His dismissal four minutes into injury-time appeared to have saved Dundalk a point, however, it was not to be as the Lilywhites went on to concede just moments later. And, defender John Flanagan, who returned to action following a four-week absence through injury, summed it up for all Lilywhite fans when he stated: “It’s a sucker punch.

“It’s hard to take,” Flano told dundalkfc.com at the final whistle. “In the first-half, we had a number of chances, and in the second, we had the same. We played excellently, we moved the ball well, we got it wide, we got it in the box. We could have been out of sight, and to give away a goal like that at the end is devastating.

“Obviously, it’s back to training during the week, and we’ll try to put things right. The knock derailed us last year, but it’s a different bunch of lads here now. Down in Cobh that day, we could have been battered, but I think today, in patches, we were outstanding. If we take that into next week, I think our luck will turn, and we’ve just got to be professional and finish teams off.”

Flanagan entered the pitch in place of the injured Ian Ryan during the second-half to make his first appearance since the scoreless draw with Longford on 20 May. And, after a tough week’s work, the 30-year-old revealed that there had been no reaction to the ankle injury which he was forced to have surgery on at the end of last month. “I trained on Monday and Tuesday, and then trained on Wednesday and put myself about and tested it, and there was no reaction at all. It’s just a matter now of getting myself fit and sharp again, and trying to get back in.”