James McManus sets Sligo Rovers on way to victory over wasteful Dundalk

Irish Independent

2 days ago

Sligo Rovers' recent history in this competition has been a tale of shock exits to First Division opposition and while Dundalk's standing makes them an unlikely underdog, the gap between the two leagues is arguably growing rather than closing. For an in-form Rovers side that is showing signs that they can make a late push to avoid a relegation playoff, exiting the cup to the Lilywhites would have been hard to swallow.
But they had to ride their luck to advance here, with the final scoreline not quite telling the full story of proceedings. They were under the cosh for a large part of the first half and were extremely fortunate to avoid going in behind with Harry Groome firing a left-footer wide of the post when it appeared easier to score.
The let-off galvanised the guests who didn't appear to be enjoying the unpredictable surface. They emerged from the break to effectively put the game to bed with two moments of quality.
Russell's July window business has centred around bringing in Premier players that know the league. The spotlight coming into the game was on Dundalk native Ryan O'Kane's first visit to Oriel Park since his loan move from Shelbourne to the Bit'O'Red.
He was booed throughout, but the locals were silenced when James McManus – a temporary arrival from Bohemians – found the top corner with a delicious right-footer after a corner broke in his direction.
Before Dundalk could recover from the gut punch, they were two down with Jake Doyle-Hayes glancing a Will Fitzgerald cross past Enda Minogue.
It was hard to take for Ciaran Kilduff as for the second week in succession, his team fired blanks in a two-goal defeat where they had most of the chances. Their league loss to Bray is more important in the bigger picture, but Kilduff will still be frustrated by the wastefulness.
His team are doing a lot of things right in the attacking department, but they met another in-form goalkeeper with Sam Sargeant making big saves from Gbemi Arubi and Daryl Horgan as the Lilywhites tried to provide a grandstand finish. Dean Ebbe squandered another big opportunity, and it's stating the obvious to declare that Dundalk will need to be more clinical if they are to achieve their aim of returning to the top flight at the first attempt. Otherwise, they could be reunited with Rovers in an end-of-season playoff.
Russell and his players are thinking bigger and Drogheda's success in this competition last term has proven that cup joy and battling the drop can go hand-in-hand. With an improved league ranking meaning this is the most lucrative renewal of the competition ever with €700,000 in UEFA money guaranteed to the winners. That is a distraction that every participant will welcome.
There could be further negative consequences from the night for Dundalk after the match officials noted an offensive comment made to visiting player Owen Elding in the first half.
It's understood the comment from the home section was related to the player's nationality. English-born Elding is actually in the process of declaring for Ireland via citizenship rules.
Elding went on to play a big role in the second half when switched to a central role and assistant boss Ryan Casey said the player wasn't bothered by the episode.
Dundalk: Minogue, Wilson, Leonard, McHale (O'Keeffe 22), Keogh (Spaight 73); Dervin, Tracey (Paraschiv 60); McDaid (Kenny 60), Groome, Horgan; Arubi (Ebbe 60)