Dundalk 2 Longford Town 0
Bohemians may have robbed them a few weeks back of the ‘invincibles’ title but there remains a touch of the ‘incredibles’ about this Dundalk side which took another big step here with this semi-final victory towards the club’s 10th cup and third ever double.
There’s the minor matter of a cup final still standing between them and both, of course, but on this form they won’t fear either Cork or Bray in early November by which time they’re bound to have successfully defended the league title for the very first time.
“It’s great,” said Stephen O’Donnell afterwards, “It’s going to be a real day out and we will see who wins on Sunday. I don’t think it was the best game but sometimes semi-finals aren’t. They’re edgy, you just want to get there. We got the job done I suppose.”
Longford’s last visit to Orlel Park was one of the few other blips in the home team’s almost relentlessly impressive campaign and Tony Cousins would surely have been happy beforehand with another scoreless draw and the prospect of a replay.
His side was heavily outgunned from the outset, however, and immediately faced the age old dilemma of how to find a formula that would enable them to pose a threat in attack against a better side without leaving themselves hopelessly open in defence. In truth, they never chanced upon it and once Paddy Barrett had headed Stephen Kenny’s men in front 10 minutes before the break, it was impossible really to see them getting back into things.
That was goal number 100 in 42 competitive games for the league leaders this season and having done well to maintain their resistance through some fairly sustained periods of pressure from open play, Longford must have been disappointed to have finally conceded at a set piece. It was quite a routine, though, and as Daryl Horgan floated in his corner from the right, Barrett was left entirely free to head past goalkeeper Paul Skinner.
For the visitors, Gary Shaw battled away valiantly enough up front but he really was up against it. On a couple of the rare occasions over the first hour when his midfield managed to provide some real support a half chance was produced but it’s hard to think of one when Gary Rogers was required to do anything much more than gather.
At the other end, Richie Towell was revelling in it all. With Stephen O’Donnell well on top of things in front of the back four, he had little enough to worry about on the defensive side of things and so the 24 year-old sought more eagerly than ever to direct every aspect of his side’s attack.
Early on, Connor Powell looked as though he might be a major target for the home side as they repeatedly pushed down the right hand side but they mixed it up as the match rolled on and a curling free by Towell that came crashing back off the crossbar was as close as the hosts came to getting in front before Barrett struck.
Five minutes after the break Longford’s hopes were completely killed off when Ronan Finn’s wayward shot was deflected past Skinner by the unfortunate Pat Sullivan. Cousins threw on a second striker and urged his players to take some chances but Dundalk were cruising and should really have had another goal or two to show for their huge superiority.
In the absence of real excitement, the home support was simply exuberant; cheering as if every free-kick and substitution was another minor step towards the end of season silverware. Late on, David O’Sullivan and Shaw finally made Rogers do some work but it was, once again, Dundalk’s night and surely their season.
Dundalk: Rogers; Gannon, Barrett, Boyle, Massey; Towell, O'Donnell; Mountney (Meenan, 42 mins), Finn (Shields, 75 mins), Horgan; Kilduff (McMillan, 81 mins).
Longford Town: Skinner; Haverty, Gorman, Sullivan, Powell; Gannon, Rice; Shannon (Deady, 86 mins), Salmon (D O'Sullivan, 60 mins), Simon (Mulhall, 66 mins); Shaw.
Referee: P McLaughlin (Monaghan).
