you could see match fitness is missing, which was to be expected, will be one for next season (replacing who is the question?). Worrying thing for me is our defence, have been saying it since last season, Boyle looks as if he could do with a break, he seems to have lost any pace he had, and the opposition know it.
Sheppard solid once again, certainly kept us in it, sorry to see two injuries which looked very similar. As a Derry fan I would be worried, with the players they have, they should have punished us in the first half and put the game to bed. Overall, a draw was the fair result …. We had a shit first half, they a shit second.

[White Horse]

The first half was interrupted by injuries and enforced substitutions. It was hard to get a rhythm going. However, the important thing was we showed composure and had the belief that a goal would come. We pushed on in the second half and had Derry pinned back for most of it.

Derry were very limited in their ambition, just punting it over the top. It was sad to see the decline in Fats, one of the best players ever to play for Dundalk. His heart doesn't seem in it. Higgins will be expected to win things with the money they are spending. Based on what I saw last night, it won't be any time soon.

[Towelie]

One last point from last night, Alfie Lewis was very good considering he's still in pre-season mode and thrown in at the deep end. Really excited to see how he fits into the team going forward.