Dundalk banish relegation blues in best way

FAI Cup Final/ Dundalk 2; Bohemians 1:  Dundalk's form since Christmas had already left quite a few around Oriel Park bewildered as to how Martin Murray's men could have failed to achieve the ninth or better in the league they needed to avoid a swift return to the first division.

As they ponder their fate this morning in the wake of a spirited and well-deserved victory in this Carslberg FAI Cup final over Bohemians there can hardly be anybody even vaguely connected with Dundalk who isn't more baffled than ever.

The outcome yesterday was certainly neither a fluke nor any kind of freak result. Murray's side got precisely what they deserved from a game in which the courage and determination they displayed against a much more fancied group of players enabled them to dictate both the speed and style of the game.

They defiantly proved both the bookies and the pundits wrong. And by coming from behind against a side that, on its day, is probably the best in the country, they may even have surprised themselves.

This, though, was certainly not Bohemians' day. There was scarcely an area of the pitch in which they came close to fulfilling their potential. And there were only the most fleeting glimpses of the free-flowing, attacking football with which they have occasionally completely taken apart somewhat better teams than the one they faced on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Tolka Park.

Even if they had performed they might have struggled to win the game.Well-executed plans, almost as much as the players themselves, make for prizes in football and it may be quite some time before we see another team impose their gameplan quite as comprehensively in a Cup decider as Dundalk did on this occasion.

It didn't make for the prettiest of spectacles with the first half, in particular, played at such a pace that neither side seemed capable of stringing together more than two or three passes. Possession was repeatedly surrendered one way and then the other and both sides found themselves resorting to long and hopeful balls for their front men to chase.

One important upshot was that central midfield became far less central to the afternoon's proceedings than would have been the case had the Dubliners been calling the shots. Bohemians manager Stephen Kenny argued afterwards that Kevin Hunt and Dave Morrison had still had the better of their battle there with Ciarán Kavanagh and John Flanagan, but if they did it was by the slimmest of margins.

Murray must have been euphoric at the way in which the influence of Hunt, so often a crucial factor when Bohemians are really ticking, was almost entirely curbed for long spells.

Matters were less even elsewhere. Tough and tireless performances from Dundalk defenders Donal Broughan and Stephen McGuinness had the effect of making two of the league's best strikers look helplessly ineffective while at the other end Colin Hawkins and Stephen Caffrey never quite got on top of their battle to contain Garry Haylock and a willing supporting cast in the Dundalk attack.

Haylock's goals, one a minute before half-time and the other just four after it, were both simplicity itself, the wily striker choosing his position a couple of yards out well and then pouncing when his markers failed to deprive him of the chance to turn.

On the first occasion David Hoey's cross from the right had been the source of the opportunity while on the second a Kavanagh corner headed goalwards by McGuinness had set him up. And late on the 31-year-old might well have completed a hat-trick had Martin Reilly's first-time ball over Tony O'Connor not bounced badly for him and allowed the Bohemians defender to make the required intervention.

But then O'Connor was one of the few Bohemians players who produced the goods for a side that generally seemed incapable of salvaging a place in the UEFA Cup from a season that last summer had promised a great deal more than that.

Just as he did last year against Longford the right back gave his side the lead - scoring is clearly something he saves for cup finals these days, for those two strikes are his only goals during the past two seasons.

Late on, after Simon Webb had been rather harshly sent off for bringing Reilly down a long way out, O'Connor single-handedly covered at the back as just about everybody else was thrown forward in search of an equaliser.

There were precious few others that stood out for the Dublin team, though. Fergal Harkin did make some important contributions in defence, most memorably when he won possession from Reilly in the 39th minute and from inside his own box started the rare passing move that led to O'Connor's goal.

In attack, however, he got little or no change out of David Crawley, while Mark Rutherford fared little better in his tussles with either David Hoey or John Whyte.

There was nevertheless a fair bit of action around the Dundalk area and on several occasions goalkeeper John Connolly, who had a much better final than when he won with Bohemians 10 years ago, was obliged to make some decent saves.

The lunging challenges made directly in front of him, however, tended to ensure that the amount of traffic that reached the goalkeeper was kept to a minimum.

Late on there were some nervous moments for Murray and the Dundalk bench as Bohemians, despite their numerical disadvantage, rallied strongly and subjected their opponents to the most sustained pressure of the afternoon.

Trevor Molloy, Gary O'Neill and Paul Byrne each had the chance to snatch an equaliser but none could spoil the party that was already breaking out amongst the delirious Dundalk fans.

To judge by them as they left, it may still be going on.

BOHEMIANS: Russell; O'Connor, Hawkins, Caffrey, Webb; Harkin (Byrne, 79 mins), Hunt, Morrison (Hill, 72 mins), Rutherford; Molloy (O'Neill, 86 mins), Crowe.

DUNDALK: Connolly; Whyte, McGuinness, Broughan, Crawley; Hoey, Flanagan, Kavanagh, Lawless (McArdle, 72 mins); Reilly, Haylock (Malone, 87 mins).

Referee: P McKeon (Dublin).