Given the background, the stadium announcer at Oriel Park could have picked a more appropriate song to be played at the exact moment when former manager Vinny Perth walked across the pitch to sit in the dugout after 10 months away, than Two Tribes, the 1980s hit about the Cold War turning into a nuclear war.

That Frankie Goes To Hollywood tune contains the line “a point is all you can score” and that would be apt for the 90 minutes that followed, as the two sides had to settle for a draw, the point doing little for Dundalk and their bid to scramble away from the bottom three.

And yet it could have been even worse for Dundalk who lacked the guile to win, missing a penalty at 1-1, and could easily have lost, as a gutsy Longford, powered by the superb Aodh Dervin in midfield, fully deserved a result.

A full 306 days after he last took charge at Oriel Park, Perth was back, but on and off the field lay evidence of the landmines that await him as he aims to fix a team and club that’s been broken by a year of trauma.

Up in the main stand sat former Dundalk player Dave Rogers, who was offered, and had accepted, the manager’s job last Monday, only to be told hours later that the position was no longer his and Perth was coming back.

In the other stand was Jim Magilton, the club’s sporting director who had been interim manager before Perth’s arrival, a return which Magilton is known to have opposed, despite Perth’s pre-match promise to “park egos”.

And from Donegal came news that midfielder Will Patching, first brought to Dundalk by Perth but loaned as he was seen as sub-standard, scored twice for a Derry City side two places above Dundalk in the table.  

Those issues are in Perth’s to-do pile and on the field there’s huge work to be done too, though Perth put his own stamp on the side by recalling Darragh Leahy from cold storage. Longford, without a win in 14, could have nabbed the points, as Dundalk were saved in the first half by the crossbar and in the second period by a goal-line clearance.

Longford shocked the 100 home fans who were allowed in to see Dundalk for the first time since March when they took the lead after 14 minutes, Paddy Kirk with a superb cross-field pass which was sent home by Aaron McNally, as Dundalk rued missed chances by Dan Kelly and Pat Hoban.

A powerful Chris Shields header, from Michael Duffy’s corner, got Dundalk level on 29 minutes, but they offered little after that. On 56 minutes, Longford almost went in front again, Dylan Grimes getting in a shot on target, which Sam Stanton cleared off the line.

On 74 minutes, Lee Steacy saved Hoban’s penalty while at the other end Dundalk ’keeper Alessio Abibi pulled off a superb save to deny Mick McDonnell, Steacy called on again to save from sub Greg Sloggett late on as Perth had to make do with a point. 

DUNDALK – Abibi; Dummigan (Jurkovskis, 63), Shields, Boyle, Leahy; Stanton (Midstkogen 80); Kelly (Adedokun, 71), McEleney, Murray (Sloggett 63), Duffy; Hoban.

LONGFORD – Steacy; Chambers, O’Driscoll, McDonnell, Kirk; Zambra, Dervin; McNally, Grimes (Davis 76), Byrne (Robinson 87); R Manley (Dobbs 75).

REF – Rob Hennessy