Dundalk FC made the short trip to the Castleblayney Road last week where new Assistant Manager Darius Kierans put the young De La Salle College team through their paces as they prepare for their upcoming North East League Final.
Valuable session
Assisting Darius were first-team players Johnny Breen, Marc Griffin and Nathan Murphy, Dundalk FC Youth Development Officer Martin Connolly and Community Coach Dean Arrowsmith. “Darius was asked a couple of weeks ago by John Flanagan to take a session before their final and he jumped at the chance,” Arrowsmith told dundalkfc.com. “It gave him an opportunity to get involved with young fans of the club and, to be fair, they were buzzing that Darius and the three lads visited.” Darius ran a 45-minute session. Martin took the warm-up and worked with the goalkeepers, Darius first done a passing drill, then a crossing and finishing drill. He finished off working with the back four while the more attacking players played a five-a-side game which was looked after by Dean. “It’s great to get into the secondary schools and deliver sessions like these,” Dean said. “There was a lot of variety in the session. In fairness to Darius he covered something for everyone in the short space of time.”
Dundalk fans
Speaking exclusively to dundalkfc.com, Flanagan, an FAI Cup winner and twice First Division champion with the Lilywhites, explained his reasons for asking Dundalk FC to visit the De La Salle. “All my young lads are big Dundalk fans,” Flano said, “and I thought of getting Darius, Martin and a few of the players down before a big game because it would give my players a little bit of an incentive. Darius has a proven record with young kids and I thought that would only benefit my wee fellas. We have a North East League Final coming up. The team have done very well so I think a little bit of structure that Darius put on it today will do them no harm and hopefully we can go a step further. We have U13s and U14s. We have some very, very good footballers here. We have a lot of lads on the DDSL team and going on trial here and there. It’s great to see that the likes of Dundalk are actually taking an interest and keeping an eye on boys. It’s good, all-round, for everybody.” Last Friday, two days after the visit, De La Salle U13s recorded a 4-2 win over Balbriggan at Oriel Park to reach the quarter-finals of the Leinster Cup.
Missing Oriel
Flanagan announced his retirement from League of Ireland football in November 2008, a fortnight before his final game which saw him lift the First Division crown for a second time following a dramatic last night in the title race. The Drogheda native first signed for the Lilywhites back in 1999 and, bar a two-and-a-half year break from the club in 2003, remained at Oriel Park until his retirement, making 200 appearances and scoring 23 goals. “I’m just coming back from an injury; I had a dislocated collar bone last year,” the 32-year-old said when asked if he is still playing any sport. “I’m just training away and getting myself fit. I played Gaelic last year; I don’t know if I will or not this year.” Flanagan as good as ruled out a return to football, though he admitted he misses playing for Dundalk. “It would be hard enough to go back to football,” he said. “I do miss playing for Dundalk, to be honest. The first season or two, I didn’t, because I was busy with the babies, but at the minute I do miss it. I miss the craic above (at Oriel Park). I don’t get to as many games as I should. Probably this year I’ll get a season ticket. The wee fella is old enough now, he can stay up late on a Friday, so I might bring him now.” And while he did not rule out a move into League of Ireland management or coaching, he admitted: “I think that’s a long way off for me. I’m enjoying training the young lads and I’m enjoying trying to part with discipline and knowledge I picked up over the years. I’m happy enough where I am at the moment.”
Everyone at Dundalk FC would like to wish the De La Salle College the very Best of Luck in their upcoming final!
