Ground: Oriel Park (4,500 capacity)
Location: Dundalk, Republic of Ireland Ticket price: €15 (for ground) €20 for stand
Oriel Park is 8-10 minutes away from the train station and is a straight walk if you turn left at the gates.
I was spending the weekend in Belfast and having visited the Bet McLean Oval the day prior, I was furiously scouring the fixture list to see who I could watch on the Sunday. I couldn't see anything looking at the Danske Bank Premiership fixture list but how about the Airtricity League, the Republic of Ireland's top division? Unlike their Northern Irish counterparts, the ROI run a summer league which begins in February and concludes in November. There was only one team in action that Sunday. Derry City, a team based in Northern Ireland but play in the Airtricity League, were playing the Lilywhites, situated in County Lough. "Dundalk," I thought, debating for a nanosecond whether I should make the trip down the Irish border, "Perfect."
Dundalk is a 90 minute train journey from Belfast Lanyon Place, which was a rough 20 minute walk from my hotel. Situated close to the Irish border, the Lilywhites have had bouts of success in the last few years, winning multiple league titles and qualifying for the Europa League, beating KI Klasvik 3-1 to repeat the same feat they achieved under Stephen Kenny in 2016. A bout of turbulence under American ownership saw Italian Giagvanoli take over previously, who didn't hold the necessary licences to coach in the Europa League and whose only experience as a head coach was coaching in summer camps in New York. Today they are owned by a local businessman and were coming into the game suffering three straight losses. Derry were suffering a similar bout of form, having lost their last two games. If I were a betting man, I would have put my money on the team from Londonderry to come out the victors.
Having arrived around 12:10 I had time to kill before the gates opened at 13:30. The town of Dundalk is a pretty little place; a quaint ambience painted with multicoloured buildings and a whiff of the Irish hospitality. As a lover of cathedrals, St. Michael's boasted impressive architecture, standing tall and proud, playing watchman over the town centre. As I approached the church, a man on a bicycle almost singed my skin, such was the laser-eyed glare emitting from his pupils. The man's gaze was fixated upon myself as I gazed at the architecture with, I would suspect, thoughts of incorrigibility about myself racing through his mind. As he tied his bicycle slowly with his neck twisted like that of a bald eagle, I wandered around the sides of the church as he slowly sauntered inside. It was approaching 13:30 at this point so I left. I suspect he'll have been overjoyed to find out that I didn't nick his bike.
Oriel Park itself is a pretty little ground and their staff were happy to help out. It's hard to imagine that this same ground once played host to Arsenal in the Europa League, but isn't that the beauty of football?
The programme paid tribute to a famous day; Easter Monday 1988, where Dundalk were 2 down in this very same fixture before winning the match with 15 minutes remaining. As Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl concluded (I'd heard this song twice in two different locations, they sure do love him around here), the announcer was overjoyed to announce that goalkeeper Nathan Sheppard had handpicked the next 5 tracks. The crowd stood in silence in sheer anticipation. Immediately, two songs from FIFA 13 blared out over the tannoy. I wonder what his favourite football game is?
The first half was a gritty affair, with neither team really grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck. Derry City's Diallo struck the crossbar with a fierce effort in the opening few minutes with what was the most exciting part of the first 40 minutes. The game looked to be heading into half-time all square until Ben Doherty received the ball from the edge of the area, with the Dundalk defence backing off the Derry City man. This gave Doherty ample time to find the finish, which he did by placing the ball into Sheppard's far post. 1-0 Derry lead, and McEneff was so excited to see his teammate score, he threw up last night's lunch all over the pitch. The former Arsenal trainee was then promptly whisked off in favour of Will Patching.
Manager O'Donnell made some attacking changes at half time, bringing on Patrick Hoban and Rayhaan Tulloch. It was Tulloch in particular who impressed me with his eagerness to get on the ball and drive at defenders. A free kick was awarded in the 70th minute and me, along with the crowd, were not expecting much given the state of the game. The ball was whipped in and, wow, some actual quality. Robbie Benson clearly thought so too as he got the much needed touch to glance the header into the far corner. 1-1 and whilst Dundalk perhaps didn't do enough to get back in the game, all you need in football is that one opportunity to find your way back into a match. Derry City marched back to the penalty area, ball in tow as they kicked off. The ball was passed around and passed to Diallo who tried to find his defender, but the pass was extremely lazy and ill-timed and it was the Finn Yli-Kokko bearing down on goal. Surely he couldn't slip the ball under the keeper's legs to make it 2-1 in the space of 60 seconds could he?
Well, what do I know?
From a game that was burning cinders to one of blazing passion emitted from the Dundalk faithful, the announcer made reference to that famous game back on Easter Monday, 1988. Surely 35 years later we weren't seeing a similar turn of events?
Just minutes later, Dundalk were on the attack again, bearing down on goal when the Lilywhites player was clearly fouled within the penalty area. 3-1? No, play on, insisted referee Robert Hennessey, who was told to "feck off" from various corners of the ground. Derry City, seeing this, decided that they needed to step it up a notch and won a free kick themselves. Surely not? The ball played in, another great delivery, it meets the head of Cian Kavanagh who loops the header over Sheppard and... GOAL! 2-2, game on. From such a dull affair in the first half to being one of the best games featured on this page thus far, it really brings to light the unpredictable nature of the sport. With 22 players exhausted due to the energy and effort they had put in for the cause, defender Wasiri Williams had clearly had enough, making a horror tackle in the 87th minute to earn an early bath. However, Dundalk were able to hold on to earn themselves a credible draw.
Following on from a fantastic game in Northern Ireland I left, thinking that I must have been rubbed by the luck of the Irish, patted by the four leaf clover.
Had the stars aligned, or were there more astral weeks to come?
Dundalk 2-2 Derry City 16/04/23
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