Preview: Dundalk vs Kildare County
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Undefeated league leaders Dundalk will increase their advantage at the top of the eircom League of Ireland First Division table to eight points should they defeat bottom-of-the-table Kildare County at Oriel Park on Thursday night (kick-off 7.45pm). The Lilywhites will be in confident mood as they go into the game on the back of three straight wins against Waterford United, Limerick 37, and Athlone Town. Kildare, on the other hand, have yet to taste victory this season despite going close on a couple of occasions, with their latest reversal coming at home to Limerick last weekend.
Despite accumulating just three points to date, however, Dundalk manager John Gill is not taking anything for granted, and has insisted that Kildare’s position in the standings is a false one. “I’ve seen Kildare twice so far, and their three points doesn’t do them justice,” he told dundalkfc.com. “They have to go win games at some stage, and I just said to the boys there, ‘let’s, hopefully, make sure it’s not on Thursday night’. And I said to them, ‘If we go about our work properly, we can have Shelbourne players getting on that bus on Friday going down to Limerick eight points behind,’ and that is pressure. They have got that in their hands, but, first, we’ve got to go out and concentrate on our own game, and make sure that we do our own bit.
“The players have been excellent up to this, and, hopefully, we’ll get more of the same on Thursday. But we’ll not be taking Kildare lightly. John Ryan has a good bunch of young players there, he’s done a great job with limited resources, and it’s up to us now to make sure that we’re on top of our game. They’re a difficult side to play against. I always say, ‘you can turn this league upside down, and it doesn’t make much difference to results, unless you go about your work’. We have got to be as ruthless and as efficient as we have been in the last number of weeks, and I feel if we do that, we’re capable of giving anybody a game. But, if we don’t turn up with our game heads on and fully focussed, we’ve all seen how bad we can be, so it’s important to keep the players focussed.”
Dundalk Team News: Young goalkeeper Donal Greene will once again act as cover for Chris Bennion, after it was revealed on Tuesday evening that Aaron Shanahan will miss the remainder of the season through injury. Midfielder Paul Crowley, who missed out last week due to the flu, is also a doubt. However, Gill could be able to recall winger Davie O’Connor, who also sat out last Saturday’s win in Athlone as a result of sustaining a nasty knee injury during the previous week’s victory in Limerick.
Kildare County Team News:To follow shortly...
