Shelbourne may have missed the chance to go five points clear at the top of the eircom League of Ireland First Division on Saturday night. However, even if they had done so, Dundalk midfielder Paul Shiels insists that he wouldn’t have been worried about such a gap opening up at this early stage.

“No, not at all,” Shielo told dundalkfc.com. “We had a five point lead at one stage, and look how quickly that was overturned. There’s a long way to go yet. I’m not worried about two or five points, or even more. Once we start winning games again, that’s the main thing. The next two games are vital - we want six points and nothing less.”

The 28-year-old was commenting after seeing his side lose out to an injury-time goal in Waterford 24 hours previous to Shelbourne’s surprise defeat in Longford. And, after a dominant display from Dundalk, Shiels’ reaction to the Lilywhites’ result was understandable. “I’m disappointed,” he said. “In fairness, in the first 10-15 minutes, we were a little bit rusty after the break and it took us a while to get going.

“But I thought the last 25-30 minutes of the first-half, and probably the first 25 minutes of the second-half, we done well. I thought we were on top in the game. We passed the ball well, we were winning the battles over the pitch, and some of our approach play up to the goal was top notch.

“It was some of our best all season, but we just couldn’t find that goal. Getting the first goal is so important, but we didn’t find it. The clock is winding down and you’re looking at a draw, and to be fair, a draw, as much as you want to win, is not a bad result. It wasn’t a corner, but that’s neither here nor there, we should have defended it. It was a bad header that he got on it, and we should have stopped it.

“It’s just really disappointing. Not to get anything out of a performance like that, we’re all gutted in there.”