Dundalk 0 - 2 Sligo Rovers

• Emmet Maloney
• Sat, May 30 2009


Sligo Rovers will travel into the sunset in good form after recording a 2-0 away win against Dundalk. Sean Connor and his staff must be bewildered how the game got away from them after a dominant first half display still left them a goal down.

In added time at the end of the first half Alan Keane cut in from the right touch line, wandered inside under no great pressure as the Dundalk defence clearly expected a cross. He switched ball onto his left and curled an effort toward the far post which dropped over Bennion and into the Dundalk net. The second Sligo goal came on 68 minutes as Owen Morrison suspiciously loitering and flirting with the offside line chased down a lost cause on the Sligo right touchline, he held play up and played a neat ball inside to Brian Cash who pulled back from the touchline to an unattended Conor O’Grady to slot home to Chris Bennion's right side.

Dundalk named Michael Synott at the left back berth of in place of the now departed Dave Rogers. The Louth men started the first half brightly and looked likely to grab the opener. Mansaram looked to have an aerial advantage over the Sligo centre halves and was winning plenty of high balls but again his habit of getting caught offside was evident.

A rare Sligo attack in the 26th minute resulted in a challenge by Thomas Heary on Stephen Feeney that must have been millimetres away from a penalty as the referee decided it happened just outside of the box. The free was hammered in by Sean Holmes for Sligo and was turned around the post by Bennion at his near post, inexplicably the referee awarded a goal kick.

Still Dundalk pressed and neat interplay between Ger Rowe and Shaun Kelly resulted in the latter pulling the ball back to Mansaram six yards out, with the goal at his mercy the Sligo centre halves blocked his effort and cleared the danger.

On 42 minutes neat control and a turn allowed Mansaram a sight at goal from 20 yards but his attempt flew narrowly wide of the right hand post of Richard Brush. It was indicative of the pressure that Sligo were under that their own forwards were to be found back in their own box defending.

Against the run of play Sligo took the lead as a throw on their right hand side mid way up the Dundalk half gave Keane room to curl in the opening goal.

Dundalk came out after the break and started to press immediately. Just three minutes into the half, an unmarked Mansaram stooped 12 yards out to meet a Mulvenna corner, his header crashed back off of the underside of the bar and was cleared.

A moment of real controversy followed on 54 minutes as a break into the Sligo box by Shaun Kelly was met by a firm but foul challenge by Sean Holmes. The referee confused all those watching by awarding the foul but giving an indirect free kick rather than a penalty that everyone else thought that it clearly was. The resultant free came to nothing.

Dundalk chased a deserved equaliser but never opened Sligo up cleanly. On 68 minutes a Conor O’Grady thrust a dagger into their hearts with the second after selfless work by Morrison presented Cash with the chance to find O’Grady unmarked around the penalty spot and he made no mistake.

The final 20 minutes were played out with little real cause for either goalkeeper to stay on the park. The Lilywhites nearly kept up their recent record of red cards as Shaun Kelly and Richie Ryan got a little testy with each other. However referee Topley saw fit just to book them both.

Dundalk FC – Chris Bennion; Simon Kelly, Liam Burns, Thomas Heary, Michael Synott Michael Coburn 79); Shaun Kelly, Chris Turner, Michael Daly, Tiernan Mulvenna (Harpal Singh 61); Ger Rowe (Declan O’Brien 61), Darren Mansaram.

Sligo Rovers – Richard Brush; Alan Keane, Gavin Peers, Danny Ventre, Sean Holmes; Brian Cash, Conor O’Grady, Richie Ryan, Owen Morrison; Stephen Feeney (Danny Keoghane 65), Romauld Boco

Attendance: 1500 est. Extratime.ie man of the match – Tiernan Mulvenna much scratching of Dundalk heads when he was withdrawn early.