A DAY of mixed emotions around Dundalk concluded with another dramatic plot twist.

An evening that started with scenes of anger and frustration outside Oriel Park was followed by the Lilywhites’ best moment on the pitch in 2021, a feather in the cap of sporting director turned interim manager Jim Magilton.

The organisers of the pre-match protest made it clear via megaphone that they had no intention of disrupting the game.

When the Shamrock Rovers bus approached the ground, fans were told to behave and cause no issues with a few stray fireworks about as unruly as it got.
Indeed, there was a local debate about the merits of going through with a show of discontent.

In the end, around 100 to 150 fans showed up to make the point that they want their club back, frustrated by the decision making of chairman Bill Hulsizer and the club’s American ownership.

It’s safe to say they weren’t expecting the game that followed to end with a local celebration for an expensively-assembled squad that remains in the bottom half of the table.

There’s too much going on behind the scenes to declare this result as any kind of turning point. Deep uncertainty hangs over the road from here under a number of headings.

But it perhaps provided a reminder that this Dundalk group has players in their ranks who know how to win but have lost that habit for whatever reason.

In a strange way, it’s fitting that they would end Rovers’ record-breaking unbeaten league run of 33 matches which dates back to September 2019 and the night Dundalk were last crowned champions. It doesn’t quite represent things turning full circle. All the noise was inside the ground on that evening.

Some of the supporters did hang around to try and have their voice heard during the game but security managed to shut them out of the equation eventually.

On the pitch, the two teams found it harder to lock the gates in the early moments with the deadlock broken and then the lead cancelled out in the space of two minutes.

Clever

It was Dundalk who took the lead, with shades of December’s FAI Cup final win over the Hoops as a clever counter-attack found out the Hoops.

Magilton opted to include Daniel Kelly as a central striker supporting David McMillan in a front two and Kelly played a big role after a visiting set-piece broke down, with his speed and awareness creating the chance for Patrick McEleney to break with the Derryman – selected on the right – showing admirable composure to hold off the backtracking Roberto Lopes and convert.

Dundalk’s joy was short-lived, with familiar failings between the sticks haunting them as Albanian ’keeper Alessio Abibi lost concentration as he tried to deal with a scuffed Liam Scales shot and his fumble allowed the veteran Joey O’Brien to level things after he evaded the attentions of Chris Shields, restored to the side in an unfamiliar centre-half role due to a Dundalk injury crisis in that department.

It was an entertaining enough fare with Rovers quite open at times even though they had more of the ball. Alan Mannus produced a big stop before the break to deny Michael Duffy after a deft McEleney chip caught former Lilywhite Sean Gannon out.

But Rovers did up things a level after the restart and the woodwork denied them twice in a spell of dominance with the fit-again Aaron Greene chipping Abibi and then watching in frustration as the ball bounced onto the crossbar before a trademark Graham Burke strike with his left foot smashed against the post.

Rovers paid for those misses with Dundalk striking from their first significant attack of the half. McEleney drove at the heart of the defence and Kelly spun right to collect his pass and fire a screamer that appeared to catch Mannus by surprise. It was some way for Kelly to mark his 25th birthday and first start of the season.

Stephen Bradley’s charges have mastered the art of a quick response this term but that magic touch eluded them here as they initially struggled to create opportunities of a similar quality to what preceded Kelly’s strike.

Dundalk dug in and defended stoutly, and sub Ole Erik Midtskogen squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to put the result beyond doubt.

That miss had the potential to become very significant given the Hoops’ penchant for late drama and the inevitable siege followed with the unmarked Greene heading wide from close range as Dundalk rode their luck.

An injury-time free-kick was followed by another almighty scramble, but the hosts somehow managed to escape and the victory was theirs.

The post-match decision of the PA man to blare out Jimmy’s Winning Matches – the 2012 Donegal ode to Jim McGuinness – provided a suitably surreal conclusion. Magilton’s window for winning games could be extended off the back of this.

Dundalk – Abibi, Dummigan, Boyle, Shields, Jurkovskis; McEleney, Zahibo, Stanton (Sloggett 77), Duffy; Kelly (Midtskogen 74), McMillan.

Shamrock Rovers – Mannus, O’Brien, Lopes, Grace; Gannon, O’Neill, Mandroiu, Scales; Burke (Williams 85); Greene, Gaffney.

Referee – Rob Harvey.