A late cracker from captain David Crawley saved title favourites Dundalk from falling to their first defeat of the season, as the league leaders grabbed an undeserved point with a 1-1 draw against ten-man Sporting Fingal at a rain sodden Morton Stadium on Friday evening. The experienced defender curled home an incredible free-kick to equalise with just twelve minutes remaining, before the visitors could have committed the crime of the century right on the 90 when they forced Steve Williams into a good double save in the Fingal goal.
 
Fingal had started the game well and were on top, before they were hit with a huge blow just past the half-hour, as former Dundalk striker Robbie Doyle was dismissed for a second bookable offence. Despite being a man down, however, Fingal continued on the front foot, and they took a deserved lead just after half-time as Aidan Collins headed in from close-range. Conan Byrne then should have made it two on the hour, only to be denied by a superb Aaron Shanahan save, before the heroic Crawley rescued a precious point late on.
 
For the game, John Gill was forced to do without regular starters, goalkeeper Chris Bennion, club captain Aidan Lynch and midfielder Paul Shiels, while star midfielder David Cassidy and influential centre-half Ben Whelehan were only fit enough to take their place on the bench. In total, Gill made three changes to the starting XI which lined-out against Wexford Youths the previous week, as Aaron Shanahan, Shane Grimes and Paul Marney replaced Bennion, Lynch and Shiels. Fingal, meanwhile, started with four ex-Lilywhites - Steve Williams, Brian Kelly, Robbie Doyle and Peter Hynes.
 
In terrible conditions, both sides struggled to take control early on, with chances shared in the opening ten minutes. Firstly, Shanahan kept Dundalk level as he did well to push away a Paul Caffrey effort from the edge of the box, before Paul Crowley whizzed a 25-yarder inches wide after picking up a clearance from a Crawley corner. Just past the quarter-hour, Fingal had another opportunity to open the scoring, however, after getting a clear sight on goal, Peter Hynes was thwarted brilliantly by a last ditch tackle from Ian Ryan as the forward was about to pull the trigger.
 
Then, on 34 minutes, it looked as though the game had been turned on its head when the referee issued a second yellow card of the evening to Robbie Doyle. The striker had been cautioned for a late challenge on Ryan fifteen minutes earlier, and received his marching orders when leaving the foot in on Dundalk netminder, Shanahan. With no sub ‘keeper on the bench, the visitors watched on anxiously as the injured Shanahan received prolonged attention from physio, Paul Cheshire. The 23-year-old was barely fit to carry on, however, knowing the circumstances, he played through the pain, with Crawley taking up the goal kicking duties.
 
Despite that, however, Fingal continued to look the more dangerous, although it was five minutes into the second-half before they found a breakthrough. A Caffrey corner wasn’t cleared properly by the Dundalk defence, with Dave Rogers crossing back in from the far side of the box for centre-half Aidan Collins to head home from a couple of yards out.
 
A clearly rocked Dundalk struggled to recover from that blow and they should have been further behind ten minutes later. Davie O’Connor lost possession in the middle of the field with a poor pass into the centre, with Peter Hynes putting Conan Byrne through on goal with a neat pass. Fingal’s star player couldn’t finish, though, as Shanahan got the slightest of touches to push the 22-year-old’s effort narrowly wide of the post. Shortly after, and in need of something special, Gill decided upon changing to a 3-4-3 formation as the injured John Flanagan was replaced by Robbie Farrell, with impressive sub David Cassidy covering in both defence and attack.
 
And, on 73 minutes, the visitors created their first clear opening of the night when a Jamie Duffy cross from the right found Robbie Martin unmarked ten-yards out. The striker was unable to find the target, however, as his header went well wide. Dundalk didn’t have to wait long for an equaliser, though, as they found it just five minutes later. A foul on Crowley 25-yards from goal gave Dundalk the free, with Crawley stepping up to unleash an unstoppable curling shot past the despairing dive of Steve Williams.
 
Two minutes later, Martin forced ex-Lilywhite netminder Williams into another good save, before Dundalk should have stole it at the death. Martin again caused problems as his header forced Williams to tip over, before the Welsh ‘keeper was forced to push the ball behind again from the resulting corner. Another Crawley set-piece caused more worries for Fingal as Tiarnàn Mulvenna should have done better with his free header which went off target.
 
Fingal themselves then had a chance to net what would have been just reward for their efforts when sub Daniel Corcoran sent his free header straight at Shanahan in the 95th minute - an action which proved to be the last of the night. In a game which Dundalk should have lost but could have won against ten men, it is hard to know whether it was a point gained or two dropped, however, the Lilywhites will be glad to steal a draw in the end, a priceless point which keeps them top of the table ahead of next week’s visit of Waterford United.
 
dundalkfc.com Man of the Match: David Crawley (Dundalk)…On a night where Dundalk showed little or nothing on the wings or in attack, it was left to centre-half and local lad, David Crawley to rescue the Lilywhites from certain defeat. One goal down, the visitors never looked like scoring with just one poor shot on target to show for their efforts, before Crawley’s 78th minute intervention. With Jamie Duffy and David Cassidy standing over the free-kick, Crawley took on the responsibility, and fired a superbly struck shot past his former Dundalk and Shels team-mate Steve Williams. Crawley had been handed the captain’s armband following the departure of John Flanagan on 66 minutes, and the 30-year-old led like a leader should, both in defence and attack, as he foraged forward in the final ten minutes in search of a winner. His set-piece deliveries in injury-time almost provided it too. Excellent display - one of, at the very most, two produced by Dundalk players on the night.