Match Preview: Drogheda United v Dundalk FC

Dundalk travel to Sullivan and Lambe Park on Friday night for the second Louth Derby of the season.

Dundalk travel off the back of a superb 1-0 win over Shamrock Rovers last Friday night. Drogheda United suffered a controversial last minute 2-1 defeat to Waterford FC at the RSC on Monday night.

Ciaran Kilduff Comments:

The win over Shamrock Rovers was very positive for us. But football moves on quickly. A result like that can sharpen the minds and refocus you straight away, because a win over Rovers would be quickly forgotten if we were to lose the next game.

That is the nature of this league. It is big game after big game, with big occasions, big nights and a big spotlight on performances. When you have a positive night like we did last week, there is an addictive side to it. You want to go again.

Thankfully, we have another brilliant stage this Friday against Drogheda United. It will be live on television, in a hostile atmosphere, but we will bring our huge support as we always do. It feels like a very positive couple of weeks for us, but we know the size of the task ahead.

There is very little between the two clubs right now. That probably adds to the appetite for the game. Sometimes in this fixture, one team has been more dominant than the other, but this feels like two teams in a similar position in the league, with a similar points tally, both trying to find their way back up to the heights of old.

That is what makes it exciting. There was not much between the teams in the opening game at Oriel Park, and I do not expect there to be much in this one either. Both teams seem to be lacking defenders, so people might expect goals, but in a derby you never really know.

We want the atmosphere to be electric. We want to go into the lion’s den. That is the whole point of being at the top level, representing Dundalk, going to your biggest rival’s backyard and trying to beat them.

At the same time, we want it to be about football. We do not want anything unsavoury. Hopefully, that is all behind us now. We want a game full of passion and flair, but the way we can hurt each other most is by beating each other on the pitch. That is what I want people talking about afterwards.

We are desperate to win. We are desperate to keep our return to the Premier Division as positive as it has been. This game comes close to the halfway point of the season, so it will be a good indicator of where both teams may go from here. I know Drogheda will be desperate to win it, but I can tell you we definitely are as well.

Team News

·      JR Wilson is suspended.

·      Dundalk continue to be without Ronan Teahan, Mayowa Animasahun, Vinnie Leonard, Conor O’Keefe, Norman Garbett and Conor Kearns.