Foster gutted at last minute defeat
Ian Foster with Jason Byrne and Simon Madden during his tenure with Dundalk Credit: Andy McDonnell (ETPhotos)
Speaking exclusively to ExtraTime.ie, Dundalk FC boss Ian Foster gave us his verdict on the Lilywhites’ last minute defeat to St. Pats in Richmond Park on Friday last. An injury time strike from Dave Mulcahy subjected Dundalk to a bitter reversal, with Mark Quigley providing a two goal cushion that was washed away by three second half goals courtsey of the McMillan brothers.
“I’m disappointed, it was a game that was going our way, we were so comfortable. It’s heartbreaking to lose it in the last couple of minutes. We scored two wonderful goals but you have to be able to do the other side of it as well. We couldn’t deal with the physicality of St. Pat’s in the last 30 minutes, when we had dealt comfortably with it for an hour.”
With the prospect of a third defeat on the bounce looming over St. Pat’s, it was always going to be a tough encounter. A special over head kick from Quigley just after half time silenced the home crowd, but not for long.
“We knew they were going to put a lot of balls in to our box, and from back to front they move very quickly. We knew Anto Murphy had a long throw. But for some reason we couldn’t deal with it in the last half an hour and it has cost us.
“I was delighted with the first half performance. Mark scored two wonderful goals in the game. We knew they put both centre half’s up and there was a possibility we could catch them on the break and it worked for us in the first half. For some reason after that, we had a three minute spell where we conceded two goals which was hard on us, but we should have enough about us to see the game out.”
With Dundalk’s hectic schedule, complacency is ill afforded with some important fixtures lying in wait. Although with the likes of Daniel Kearns growing in confidence, Foster will be hoping this result is a minor glitch in the otherwise positive start to 2011.
“There was nothing in the game to be fair. We were very, very comfortable. Goals change games, it gave them the impotence to go and get the second straight away which put us on the back foot. We thought we had ridden the storm out but unfortunately with about 75 seconds to go they scored the winner which was heartbreaking.
“Daniel (Kearns) is an exceptional talent. Unfortunately for us, tonight is about the three goals we conceded rather than the two we scored.”
“I’m disappointed, it was a game that was going our way, we were so comfortable. It’s heartbreaking to lose it in the last couple of minutes. We scored two wonderful goals but you have to be able to do the other side of it as well. We couldn’t deal with the physicality of St. Pat’s in the last 30 minutes, when we had dealt comfortably with it for an hour.”
With the prospect of a third defeat on the bounce looming over St. Pat’s, it was always going to be a tough encounter. A special over head kick from Quigley just after half time silenced the home crowd, but not for long.
“We knew they were going to put a lot of balls in to our box, and from back to front they move very quickly. We knew Anto Murphy had a long throw. But for some reason we couldn’t deal with it in the last half an hour and it has cost us.
“I was delighted with the first half performance. Mark scored two wonderful goals in the game. We knew they put both centre half’s up and there was a possibility we could catch them on the break and it worked for us in the first half. For some reason after that, we had a three minute spell where we conceded two goals which was hard on us, but we should have enough about us to see the game out.”
With Dundalk’s hectic schedule, complacency is ill afforded with some important fixtures lying in wait. Although with the likes of Daniel Kearns growing in confidence, Foster will be hoping this result is a minor glitch in the otherwise positive start to 2011.
“There was nothing in the game to be fair. We were very, very comfortable. Goals change games, it gave them the impotence to go and get the second straight away which put us on the back foot. We thought we had ridden the storm out but unfortunately with about 75 seconds to go they scored the winner which was heartbreaking.
“Daniel (Kearns) is an exceptional talent. Unfortunately for us, tonight is about the three goals we conceded rather than the two we scored.”
About Aidan Farrelly
Aidan Farrelly joined the extratime team in mid 2010. A Kildare native, Aidan reports on St. Patrick's Athletic as well as other Dublin Clubs. Aidan can be contacted at: farrelly.aidan@gmail.com View Full Profile