Kenny Gutted Following Zenit Defeat

It was a classic case of contrasting emotions from the managers following last night’s Europa League encounter at Tallaght Stadium which saw Zenit St. Petersburg come from a goal behind to seal their third consecutive group stage victory.

It had looked mid-way through the second-half as if Dundalk were going to pull off the shock of the competition thus far following Robbie Benson’s 52^nd minute goal which put the Lilywhites in command.

However, two sucker punch goals from Zenit within the space of six minutes swung the tie in the favour of the Russian giants.

Both of the visitor’s goals were avoidable, or at least that is how Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny felt in the aftermath of the 2-1 loss. The first came after a poor clearance by Lilywhites keeper Gabriel Sava, while the second saw Dundalk’s rigid defence lose their shape with Axel Witsel able to waltz through unopposed before passing to Giuliano to slot home.

A dejected Stephen Kenny spoke of his side’s disappointment at losing the game from a winning position: “The margins are very narrow and we’re disappointed to have lost the game.

“We went so close to going 2-0 up, hitting the inside of the post, with Dane Massey’s headed effort.

“To go on and lose the game from that point is unfortunate, we’re just bitterly disappointed to lose the game really.”

Zenit held more than 70% of the possession during a keenly fought opening-half with Witsel and Giuliano prominent. Despite this, Dundalk’s defence stood strong with Brian Gartland and Andy Boyle performing heroics.

In actual fact, Dundalk created the better openings in the game. They could have been 2-0 up inside seven minutes with Benson and Ronan Finn getting in behind Zenit’s back-four.

Kenny reflected on those opportunities and also on the ones that proceeded them in analysing how the game itself played out.

“I thought for the first hour of the game we had the better chances, three or four really good chances. I didn’t feel that Zenit had really any clear-cut opportunities.

“They had large spells of possession and of course they’re a brilliant team but our goal wasn’t under threat and we didn’t look like we were going to concede.

“Obviously it was a bad goal to concede, the first one, and Zenit took full advantage of it in the end.”

Zenit’s Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu expressed his happiness at winning the game despite his complexion not mirroring one of a man content with his team’s performance.

The 71-year-old said that his team had come to Dublin with the intention of taking the three points which, in the end, they did. What he wasn’t expecting though was having to make so many alterations in a bid to do so.

Lucescu told the post-match press conference: “Before the game I imagined that they (Dundalk) would be concentrated on getting a result and they were.

“They didn’t play many long passes though and they were very fast. We had to make quick decisions in the second-half on how to win the game because our priority in the end was to win the game.”

The pair will reconvene their battle in two-weeks’ time when Dundalk travel more than 2,000 km to face Zenit at the Krestovsky Stadium.