“We Got Out Of Jail” – Byrne
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Jason Byrne moved within three goals of second-place Pat Morley in the League of Ireland all-time goalscorers’ list as his magnificent lob snatched a point for Dundalk in the Louth Derby, but the 33-year-old was more concerned about his team’s performance, stating that they “got out of jail”. The striker, who was making his first start since the Setanta Sports Cup final in mid May, found his 179th league goal, his sixth in Dundalk colours, to extend their unbeaten run to five games. But with four of those outings ending in draws, Byrne knows that they needed a win to start putting pressure on fourth-place Saint Patrick’s Athletic.
“Not very good, we weren’t at the races,” Jason told dundalkfc.com when asked for his thoughts on the performance at United Park. “We started off well in the first 15-20 minutes. I thought we were getting balls to the wingers and getting balls into the box and looked a threat. After we scored, we stopped. They were the better team, they got their goal and they were in the ascendancy. They started the second half better, they obviously got that penalty. It was a bit contentious but these things happen in the league. We got out of jail when we scored. It’s a disappointing night. Obviously, I’m delighted to score a goal, but the performance wasn’t great.”
Dundalk had opened the game extremely brightly, with Daniel Kearns and Mark Griffin combining for a superb first goal. However, Drogheda came into it midway through the first half before taking over, with Byrne at a loss to explain his side’s collapse. “I don’t know, we just stopped playing,” he said. “I don’t know why. We stopped getting the balls out wide, and obviously the balls stopped coming into the box because we weren’t getting it wide. We complicated the game, we took the wrong options. That has been happening the last few weeks and we’re getting punished for it. We need to start to realise what strengths we have and get the ball out to the wingers, the likes of Quigs and Danny. That’s where the threat comes from, but we just don’t do it enough.
“As I said, they were in the ascendancy when they scored,” he added, asked if his side were perhaps looking for the half-time break when ex-Lilywhite Tiarnán Mulvenna scored in the 43rd minute. “They were on top. They had a couple of chances; they hit the crossbar and that. We need to start learning quickly. We have to beat the teams around and below us, the likes of Drogheda and Bray. It’s disappointing that we didn’t get the three points in the end, but we didn’t deserve anything out of it. I think the only time we tested the goalkeeper in the second half was when we scored the goal, which is disappointing, especially if we have any aspirations of getting into Europe. As I said, we took the wrong options. All night, we took the wrong options. We tried little balls into silly areas when we should be getting it wide. We just have to pick ourselves up and move onto Bray next week.”
Dundalk never really looked like recovering from Dave Rogers’ 52nd-minute penalty, until Byrne popped up with a superb strike 14 minutes from time. “I was getting a bit frustrated,” he admitted. “I was throwing my hands up in the air – it was just one of those nights. I thought the game was going to pass me by because I wasn’t really influenced at all by it. I know I got a few flick-ons and that, but regarding chances and being in possession of the ball, I was just non-existent. I was probably a bit surprised the ball came to me. I saw the ‘keeper off his line a bit and it was just an opportunist goal. I lobbed him; it was a perfect night for it because the grass was a bit wet and I was able to get on it and scoop it through. I was happy enough with that. I had to come off because it was a tough last few weeks for me. Obviously being out so long, I was in the Airtricity team and I had a tough week’s training with double sessions every day, although that helped me in a way. I just felt fatigue in the last ten minutes so I had to come off unfortunately.”
Byrne, whose wife gave birth to a boy on Wednesday morning, celebrated the new arrival in the perfect way as he went into clear third in the all-time scorers’ list ahead of Turlough O’Connor. “Individual accolades – it’s a proud moment for yourself,” the Dubliner said. “If I stay in injury-free, I always believe in my own ability, if I can push myself in training and get that extra bit fit, there should be no reason why I shouldn’t catch (Morley). But in the context of the whole game, it’s not a night that I want to remember. It wasn’t one of our better performances. We have got to lick our wounds and move onto next week. Hopefully, we’ll learn quickly.” Byrne partnered Mark Griffin in attack for the very first time, and he is looking forward to doing so again. “I’m pretty happy playing with Mark,” Jay said. “He has very good potential. He’s a joy; he runs the channels really well. It’s just a few things he has to learn; holding up the ball, being stronger and being more aggressive. But that comes with time; he’s only a young lad. He has a bright future ahead of him.”
Dundalk welcome Bray Wanderers next week, and Byrne knows that it was the perfect opportunity to pick up back-to-back wins and a crucial six points. And he says that there will be pressure going into the game against his former side, who Dundalk hammered 5-1 at the Carlisle Grounds in June. “Especially with the teams above us playing each other, the likes of Derry playing Pat’s tonight,” he said. “It’s one of those, a cliché, a six-pointer, but it was tonight. But we didn’t get it and that makes next week’s game even more vital. Drogheda battled hard and we knew they would. You can’t just turn up to games in the League of Ireland and think you’re going to win. We have to work hard, knuckle down, and we didn’t do that. They put it up to us and they got what they deserved out of the game, and probably should have went on and won it. On another night, they could have. We’re just happy to get a point out of it in the end.
“It was a bit of a nightmare,” Byrne added on his long spell on the sidelines. “I probably should have been back earlier but I had a bit of fluid on my hamstring and that set me back another three or four weeks, which was disappointing. But your body dictates what is happening down there. You just have to be patient. Hopefully, I will stay injury-free between now and the end of the season. I know I’m still lacking that bit of match practice, but that will come.” Dundalk are now five points off St. Pat’s, who have a game in hand, but Byrne is confident that his side can achieve something this year. “We’ll stick together,” he said. “We have most players back. We had a few players on the bench tonight that he could pick from, which we haven’t had for a lot of the year. We’ll take each game as it comes now. It’s another cliché, but with players coming back, if we play to our potential and stay injury-free, I think we should be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. And a good cup run as well would be nice.”
“Not very good, we weren’t at the races,” Jason told dundalkfc.com when asked for his thoughts on the performance at United Park. “We started off well in the first 15-20 minutes. I thought we were getting balls to the wingers and getting balls into the box and looked a threat. After we scored, we stopped. They were the better team, they got their goal and they were in the ascendancy. They started the second half better, they obviously got that penalty. It was a bit contentious but these things happen in the league. We got out of jail when we scored. It’s a disappointing night. Obviously, I’m delighted to score a goal, but the performance wasn’t great.”
Dundalk had opened the game extremely brightly, with Daniel Kearns and Mark Griffin combining for a superb first goal. However, Drogheda came into it midway through the first half before taking over, with Byrne at a loss to explain his side’s collapse. “I don’t know, we just stopped playing,” he said. “I don’t know why. We stopped getting the balls out wide, and obviously the balls stopped coming into the box because we weren’t getting it wide. We complicated the game, we took the wrong options. That has been happening the last few weeks and we’re getting punished for it. We need to start to realise what strengths we have and get the ball out to the wingers, the likes of Quigs and Danny. That’s where the threat comes from, but we just don’t do it enough.
“As I said, they were in the ascendancy when they scored,” he added, asked if his side were perhaps looking for the half-time break when ex-Lilywhite Tiarnán Mulvenna scored in the 43rd minute. “They were on top. They had a couple of chances; they hit the crossbar and that. We need to start learning quickly. We have to beat the teams around and below us, the likes of Drogheda and Bray. It’s disappointing that we didn’t get the three points in the end, but we didn’t deserve anything out of it. I think the only time we tested the goalkeeper in the second half was when we scored the goal, which is disappointing, especially if we have any aspirations of getting into Europe. As I said, we took the wrong options. All night, we took the wrong options. We tried little balls into silly areas when we should be getting it wide. We just have to pick ourselves up and move onto Bray next week.”
Dundalk never really looked like recovering from Dave Rogers’ 52nd-minute penalty, until Byrne popped up with a superb strike 14 minutes from time. “I was getting a bit frustrated,” he admitted. “I was throwing my hands up in the air – it was just one of those nights. I thought the game was going to pass me by because I wasn’t really influenced at all by it. I know I got a few flick-ons and that, but regarding chances and being in possession of the ball, I was just non-existent. I was probably a bit surprised the ball came to me. I saw the ‘keeper off his line a bit and it was just an opportunist goal. I lobbed him; it was a perfect night for it because the grass was a bit wet and I was able to get on it and scoop it through. I was happy enough with that. I had to come off because it was a tough last few weeks for me. Obviously being out so long, I was in the Airtricity team and I had a tough week’s training with double sessions every day, although that helped me in a way. I just felt fatigue in the last ten minutes so I had to come off unfortunately.”
Byrne, whose wife gave birth to a boy on Wednesday morning, celebrated the new arrival in the perfect way as he went into clear third in the all-time scorers’ list ahead of Turlough O’Connor. “Individual accolades – it’s a proud moment for yourself,” the Dubliner said. “If I stay in injury-free, I always believe in my own ability, if I can push myself in training and get that extra bit fit, there should be no reason why I shouldn’t catch (Morley). But in the context of the whole game, it’s not a night that I want to remember. It wasn’t one of our better performances. We have got to lick our wounds and move onto next week. Hopefully, we’ll learn quickly.” Byrne partnered Mark Griffin in attack for the very first time, and he is looking forward to doing so again. “I’m pretty happy playing with Mark,” Jay said. “He has very good potential. He’s a joy; he runs the channels really well. It’s just a few things he has to learn; holding up the ball, being stronger and being more aggressive. But that comes with time; he’s only a young lad. He has a bright future ahead of him.”
Dundalk welcome Bray Wanderers next week, and Byrne knows that it was the perfect opportunity to pick up back-to-back wins and a crucial six points. And he says that there will be pressure going into the game against his former side, who Dundalk hammered 5-1 at the Carlisle Grounds in June. “Especially with the teams above us playing each other, the likes of Derry playing Pat’s tonight,” he said. “It’s one of those, a cliché, a six-pointer, but it was tonight. But we didn’t get it and that makes next week’s game even more vital. Drogheda battled hard and we knew they would. You can’t just turn up to games in the League of Ireland and think you’re going to win. We have to work hard, knuckle down, and we didn’t do that. They put it up to us and they got what they deserved out of the game, and probably should have went on and won it. On another night, they could have. We’re just happy to get a point out of it in the end.
“It was a bit of a nightmare,” Byrne added on his long spell on the sidelines. “I probably should have been back earlier but I had a bit of fluid on my hamstring and that set me back another three or four weeks, which was disappointing. But your body dictates what is happening down there. You just have to be patient. Hopefully, I will stay injury-free between now and the end of the season. I know I’m still lacking that bit of match practice, but that will come.” Dundalk are now five points off St. Pat’s, who have a game in hand, but Byrne is confident that his side can achieve something this year. “We’ll stick together,” he said. “We have most players back. We had a few players on the bench tonight that he could pick from, which we haven’t had for a lot of the year. We’ll take each game as it comes now. It’s another cliché, but with players coming back, if we play to our potential and stay injury-free, I think we should be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. And a good cup run as well would be nice.”
